TiVo minus subscription fees? Ok for AU, not for US

ZatzNotFunny is reporting Seven Media Group is prepping to launch TiVo in Australia, minus the subscription fees. How about the US?  I ditched all but one of my TiVo boxes (the one that was grandfathered in years ago for a hefty fee).  I would probably own another TiVo were it not for the subscription fee on top of the hardware purchase.  I wonder what the margins are on the hardware… even the performance of the hardware is starting to look long in the tooth compared to solutions I’ve seen recently…