Rating: 
Summary: ReplayTV RTV5504
Review: I purchased two Replay TV RTV5504 recorders because they were LAN ready and I have regretted it since. With a lot of hassle and time on hold (they did away with there 800 number), I've managed to get my unit replaced 5 TIMES. My first unit failed in about two weeks, three of the replacements they sent did not work right out of the box, two of them worked for about a week. Based solely on my personal experience I recommend that one NEVER BUY FROM REPLAYTV.
Rating: 
Summary: Totally Changes TV Viewing Habits
Review: I travel a lot, and the ReplayTV allows me to catch a lot of shows I would otherwise miss. The fact that I can specify shows to record via a web-based interface (my.replaytv.com) lets me come home to shows I neglected to specify before I left.
Problems with my cable modem router (MAC address filtering) caused a glitch in the initial setup of the unit, but once that was resolved everything worked as expected. The unit is so easy to use that the manual is almost unnecessary.
Finally, the ability to archive shows to my PC without hacking the unit is a tremendous plus. I'm very pleased . . . In fact, I'm ordering another for my in-laws!
Rating:
Summary: Quality DVR.
Review: I went for the Replay over Tivo, and have been very happy with my decision, while I think they are quite equal in many ways. Although i must admit, if i were currently in the market for a DVR, i would go with the DVR available through my cable company (although the Replay offers more storage, at less cost now that service is included)!
Rating:
Summary: Never watch commercials again
Review: I've had my ReplayTV for over a year so I think I can give you a good review of it. When I told my wife I wanted to get one she thought it was just another toy but once she saw everything it could do she was hooked. I don't watch a lot of TV but for the shows I like I just record them on the Replay and watch them whenever I have time. My unit will automatically skip 95% of the commercials and for the few that it misses you just hit the 30 second skip button and it jumps right through them. One of the features that I think is the greatest and I didn't see it mentioned much is the fact that if you hook it up to your home network you can get on your PC and go to a website called www.poopli.com and surf through all the shows that other ReplayTV users have shared on their ReplayTV's and when you find a show that maybe you forgot to record or just looks interesting you can request them to send it to your ReplayTV. Then the next time you turn on your ReplayTV you'll see a message that someone is sending you a show and you just have to accept it for the transfer to begin. I know Tivo users only dream about a feature like this one. It's great when I do watch live TV that I can pause and rewind shows for those times when I get a phone call or anything and I don't want to miss anything. When you take a one hour show and strip out the commercials it ends up only being about 40 minutes which is great when you just don't have a lot of time to sit around and watch boring commercials. You can connect your VCR to the ReplayTV and transfer all your tapes to the ReplayTV and then copy them from the ReplayTV to your PC and edit them or just burn them to a DVD so your home movies will last forever in digital format. The 40 hour model is pretty cheap and you can always upgrade the hard drive later or just move the shows to your PC to save space on the ReplayTV. As long as you have your PC turned on and the software running you can play the recorded shows on your PC right to your TV by selecting your PC from the onscreen menu on the ReplayTV. My wife says this is the best toy I ever bought.
Rating: 
Summary: Life changing concept, not ready for prime time
Review: I've had my ReplayTV for two months. The concept is fantastic, and indeed, my TV experience has improved a lot because I'm watching things when I want to and have discovered a litany of great biographies and discovery channel shows. There are some neat features and some frustrating aspects (like the remote, the noise). If I were to do this again, I would seriously look at newer the TiVo products. What's cool:
The ReplayTV unit has built in USB and Ethernet ports. I just connected it to my home LAN and it worked from the onset.
Lots of space inside for a second drive, and it's pretty easy to swap the 40Gb with a 200Gb, thus increasing programming time by 4x. I'll deny any knowledge of having 67 high quality proogramming hours until my warranty expires. :0)
"Zones" guide separates programs up into 12 major categories, over 100 sub-genres. You can set up recording of "zones" (e.g., twisted cynical comedies) or programs. There's basic queue management to ensure your child's animated cartoons don't bump all of the Simpsons episodes (and vice versa).
ReplayTV unit supports multiple inputs, including recording of DVD and VCR content. One side effect is all programming is buffered, thus playing your DVD through the ReplayTV (which I do only because my TV is limited on its inputs) is buffered. On the other hand, this allows me to quickly jog back for a scene. What's disappointing:
The remote has a small cone of reception. What this means is you have to be directly in front of the ReplayTV unit, aiming the remote at the center, for it to register. This makes the remote frustrating.
The commercial skip option is no longer available. ReplayTV caved into pressure. Quick skip works fine for the first two tries, but if you have a block of 3 minutes, it can get confused, especially with the finicky remote (see above).
It's noisy. The hard drive runs *all the time*, even when the unit isn't being used. Since it's in a TV cabinet, I can close the door to filter out the sound. Ideally, it should spin down when not being used.
Support has been frustrating -- I'm able to get a human relatively easily, but each time I have to re-explain my problem with the unit not downloading its software update. The analyst gets stumped, says I should get a call back. This has repeated a few times. Twice, I've been instructed to factory reset the device, losing all of my settings. Features I haven't used:
Multi-unit -- the ReplayTV supports sharing programs among networked units. This sounds pretty cool, though I only have one TV set.
