I'd say give it a try. Go down and trade your box for the newest Motorola DVR they have. It'll have firewire ports.

The trick is - whether the ports are enabled. When you get home, go into the setup information and look if the firewire is enabled or disabled. If it's disabled, take the DVR back, and let them know why they aren't going to get the extra fees out of you. On my Motorola, you press the power, and then hit the Ok/Select right away. I think most Motorolas work that way. You should be able to find the info on Wikipedia.

(Tell them you have a D-VHS, or an LCD that only works with firewire, they can't argue with that).

Avoid Scientific-Atlanta DVR's, if at all possible. They're supposed to be a real bitch to get working with firewire.

The FCC's interpretation of the Telecommunications Act requires all Cable companies to supply DVR's with active firewire ports. But many people say the FCC isn't interested in enforcing it. (Still doesn't hurt to file a complaint).

Google hasn't turned up much about Time Warner, so far. But some folks say their local Time-Warner follows the FCC mandate, others say their local ignores it. So it depends on where you are.

The next problem is their encryption flag settings - that's also up to the local outlet. The broadcast channels are the only ones they are required to leave unencrypted. Most local cable outlets just leave the flags they way they were broadcast. Some don't have any encryption flags at all. Some only leave the broadcast channels available.