1). No you don't have to pay 199 every time you deactivate and activate it's just one time
2). No one at a time moreover you can record one channel and watch another from the same tp
3). Yes rewind pause and live tv is available on all subscribed channels and you can not rewind pause if you are watching one channel and recording another
4). No you can use the black remote I'll post the shortcuts later
But one most common is the red butting to start a new recording
5). Mostly no hangs as I have used the 45 id for 1 month and it's super fast