ReplayTV - who's got it?

ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Just saw that my local Costco is carrying the Replay TV 4580 for $250 minus a $50 rebate.

I've been interested in these units for a while, but still haven't jumped. I read scary tales of no support for these units. Tivo seems to do a better job. Any other reasons that Tivo would be better than Replay? I sure like the unique commercial skip of the Replay.

Mostly I get around the problem of not having one of these by simply not watching TV. So maybe its best that I don't go spend the money I don't even have...

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Don't know about Replay but my Tivo (DirectTivo) works great. Once you get a PVR you won't be able to live without it. Especially if you have children.

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

What the heck, are you reading my mind? I have been looking in to them also, I just wish I could use one in person. None of the stores around here have them yet. Let us know if you find anything out, or better yet buy one and let me know

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Darell..Strongly suggest that you check out the 30 hour Tivo (stand alone-no Directv) units offered on eBay.

I think you'll like the Tivo service much better than the Replay. It seems much more intuitive than the Replay units that my friends have. Replay has also agreed to "disclosure" to third parties on your recording choices-where Tivo has NOT..-can you say..."privacy"...

Also, while the scanning through commercials isn't quite as fast as the replay, I think you'll appreciate the special effects: (slo-mo/fwd/rev.scan speeds/freeze etc.) that Replay does not offer. Also, I've noticed that monthly Replay service is no longer free of charge.

p.s.-what I did and I recommend that you do, is to get your unit with the prepaid lifetime service..-for NO monthly service charges. Several eBay offerings will include that for very little extra!! (Do an eBay search on "Tivo Lifetime")-you will usually find 4 or 5 sellers that will include that important benefit.

As always, DO double-check the sellers eBay ratings.

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

I've been using Tivo & Dishnetwork's PVRs for years now and you will definately love them. Tivo works the best from what I have seen and heard.

If you want to find more info on PVRs, look in the AVS Forum and DBSForums

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

LOL, guys. Thee is little enough on that interests me. So, on those rare occasions when I am going to be too tire to stay up and watch something, I program my VHS VCR. I always use the SLP mode for 6 hours per cassette.

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Hey Darell. Merri and I just upgraded our 3 year old tivo to the Direct TV/Tivo unit. We did look at the replay units but they just didn't match up.

The directivo unit:

Hughes/Direct TV/ Tivo
Dual tuners
35gb drive
5.1 digital out
new rev2 tivo with faster processor, USB, future upgradability

Advantages:

1. Because it is has the sat tuners built in, there is no analogue to digital conversion inside the unit. The digital signal comes off the satellite and is directly recorded to the hard disk so it is quick and crisp.

2. Dual tuners. Wow. I have been stuck with a single tuner on my tivo for too long! Merri likes her animal programs and I like my Scifi. Too often the networks would put all the good programs on the same night in the same time slot and we would have to watch one live while recording the other. Dual tuners is also cool when channel surfing. You know, watching a movie and during the commercial breaks checking out the wings channel. It auto buffers the last two channels keyed in.

3. Rev2 Tivo. It is noticably faster flipping through the screens. It also has 2 USB ports on the back and they say they are going to add software upgrades this year for broadband, games, photo albums, mp3s, etc. The rev2 is also slimmer and now I can fit all of my entertainment equipment in side my console. Neat.

4. Cost. Not only is the directivo unit the best DVR on the market, period. But because of the directv subsidy, it is also the least expensive. Cost of toys is an important factor now with all spare funds going to the business. With the $50 rebate going on now, we got our unit for $200 at best buy. The sat install was $70 for both LNBs. The sat service is less than what our cable used to be (for more channels including 6 local channels, crisper pic/sound quality and no clunky/slow digital cable box) and even the tivo service is now cheaper (4.95 versus 12.95/month) on satellite. Wow, not only did we save money up front and monthly, but we got dual tuners!

Like I said, I looked at the replay units. They were quite a bit more expensive and I would have to buy two and network them together to get 2 tuners, but I don't think it would be as crisp as the Directivo unit which has everything built in. The only interesting feature I saw with the replay unit was the auto-commerical edit feature, but that would only save me a few minutes per program since we are pretty fast with the clicker. ALso, that one feature did not outway all the advantages of the directivo unit.

