Tivo Premiere XL.

[BluPix]

I'd been thinking for a long time about replacing my generic Time Warner Cable DVR box with a higher-end TiVo model. This past weekend, TWC replaced its box, for about the third time this year (or maybe it was the fourth; I long ago stopped counting how many times they replace it each year) with a model that actually has *less* storage capcity than the previous one. It looks as if my current box can store about 20 hours or so of HD recordings. The last one stored about 40 or 45 hours (that is, when it actually recorded the programs it was supposed to). TWC actually regressed. What is wrong with them?

In any case, I'm thinking of buying the TiVo Premiere XL. It's $300 flat for the box plus TiVo's monthly service fee plus the monthly fee TWC would charge for the cable cards they would provide. My monthly TV-related fees would increase a bit, but it may be worth it to be able to record 150 hours of HD programs (or 1,350 of SD recordings) and have a (hopefully) reliable box. I could actually record entire seasons of my favorite series, plus have some space left over for sizeable films. I saw that it's expandable, though I haven't looked into how to do so yet.

My questions are to everyone who has this particular TiVo model (those who use it with Time Warner Cable service are especially encouraged to respond)...

-How reliable is it? Will it eventually start to malfunction like the numerous TWC boxes I've had? Or will it remain completely problem free for years (as I still expect even in this age of near-constant upgrades and replacements)?
-Is there an extended warranty that can cover it? Like SquareTrade?
-Has your cable company been shown less accountability for technical issues because of the presence of your TiVo box (i.e., blaming things like picture freezing and dropped audio on your TiVo box rather than a poor cable provider signal)?
-Does TiVo or anyone else ever offer discounts or special promos on this TiVo box or on TiVo service?

Thanks.