Rating: 
Summary: Could not connect to server.
Review: The 5000 series I got, would not connect to the server. I keep getting a "No answer" message. After many attempts and long waits on hold (Two hours!), tech support was not able to resolve the problem. The Web site did have directions for getting a new list of phone numbers. However, the Replay OS was not compatible with the Web sites directions. I ended up returning the unit. Amazon made this easy. Thank you Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolute worst customer service
Review: This is the first time I have been inclined to share my opinion of a product. My 5000 series replay TV is great in concept, but......The main problem is with the lack of customer service. The first time I had to call was in the evening. After staying on hold over 15 minutes I checked the website which informed me that customer service was closed after five. You would think the recording could mention that. The other times, my unit, which is run through our computer network would display messages claiming it was not activated. When I would go online to activate it again, it would say the unit is activated. I then was on hold two different times for over an hour and finally give up. The machine fixed itself the next day. This happened again today, we had been out of town. Replay TV was suppose to record a bunch of movies. We have been back 24 hours and cannot get the darn thing to work. It claims it cannot confirm it is activated. I called the activation number and after staying on hold for 1/2 hour, the gentlemen informed me that my unit was activated and that it was a technical problem and he could not transfer me. I asked if perhaps their server was down and he didn't know. I have no idea if it recorded anything or not. For something that claims to make your life easier it has taken over in a very negative way. I have spent hours trying to track down the source of its problems. When it is working it is great. The remote functions are very slow, but I was getting used to it. I understand that they may be very busy activating new customers after the holidays, but if there are problems they should post it on the website.
Rating: 
Summary: You will change the way you watch broadcast entertainment
Review: After owning ReplayTV 3020 and Showstopper 2020, I finally upgraded to the 5000 series from ReplayTV. For the newbies:
1) great to record broadcast shows; don't have to watch it live which does not make a difference due to work and personal schedules.
2) easy to set up and it automatically keep up with the TV shows with a nightly download of "TV guide" or "Channel guide"
3) a bit noisy because of the fan; may be an issue in the bedroom.
4) 40 hour unit is only for standard recording which is degraded. However, for TV shows this is fine for most.
5) record 2 or 3 episodes easily.
6) commercial skip is bad for advertisers, but heavenly for couch potatoes.
7) very slow channel surfing probably due to buffering so that one can do "replay!" For the more experienced:
1) great inputs (2X analog)
2) outputs to preamp/processor (audio digital out)
3) Progressive output (1X)
4) Ethernet connection is so much better than modem
5) buy a wireless bridge if you have a wireless setup
recommendation: Linksys WET11
6) normal wired eithernet is fine too
7) still hate the connection fee, but it is better than ReplayTV going out of business.
8) sharing shows between the 5000 series is the way to keep the disk space somewhat under controlled.
9) have not tried the photos function Good luck and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating at first, but now I love it
Review: I had a difficult time getting everything hooked up correctly. Some of the instructions on the quick set-up guide were not accurate (especially concerning hooking up through a stereo receiver). Also, a day after I had it working properly in the middle of the day it stopped receiving video signals, even though I hadn't changed anything. I unhooked everything, started from scratch and now it works great. Channel surfing is difficult as others have said, but the channel guide makes surfing not really necessary. It is so easy to quickly see what is on other channels. (and it's much better than the guide on our digital cable) The main problem with this is if you're flipping back and forth between two programs (for instance football games on New year's Day). It takes anywhere from 5-10 seconds to change channels. Also, I haven't been able to get the myreplaytv.com functionality to work. I can see the shows that I have recorded (although it seems to be two days behind) but it doesn't display the channel guide. So I can't schedule recordings online like they say. I'm hoping this is something that will be fixed soon. (update: this has now been fixed and works fine) But, despite all that there are many many reasons why this is a great product. Easily finding programs you want to record, pausing live-tv (you use this more than you might imagine), instant-replay functions--all of these are great features. Also, since we have a cable box we were never before able to set the timer on the VCR to record shows that were on different channels. The IR blaster that comes with ReplayTV solves that problem. So...despite some minor issues I would highly recommend ReplayTV.
Rating:
Summary: Tivo is a better choice
Review: SonicBlue sells a lot of promises with their boxes. Few of the claimed features actually work well enough to use. Do yourself some Googling of usenet posts before wasting your cash. These boxes crash way too often to be considered a household entertainment appliance. The show trading gimmick isn't a new Napster. Once you get a show from your friend, you can't send it on. This is a limit adopted by Replay for their Hollywood buddies.
