Rating: 
Summary: what tv should be like for everyone
Review: We've had our unit well over a year. Two weeks ago part of the software froze up, and, since it was out of warranty, I called in to see how much it would cost to get it fixed. They said, send it in and we'll send you back a new one -- we want you to be a happy customer. I sure am happy, a new unit just came back today (free!) and prompted me to write this review.I did a lot of research originally to choose between the tivo based systems and the replay based systems. Replay wins on features and user-friendliness (it is impossible to overestimate the value of the commercial skip button on this unit, compared to fast forwarding). When we first got this, my wife was very skeptical (to say the least), but now she makes sure it records all her favorites. We also use it to keep a couple of current kids' shows so they can watch only things we approve. It records daily news shows for me (I like the BBC world news, but it's on when I'm at work), movies, etc. etc. We also keep some very broad search criteria going for custom channels, which frequently find interesting stuff that we would never have looked for otherwise. I have come to strongly dislike watching live tv because you can't skip the boring parts, can't review the interesting parts, and all those ads! I had forgotten how spoiled I really was by this thing until I had to do without it for a couple weeks. On the point of video quality, it really does record 30 hours and the "normal" (low) quality setting is just fine for most everything you will want to watch. Occasionally there will be a something that you want to transfer to keep permanently, or a movie with something special, so use the high quality setting for that rare show. The search engine works really well. It takes about 30-40 minutes to set up the first time for a bunch of custom show search channels, but then requires less than 5 minutes a month to maintain all your search parameters and keep your recording preferences current. This is what tv should be like for everyone, and I'll be a repeat customer for certain.
Rating:
Summary: This is how TV should be!
Review: This is the best gizmo I've ever bought in my life... of all the fancy bells-n-whistles types of toys I buy, this one has proven to be the most useful and enjoyable. After you have ReplayTV, you can't believe other people aren't using it... it's the way TV should be... for everyone. I had originally intended on getting TiVo because the box and the remote looked cooler and the set was just a pinch cheaper... but you have to pay $9.95 a month for TiVo service... all the while they're getting valuable demographic data from you for free. ReplayTV does not require any monthly payment and they offer essentially the same service, just different names for different screens, etc. What you have is a pseudo VCR that uses a high-speed hard disk to record your shows digitally... but it's much better than just that. Let's say you're watching your favorite show and the phone rings... just hit the "pause" button and pick up the phone. Sounds like a VCR... anyone can pause a tape, right? Well how about pausing live TV? That's right... you can be watching the freakin' SuperBowl and not miss a thing... you go to the bathroom when you have to go instead of holding it in while waiting on a commercial... and who wants to miss the commercials on the SuperBowl? Let's say you've got some buddies over at your house and you're watching the Olympics. You get up to get everyone some colas during a time in the show where not much is happening and you don't feel like hitting the pause button and make everyone else wait on you. While in the kitchen, you hear everyone bust out laughing uncontrollably. You come back in the room and they're holding their sides and crying from laughing so hard. You ask them what they're all laughing about. One of them is able to catch his breath and tell you it was something, "you had to see it, man!" No problem... just hit the "Instant Replay" to catch the last 10 seconds... if the commercial was 30 seconds long, just hit it 3 times. Even though you weren't recording the show, ReplayTV was buffering it for you just in case you might want to replay a portion. Neat, huh? Let's say you are recording "Stephen King's The Stand" from cable and it's recording when you come home w/ your kids. You really don't want your little ones to watch this movie, but you can pop in a DVD using an A/B switch and it keeps recording for you... very unlike a VCR... you don't lose the TV show you're recording... or let's say you also recorded a cartoon for the kids a couple of days ago... you can watch a previously recorded show on your ReplayTV while it is simultaneously recording a live show. A favorite TV show