Photographs -- Some of the original disk partition can be allocated to storing digital photos. This isn't particularly useful to me since I have my own website, but maybe for a quick TV-based display, this would be fun.
Rating:
Summary: Change the way you watch television, forever!
Review: It's entirely possible that you're considering the ReplayTV unit simply as a VCR replacement, something to record "the game" when you're gone without the hassle of tapes. As you discover the Replay's incredible functionality, you soon find yourself watching everything from your Replay unit, as every show is available whenever you want it, without the hassle of commercials.
Essentially, the Replay can smartly record whatever show you want, whenever you want it. Every episode of the Simpsons can be recorded whenever it appears at whatever time you want it with two button presses. No longer do you have to trudge through channels, looking for something good, only to realize the episode is a repeat. You set the Replay to record only your most favorite shows, you come home and watch the Replay when you normally watch television, and bammo, you see only your favorite episodes, sans commericals. It's a miracle.
Two main questions people ask: "Tivo vs. Replay" and "What size is best for me. Tivo and Replay are nearly identical. Both let you record shows smartly, both let you pause live TV and fast forward. I prefer the replay because it has a less fluffy interface that gets the job done. Additionally, the Replay remote sports a handy "30 second skip" button in addition to the fast forward buttons, allowing you to conveniently jump through a commerical at a time, as opposed to the Tivo method, fast forwarding through the commericals. (The difference is like skipping over pebbles or running through a lake) This model (along with the other Replay units) feature a "Segment-advance" option, a single click will skip ALL of the commercials between your show. Tivo will record shows similiar to the ones you watch, Replay does not. (Something fluffy I didn't need)
As for size? 40 hours may seem like a lot now, but it's really not. My advice is to buy the 40 hour unit, and then upgrade later to a larger hard drive. Upgrading is a simple process, get any standard ATA hard drive, unplug the Replay drive, plug both into a computer and transfer the data using a free utility, plug the new drive into the Replay and it's all good. (It's much cheaper this way)
Rating:
Summary: Beats the competition, bar none!
Review: Rarely do I say that one product is superior to another. ReplayTV is by far the best DVR that's available in the market.
When deciding to purchase this, I read the reviews, the comparison charts, the pros and cons. I eventually bought the ReplayTV because it had many of the extras as standard that would have cost an additional $50+ if I bought a Tivo.
The on-board Ethernet port was the deciding factor for me. Having only one television in my apartment, I found it important to be able to view shows in my own room on my computer. The ethernet port allows for it to be hooked up onto your internal network. With the use of software, not only can I download and stream shows onto my computer, but I can also ARCHIVE shows on my computer's hard drive, and then stream them BACK to the replayTV! This is great for Simpsons fans, or whatever, because you can play shows you haven't watched for weeks!
This feature allows for virtually unlimited storage. You can use the software to download and delete shows off your ReplayTV every night. No need to open the DVR and void your warrenty! Simply copy the shows over, and have space to record more shows.
Another reason I went with the ReplayTV was that I did not want my DVR to record things I don't want to watch. Personally, I don't want a machine telling me what I might like or might not like. It may be right and it may be accurate, but please, let me be the judge. I like the control that replayTV offers.
Also, this model comes progressive output, which is a must-have for HDTVs.
Finally, price. Tivo has become a household brand. They are even losing their brand-name like "Kleenex" and "Google". When people talk about any DVR, it usually comes out as "Tivo". Brand-name has a cost, and it is definately not worth it. Spend far less with a ReplayTV. With the mail-in rebate, it's even cheaper.
Subscription price is the same, no matter who you go with.
Watch TV, on your terms! Buy the ReplayTV!
Rating:
Summary: Better than Tivo, but not as good as previous ReplayTVs
Review: ReplayTV is great and has features that Tivo does not. But be careful -- many of the reviews refer to Commercial Advance (automatically skipping commercials) and Internet Video Sharing (ability to sent recorded programs to others via the internet) which are not available on current the 55XX series (5504, 5508, etc.). These features, and great features they are, are only available on the otherwise identical 50XX series units (5040, 5080, etc.). Commercial Advance and Internet Video Sharing are also available on the 45XX series units (4504, 4508, etc.).
Rating:
Summary: Deceptive Advertising - 3 yr service not included
Review: The sale price in the add is 299.97 The features listed in the ad include "Pre-activated, with no service fee for 3 years; after 3 years, just $.99 per month ." However, after placing the order through Amazon.com, I received an e-mail from Circuit City informing me that as of Dec 17th (coincidently the same day I made my purchase) the 3 year service fee is no longer included. Instead there would be either a 299.99 fee for the lifetime of the unit, or a 12.95 per month charge. I called Circuit City and was told that the ad was in error, and is the result of a change in ReplayTV policy. Therefore the difference represented in the ad between the list price and the selling price is basically the cost of the 3 yr service subscription. "You Save" 0.00
Rating:
Summary: Piece of Junk!
Review: This product worked ok when it worked. I found it to be a touchy piece that could not be relied upon. It has now died completely, after a total usa of 4 months. The warranty is 3 months, so they will fix it for $79.95. I might as well buy a new one.
Actually Comcast sells an integrated cable tuner and DVR and that is how I am going.
I would not buy one of these, or recommend one...to a friend anyway.
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