There’s also a phone jack, but that’s pretty useless too – unless you don’t connect the box to the Internet via the Ethernet port, which you should do. There’s a coax input from your dish (the Genie requires the newer SWM setup), as well as HDMI, component, S-video, composite, coaxial digital audio, and analog stereo audio outputs.
The Genie unit (HR34) is physically nondescript, but it’s an upgrade over past DirecTV DVRs, with its blue lighting and softer touch buttons.
You could buy the hardware at full retail price ($299 for the Genie, $99 per Mini) if you don’t want a longer-term plan. Much like a cellphone carrier, DirecTV required that I renew my contract for two years to get this deal, which was fine. I paid a one-time fee of about $200, and I now pay a small monthly fee per Mini, which is actually less money than all the DVRs and TiVos at my former home. Since I’m a long-term customer, DirecTV was quick to give me a deal to upgrade my hardware, which I had professionally installed by DirecTV in my new but temporary apartment.
The cost of the DirecTV Genie system is not exactly clear, in that you don’t really own the unit you lease it.