Rating: 
Summary: Your comparison of TiVo and RePlayTv misses important points
Review: Your comparison of TiVo and RePlayTv misses important points:1) With TiVo you have to pay for the program guide service, with RePlayTv you do not. 2) TiVo is limited in how long you can freeze/pause a live broadcast, with ReplayTV it is only limited by disk capacity. I really can't understand how a "web" company would do a comparison that is just a long bunch of text. No "quick glance" feature comparison table or chart??? Who has time, or desire to read a novel to just compare two products!!!!! On top of that, you missed two of the most important comparison features, but had a whole block of text on the difference between the spacing of the buttons on the remote control!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great Features - Poor Video Quality
Review: I bought this unit a little more than a week ago. After comparing it with similar TIVO units, I decided to go with the Showstopper. While the unit operated perfectly well, I have to point out some problems with the picture quality. I have a 53' TV and ran a splitter in order to watch one program while recording another. I can turn both the TV and the unit to the same channel and switch back and forth and the picture deteriorates when viewing through the unit. The colors are even different (less vivid) when viewing through the unit even though the settings are the same. I have tried switching cables and even running the cable from the wall directly into the unit and the problem still persists. The problem probably is not bad enough to cause me to return the unit, but it is bothersome nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic product -- with a few very small caveats
Review: I have been a huge fan of ReplayTV since I bought my 20-hour unit acouple of years ago. Before I list off pros and cons, I want tostress just how much this changes TV for you and your family.Essentially, you no longer need to know what time the shows you likeare on. You don't have to be home, you don't have to program a VCRand make sure the tape is at the right spot, nothing like that. Justtell the Showstopper what shows you like (by show name, or by keywordin the title, description, or actor list), and it records it for you.In fact, even if you happen to be home when a show you like is on,you'll more than likely not start watching right away. I usually findsome bills that need to be paid or start some laundry. Once the showis 15 minutes in, then I start watching (which it's still recordingthe live broadcast.) When I get to the first set of commercials, I"QuickSkip" past them with the 30 second skip button (youcan press it multiple times, or hit a number and the skip button toskip n minutes forward.) I usually catch up at about the time theshow is over. That, folks, is super-cool!What's even cooler isthat it truely changes the way you watch television. I watch TVwhenever I want. If I hang out with friends Monday-Friday evenings ina given week, but I can't sleep on Sunday at 4:00am -- guess what?"NYPD Blue" is on. And so is "The Practice". Andso are the last 2 episodes of "The Sopranos"!The threecomplaints I see most often in other reviews are:1) It doesn't have2 tuners, so I can't watch 1 show while I record another.2) Thesound sometimes gets out-of-sync with the video.3) There's no localdial-in number, so I pay big phone bills to keep the program guideup-to-date.Here is my take on those concerns: 1) It does not havetwo tuners. This is true. However, your Audio/Video setup probablyhas more than 1 tuner. There's 1 or 2 in every TV, one every VCR, andone every cable box / DSS receiver. The limitations here are real,but many can be worked around. The one thing that you cannot easilydo is record something while watching something else that is scrambled(i.e. by your cable company or over a DSS dish.) If you want to dothat, you need an additional cable box or DSS receiver. Butotherwise, you can watch one show while recording another with noproblems. Just tune through another device. Replay tech support hasbeen very well trained in my limited experience with them.2) Thereare two possibilities here: There was a bug in an old release of thesoftware (called Replay 2.0) in which this could happen. You couldhave resolved the problem by pressing the pause button on the remote.But that bug was fixed a long time ago, so if it's still happening,then you probably have your receiver playing the audio from your cablebox or vcr instead of the Showstopper. There is a 2-3 second delayfrom the live broadcast during which the Showstopper is buffering andrecording. That's a user error. If you listen to the audio from theShowstopper, it does not get out-of-sync.3) Odds are that you willhave a local number, but it's certainly not guaranteed. In myopinion, you'd be foolish to lay out this kind of cash withoutverifying that a local number is available.Other notes I'd add: --There is a new feature called that allows you toschedule recordings via the web. Those recording requests getdownloaded to your machine the next evening, so if you're on vacationand forget to record something, hop onto the web.
Rating: 
Summary: No local access number available
Review: I was given this item for X-Mas but I did not get around to setting it up until mid-February. During setup, to my disappointment, I discovered that there was no local access number for my area. I called Panasonic product support who told me that there may be a local access number available in 3-6 weeks. The recorder is still sitting around unused. So, if you are planning to purchase this item, you may want to check into this matter of a local access number especially if you are living in a rural area.
Rating:
Summary: Poor customer service -unknown costs
Review: The basic concept of the unit is not bad BUT; they don't tell you that the daily dial-in service costs can be very expensive if they don't provide you a local phone number. To minimize my costs Panasonic customer service said to unplug the phone and only plug it in once a week - right. Also you can't program the remote to control the volume on your A/V reciever so you have to use two remotes. And its been 3 months since I applied for my rebate and of course know one live will talk to me about it. Try tivo maybe they have it together.
Rating:
Summary: This is a very good product, though...
Review: ReplayTV or Tivo. You may be thinking about it.If you want to see closed-caption to enjoy watching movies, get a Tivo. I could not make my ReplayTV work to display closed-caption and that was the only reason I exchanged my ReplayTV (Panasonic) for a Tivo (Sony). For non-native English speakers like me, it would be a very important difference. However, for other capabilities, I liked ReplayTV more. It has two RCA inputs, much better program search function, faster program database import, more functional (a little bit confusing, though... :) remote control, etc. Tivo's software may be more eye-catching than ReplayTV's and better for novice users (Tivo's IR setting is actually better than ReplayTV's) but not powerful as ReplayTV. Again, if you need closed-caption, get a Tivo. Otherwise, get a ReplayTV.