of mine from childhood was "The Banana Splits." It finished airing on TV the year I was born, but I used to watch it in re-runs when I was about 5 or so. I haven't seen it in nearly 30 years, so I went to my ReplayTV menu and did a "find shows" and using the remote, typed in the name of the show. It searched the schedule for the next week or so and couldn't find anything showing regularly, so I created a "Banana Splits" theme channel so that if ReplayTV finds a show with that title on any channel at any time EVER, it will record it. I had forgotten about my special channel a couple of months after I had set it, but ReplayTV did not forget and faithfully looked everyday until one day I came home and saw the green light on my ReplayTV, telling me that there were new shows for me to see. I looked on the menu and there were 2 episodes of my childhood favorite recorded for me! That was such a treat... and you can do the same for any show you are missing from the past. I could tell by looking at the details on the menu that both shows had been recorded after 2am on Nick at Night... a channel I don't watch too much and at a time when I'm always sleeping. God bless ReplayTV. When I come home, I don't sit through shows I don't like, waiting for my favorite show to come on... I sit down when I want to watch something and I select from the many pre-recorded shows waiting for me. I can decide to preserve an episode so I can dub it to a VHS tape later, or delete it immediately. When I want to record "60 Minutes" on a Sunday, I know that the football games will make the show run late, so I can tell ReplayTV to record an extra 22 minutes (or you pick the figure up to 99 minutes) after it normally ends, so that I don't miss anything. While I'm watching a pre-recorded TV commercial, I can hit the "quick skip" button which jumps 30 seconds forward... all commercials are 30 seconds, 1 minute or up to 2 minutes long. I can quick skip a couple of times to pass those commercials without missing a single minute of my show... this means that I can watch an episode of "Star Trek the Next Generation," which normally lasts one hour, in just 42 minutes, since I'm skipping all the commercials. ReplayTV is a time saver! I can not tell you how much I adore this appliance. I've had it for over a year now and it is fantastic. Each night it uses a built-in modem to dial a toll free number to get the latest updates to TV schedules to better enable you to find the shows you want. Don't have a phone jack near your TV? No problem... just get an RCA RC930 Wireless Modem Jack right here on Amazon.com when you order your ReplayTV... If you can afford one, it will be the best TV component you will ever buy.
Rating:
Summary: You will use more often than vhs, and dvd combined!
Review: The product is great! I use it more than I had ever imagined. It is so easy to record anything, even an entire day of Olympics. I can delete or skip over anything to see what I want with out being home to change tapes. The one thing I worry about is that Panasonic the only manufacurer using Replaytv that I've seen is discontinuing the player. At 500.00 for the player It wouldn't be cool if the service stopped. Tivo can be paid by the month, and then the player is cheaper if service is stopped your only out the months fee. If replaytv is stopped, your out a lifetime subscription as thats included in player cost.
Rating: 
Summary: Take back your life . . . watch TV on your terms!
Review: Panasonic's ReplayTV is absolutely awesome! I just went through an ordeal purchasing and then returning a dud Tivo, so I was thrilled with how easy this thing was to set-up. Definitely purchase this over a Tivo for one simple reason: ReplayTV has no monthly fee, whereas Tivo charges you 10 bucks a month or 240 for the lifetime of the unit. Here are my pros and cons thus far: Pros:
1) You can record the shows you ACTUALLY WANT TO WATCH, and fast-forward through the commercials with ease. If you work graveyard, have kids, or just save TV for the weekends, this unit will allow you to own your TV again, rather than the reverse. 