I had the comcast 6412. It leases for $10/month in my area, but the monthly cost of cable service is higher compared to AEP. Software is more buggy than the 942 with fewer features. In particular, search options are terrible.
I had frequent picture breakup/sound dropouts, especially on HD channels. May be to due a cable line problem in my area, but comcast reliability was so bad that I switched back to E*. I have been much happier with the 942 than I was with comcast. Comcast customer service was friendly, but couldn't acually fix anything.
You can complain about E* all you want, but when you actually try the alternatives, you will discover that there is no perfect service provider. There are trade-offs with every option.