Rating:
Summary: A nice device
Review: The PV-HS 3000 is a nice device but it is not perfect. The pluses are that the extended recording mode is at least as good as you get using a VCR. That was something that I found a pleasant surprise because I expected to have to use a higher resolution. The software downloads is a great feature because it enables the manufacturer to upgrade the unit's options without having to buy a new device. The unit's rewind and fast-forward are amazing. Version 3 of the software lets you record by date and time. A must feature if Replay ever abandons the service. They also added a feature where you can add recording time to the program to allow for a sports or political event that may run over its allotted time. The major minus is the setup. My goal when I bought the unit was to hook it up to my cable box and a direct cable feed. Since most of the programs I record are available without decoding, I thought that I could record without tying up my cable box. They do document several possible combinations involving a HS-3000, cable box, A/V receiver, and satellite. They neglect to go into any detail about cable box and a direct cable feed. I think this is because this combination does not work at all at least not with my cable. Panasonic says that my problem is that the channel guide cannot distinguish between the direct feed and the cable box since the channel lineups are the same, which I guess is true because separately they work just fine. Together they are a mess even if you select the input that you hope the channel guide will select from. If you want to use this setup, here are my suggestions physically set up both connections. When you are doing the onscreen setup, do the direct feed first. Then on those occasions when you want to record a scrambled program add the onscreen setup for the cable box (line1 or line2). After the program is recorded, you will need to go back into the onscreen setup and set the cable box back to 'nothing'. A 'duh' minus thing that they do not document is that the cable box must be ON to record a program with it. You can do this two ways. One is just to leave it on or set the cable box's VCR timer. The unit will not turn on the cable box when it begins recording. This is kind of a hassle with the cable box. This is not a problem with the direct feed. Don't waste money buying a telephone line splitter. One is included with the unit. However, if you plan on an S-video hookup between the unit and your TV plus another one between the cable box and the unit, you will need to buy an extra set of audio cables and S-video. This is the option that I chose and I am very happy with it. If anyone has an answer to my dilemma with the cable box and direct feed setup, let me know at scottshiv@hotmail.com. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Product, Easy to Use
Review: Wow! The first time I see something that was designed well from the perspective of good and intuitive user interface. Easy setup, excellent video quality, works with my Diret TV just fine. Why would anyone buy Tivo and pay 9.95 a month?
Rating:
Summary: The only way to watch TV
Review: I love this machine! It is a breeze to set up (as easy as a VCR) and simple to use. It allows me to find and watch the stuff I really want to watch on TV and avoid the rest. I can watch what I want when I want to. I love being able to just skip through commercials. I've had to call customer service and found that they were very helpful and knowledgeable about the product. Since it can be upgraded via software downloaded during the nightly channel listing call, new features can be added fairly easily. I was delighted to find that one suggestion I made for improvement was included in the software upgrade three months later! If you enjoy television, but are frustrated with having to watch it on some network's terms, try this. It really is TV on your terms.
Rating:
Summary: The Best way to watch TV Ever!
Review: I went and bought this looking for the option to record shows that I always miss when I am at work (I really like Anime, for example) and I can give the box certian settings, be that Cartoons, or a specific Show and It can find every time the show is on and record it for me and I can watch it ANYTIME I want to, not having to worry about remembering to watch the show and set the VCR to record the next time I want to see a show (which I had missed just because I forgot to push a button). I don't have to worry about this anymore, I can tell the Showstopper to look for "Music Videos" and I can come home and have a Music Video Channel anytime I want (without having to pay extra for a channel like that). The Replay Zones sometimes come in handy when you would like suggestions for Movies or Shows to watch, but I have not found myself using it that much. But the option to record any shows/movies with a certian actor/actress in it has really come in handy! I love being able to find a program I just saw a commercial for and browse the guide (up to a week) and set the box to record it and get to watch it whenever I want. I have found the 'Extended' Mode is fine for pretty much anything you want to watch, but sometimes Fast Animation can get a little 'blocky'. Most of the time, you can use 'Extended', but you can set it for 'Medium' and it looks a little better. It is best to test with the different recording settings since everyone has their own tastes, I personally haven't ever used 'high' (it takes up too much space). Following the Instructions, I was up and running within 10-15 min. The Clock is Very precise, which can be annoying since some stations have different time and shows can be a little off, but 97% of the time, the show will get recorded in its entirity. Replay (the backbone of this unit) will be addding more features this fall such as adding a 'buffer' (extra recording time) for sports, etc, options to record more specific portions of a program, (weather forcast in a newscast) and the option to set your box to record using your internet connection (realize you want to see "Monday night football" but you have to work late, etc). If you can spend the Money, it is a great Device to get since it HELPS you find shows you want to see and not having to Mess with anymore tapes. I would HIGHLY reccommend this to ANYONE who has missed shows since they forgot to press the record button! (I would reccommend to get the version with the largest recording time possible, you will find yourself using it ALOT!) (One Note: If you are using an RF/Coax for your cable, you will need to get a splitter if you want to be able to watch a different show than you are recording, but it's no big deal (about $5 at any local electronics store).
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