basic question

[frogdog30]

I am fairly new to the whole technology but I understand that you need to have access to an EPG and you need the software on your computer that enables you to record programs. The question I have is do you have to be connected to the internet?

I have digital cable through Comcast so why can't I just plug my laptop into my cable box and use the EPG I already pay for as part of my digital cable package?? Why should I have to access a separate EPG on the net?

Are there any PVR software programs that can make use of the existing EPG I already use for digital cable?

[CO_Coding_Cub]

I highly doubt that you'll find hardware cabable of reading the signal that the cable box uses to get guide data. Even TiVo updates EPG data from it's own servers. SS takes care of the EPG and recording/playback software all in one package, and you don't have to pay for the EPG data like with TiVo.