Rating:
Summary: unuseable product/worst customer service
Review: We looked forward anxiously to set up and activate our Replay TV, but after hours of trying to reach customer support, and another hour and a half with support personel we are completely disillusioned with this product. The customer support is from a service center in India, the wait times to get to a support person are forever (1 hr plus), then the support is extremely uneven--some know the product, others are constanly having to check with someone or a manual to work through even basic issues. Channels are slow to change, our device is locked and only able to view one channel, no one can help remedy this. We're frustrated and furious to waste so much time and plan to return ASAP.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product_Great Support !
Review: The ease of use! I talked to customer support ! I was so excited about my latest replay experience, I had to call and Thank them!
I had so many messages to write the last week or so. But , My New Replay 5040 recorded all the Dukes Of Hazzard's Christmas Specials ! Happy Holidays !
Rating:
Summary: So far we are happy
Review: I purchased the ReplayTV 5160 when it first came out and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I received it. So far we are very happy with it. I chose the ReplayTV over the Tivo because of the broadband support. I had previously made the decision to not buy any DVR until it had broadband support. I already had a cable modem connection in my house with a Linksys Etherfast Cable Router. I also work in the computer field and have connected many different computers to the internet via both static and dynamic IP addresses. It took me about 30 minutes to get the ReplayTV all connected. I didn't time it, but with broadband support it took around 10 minutes to get the operating system update and download the latest guide and channels. I would imagine with a regular phone dial-up connection it would take a very long time to get the updates. If a person is not very computer literate they may get very frustrated trying to set up the ReplayTV if it doesn't work right the first time. My suggestion is to find a friend who understands modems, routers and IP addresses. The fact is that ReplayTV is just a computer with a large hard disk that compresses broadcasts real-time and stores them on the disk. So here are the good, the bad and the so-so. The good is what everyone else raves about: watch shows when you want without commercials. I was just getting into the N.E.versus Miami football game when I had to leave for a lunch meeting. I just hit the record button and watched the overtime when I got home. I also watched a Laker game in just over an hour that would have been 2-plus hours if I had been sitting thru the game live. We've also used it to record favorite shows. I had no problems purchasing the activation. The bad is that the channel changing is very slow, as others have mentioned. Someone suggested it was the IR blaster. I'm not sure that is right. An interesting test is to change the channel of the cable (or dish) box with your cable remote while the ReplayTV is on. The channel changes just as slow. This tells me that the cable box is changing quickly and there must be some kind of setup time (delay) in the ReplayTV when the channel changes. I think it starts recording right away or something. Not sure exactly what is wrong but it is annoying. I end up turning the ReplayTV off if I'm channel hopping. The other bad is that it seems like you have to agree to their very long licensing agreement about a zillion times (okay only a few times but it does seem repetitive). Once you set up the box, do the on-line registration and do the activation you will know what I'm talking about. The so-so is the channel guide and the web sites. The channel guide shows all the programs and has a good amount of information about the shows. However, it takes up most of the screen so you can't check out the guide while watching a show and it is a bit sluggish moving from show to show. The cable guide that we get with Time Warner feels much more responsive. As for the replaytv.com web site I didn't need support so I'm not sure how good (or bad) it is. However, their FAQs are very limited. I would have expected more. The MyReplayTV.com is a good idea but it appears to download the information to the box at night and not right away. Which means you can't tell it to record a show that will be on that same evening. MyReplayTV.com is also kind of a sluggish site. Even with the bad and the so-so, ReplayTV does what I expected and wanted it to do which is why I gave it 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: You'll never watch tv the same way again! It's true!
Review: Nothing but positives! Love mine. Just got my 3rd. Never had a problem with tech support. Picture quality is as perfect as my incoming digital cable signal! Highly recommended! Once you get one you'll fell lost without it!
Rating:
Summary: Best Thing For TV Since TV
Review: This unit has changed TV entirely. For years, I've felt that satelitte & cable TV was over-priced for the value I recieved. Time and time again, shows I wanted to watch were on at simply inconvienent times...especially the premimum channels. Now I can watch anything at anytime.
I like the ReplayTV over the Tivo for a few reasons. First, ReplayTV has a great commercial skip feature. There is also a 30 second fast forward function, which comes in convenient as well. They have built in ethernet/broadband networking to share shows with other units. In fact, I am getting a second unit for my house to share shows between the two of them.
I would recommend this unit to everyone. It makes satellite TV soooo worth it!
| 
