I was looking for computer based solutions when I posted, but having now discovered that there are dedicated units availible which do not require ongoing subscriptions I am interested in that route. 

Our phone company has a guide in their data stream.  They are using a Motorola (now somebody else) gateway which converts the digital signal to analog and distributes it onto the house coax network using TV 4, 8, and 13 frequencies.  Any TV in the house can tune to any of the three channels and see what is playing.  There are three RF remote controls which control what (digital) channel is being broadcast on each of the analog frequencies, each remote is married to one of the frequencies when setup.  These remotes also have IR capability which can be married to the TV normally operated by it so volume and channel are controled by the same remote, however our newest TV is not among the IR choices availible on the remotes, so it requires a second remote to control volume.  Sorry for the long description but hoping someone is using a similar cable system and can tell me if the guide is compatible with the HDD recorder.