I think a remote with macros is critical. We use an MX-500, too. Press and hold TIVO and the audio source switches, then the video input switches. Likewise for DVD, XBox, etc.

On the subject of a DVR, I've used both Tivos (stand-alone and DirecTivo) and DishPlayers. The Tivo wins, hands down. The DishPlayer was unreliable and much harder to use. The DirecTivo is nice in that there are fewer D/A conversion steps and it has two tuners. My wife was a Tivo convert within a week, and can no longer deal with live TV. My sister (to whom I gave my stand alone Tivo) made a point of telling me that, "Tivo has changed my life." Mom likes hers, too.

--Mike