If you watch more than 1 or 2 hours of TV a week, I recommmend a DVR. Merri and I save 10-15 minutes for every hour of TV we watch. We don't miss programs and we don't have to fuss with a VCR (got rid of the relic anyways). Once you get a DVR, you will wonder why other things in the world don't have a pause and rewind button.

Peter Gransee

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Wow! Great info, as always here. I've gotta run, but I'll be back later to sift through all of this. Sure sounds like Tivo is winning this battle! If ONLY they'd incorporate a good commercial skip!

Off to play EV driver.

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Originally posted by darell:
Wow! Great info, as always here. I've gotta run, but I'll be back later to sift through all of this. Sure sounds like Tivo is winning this battle! If ONLY they'd incorporate a good commercial skip!

Off to play EV driver.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I don't know about the rev2 Tivo's selling know (They would know on the forums I listed above) but my 1st gen DirecTivo uses a hack code so you can set it to skip ahead 30 seconds every time you press the button. So pressing it a few times gets you past the commercials pretty fast, like a couple seconds fast. I actually don't use this code anymore. I use the standard comercial skipping "feature". The way it works is pretty ingenious. When a comercial starts, you select FF at max speed, you can see the commercials fly by (in about 3-5 seconds) at roughly 60x. When you see your program has started back up you press play and it automatically starts playback "back" about 20 seconds or so, putting you at the very end of the last commercial. It's called overshoot protection. It's smart enough to realize you've pressed the play button too late so it compensates.

Tivo also puts "tick" marks every 15 minutes into a recorded or recording program so you can automatically jump to those points by the touch of a button. (Similar to chapters on a DVD)

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

So the ReplayTV units are ethernet connectable - which means you can program them remotely via a web page. Anything like that on the Tivo? I travel out of town so much - and realize there is one show I'd like not to miss. Right now I call and bug a neighbor to record it for me. Be much nicer for me to be able to do it myself.

I have no intention of adding satelite to my system, if that makes any difference in the price.

I STILL haven't had time to actually research and follow all these links yet, but I sure do appreciate all the effort here. Every time I ask a weird question like this, I'm reminded what a great community we have here!

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

My VCR (Sony, which TiVo is distantly related to) has that overshoot/ad skip feature too...it's *Nice*
After awhile you get to the point where you can time the button just right so that it rewinds back to the very very very very very end of the last commercial.

Ted--DLP is good stuff, for those of you who don't know DLP projectors use thousands (Or more, lots anyway) of tiny itty bitty mirrors that bend light instead of an LCD. Makes for a brighter, more responsive image.

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Originally posted by Gransee:
It also has 2 USB ports on the back and they say they are going to add software upgrades this year for broadband, games, photo albums, mp3s, etc.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Just what do the USB ports allow you to do? Are they 2.0 USB by chance? Is that where internet connect will be made?

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

yeah, Tivo has been on my mind lately too..thanks for the info..I am aware of a Philips version of Tivo, for $300 it has a DTV receiver, Tivo, and a DVD and mp3 player...

also eyeing (not buying) a DLP (Direct Light Projector ?) called a "Piano" -- forgot manufacturer -- for around $3K...a small box that projects a large digital quality image on a wall..these things used t'be $14,000!..

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Here's the TV skip hack!

Re: ReplayTV - who\'s got it?

Well, after all this time, I find myself with a ReplayTV 4500 in my system. Free too!

A friend bought it since he has two TVs that he wants to "connect" but he has to run the Cat5 cable first. So until he does that, he has an extra. I'm borrow it.

Lots of fun. I'm spending less time in front of the TV and watching more of what I want to see. That's how its supposed to work, I guess. The "connected" aspect of the system is flawless and totally plug-and-play. I have a 40-hr unit, and need more space since I can't stand watching anything recorded on "standard" quality.

The only trouble I'm having is the compromise in the quality of the signal. It might be the cheap interconnects that I'm using, but for now I'm blaming the unit. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I'll try some better cables when I get a chance.

I realize that most folks were talking up TiVo here, but this one fell into my lap for a while. I can tell that when it goes away, I'll have to do some shopping. There seem to be some deals to be had on the used market (both of the units my friend bought were used, and were about half price of new units).