Creating My Own PVR

I made my own personal video recorder (PVR) using a PC and GB-PVR software about two years ago. Two years later I am letting you know that I don't use it. The GB-PVR software works most of the time; but, because every so often it screws up, my wife wont use it. And the Media-MVP which I use to play back, gets 5 minutes without restarting at best. I had it working for 30 minutes at a time for a while, but then it went back to 5 minutes. Naturally, I gave up on it. What I need is a Tivo, only one that can store to and play from either its own drive or a networked computer, that stores in a common format without copywrite protection, and that will allow me to transport my videos to my computer and play back in Windows Media Player. I want upgradability, I don't want to be stuck with one brand forever. Any comments?