Recording Cable

Hi Guys,

I'm moving house to somewhere where Telewest is already installed, so i'm
planning on using that service. I'm new to cable, and what i'm not sure
about is what options I have (if any) when recording channels (either on
video, or DVR if I get round to getting one).

The house doesn't have a "normal" TV aerial fitted. So, when i'm recording
something, then i'm also gonna have to watch it (when i'm in, obviously).

The people currently living in the house have another cable STB in the
bedroom, and I could go that route, but they're gonna charge me £15 per
month for it - I think that's too steep for such a crap solution.

So, while waiting for the cable companies to get their act together and
produce a Sky+-type system, what can I do? I've read that they're still
sending the analogue signal down the cable - can I somehow split this from
the digital to be able to record something different to what i'm watching?

It's ok if I can only record a subset of the channels (as long as the subset
includes the main BBC, ITV etc channels).

I might have to get an aerial fitted - that sucks!

Cheers

Wayne