DVRs are likely to be more troublesome because of the moving parts and extra heat generated. All the same, mine have been quite reliable but you can only expect so many years of use.
I can't imagine watching a show, then 5 or 6 commercials, then back to the show. ESPECIALLY since most commercials are pushing products that have no relation to me. If commercial skipping went away tomorrow, I have a lot of movies on discs and a library with plenty of books. I won't go back to the bad old days of being held hostage by the network advertisers.