2) It is easy to set-up and use. This thing is very simple to set-up. Recording is even easier. You could be braindead and still be able to record on this thing. :) 3) NO MONTHLY FEE!! You will save 120 dollars per year over buying a Tivo, so factor that into your total cost. 4) Allows you to pause live television if the phone rings, your child wakes up, etc. Whereas Tivo lets you pause for 30 minutes, this thing will pause up to the remaining memory space! (up to 10 hrs even on high-quality mode) 5) There seems to be a bit of confusion about this, but YOU CAN watch live television while you record on the unit. It has very simple instructions in the manual on how to do this. (requires a cable splitter: very cheap) Yet, this is a new technology, and it has a few downsides: Cons: 1) You cannot play copy-righted videos or DVD's through the inputs. This is important because if you try to set-up your DVD player to run through the inputs on the unit to consolidate, you will not be able to watch your DVD's. This just makes the wiring a bit more complicated. (You can get an RCA box to solve this problem) 2) You have to plug the thing into a phone jack. Yeah, I know it's necessary to download the TV schedules, but it is a pain nevertheless. Most of us don't have a phone jack right next to the TV. Panasonic suggest purchasing a wireless phone adapter which could be a solution. 3) Don't try to run your video game systems through the inputs either. There will be an annoying delay that will drive you to madness. Again, RCA box comes to the rescue. Bottom Line: Digital video recorders are an exciting new advance in technology that allows you to take over your television viewing. DVR's are a little expensive, but if you are in the market to purchase one, get this one! If you can, purchase an extended warranty too because with this technology, any repairs will get expensive. I haven't had any problems yet, but I'm not taking any chances:o)
Rating: 
Summary: No service
Review: The Showstopper (Panasonic's version of the ReplayTV) is the best device I have bought in a very long time. Like the garage door opener it became indespensible almost immediately. Having become indespensible it is now inoperable. The sets require a telephone connection to operate. The telephone connection broke down about four weeks ago and a large number of us have not been able to get the connection since then. It is almost impossible to get through to customer service and when one does get through they cannot solve the problem. Hence we have a great toy that we cannot play with.
Rating:
Summary: Best invention since the flush toilet
Review: When I first opened the box and read that I HAD to hood this thing up to the phone line I almost returned it. I was hoping I could use it like a regular VCR. You can't, and it won't work until it has dialed in and recieved the information about your local stations (and programing). I'm glad I gave it a try.
It has really changed the way my wife and I watch TV. It is so easy to search/scan/record programs and movies we want to watch. My wife could never figure out how to program the VCR to record, but she had the Showstopper figured out in minutes. We have had it for several weeks with no problems and I can't remember the last time I had to watch a commercial. I like the fact that their is no service I had to subscribe to.
Love it.
Rating:
Summary: A revolutionary product!
Review: Ok, I'm going to just lay this out on the table immediately. I love this product. Like seriously love. No, I'm not talking about the love I feel my second cousin or my goldfish, but more like the love I felt for my first girlfriend, or for Heather Locklear, or for Twinkies. Translated...this is true love. My brother turned me onto the idea of Replay TV a few months ago. At the time, I had only heard of TIVO, and was convinced that, as cool as it sounded, this technology was out of my price range. I mean, I love TV. I mean LOVE (you get the idea), but still. ($) and up for a glorified VCR? Didn't quite see it happening. But when my brother told me that he got his unit as an open box buy from a Circut City for only ($) AND that Panasonic was offering a ($) rebate if a unit was purchased before the end of the year, well, that was all I needed to hear. So I let my fingers do the walking and found an open box buy in a (...) in downtown Philly for ($), mailed in my rebate form, and the rest is history. And, by history, I mean that this is truly a product that (eventually) will change and revolutionize the way we all watch TV. For now, let me just give you the lowdown. The setup: out of the box, I was immediately impressed with what Panasonic had put together. Everything that was needed for a variety of setups (VCR, digital cable box, S-Video, even a phone cord and phone jack splitter) was included, as well as a very detailed and easy to read setup guide. The only glitch I encountered was with the flimsy IR Blasters that couldn't seem to marry the cable box channels to the Replay TV channels. Easy solution, though. I went out and bought a coaxial splitter and ran one wire into the Replay unit and one into the digital cable box, and then both into the TV and...PRESTO! Instant perfection. Now, with the press of my TV/Video button, I could toggle between Replay TV and live television, allowing me to tape one show and watch another. After everything was hooked up, the Replay TV unit took me through a pleasant and easy set of on-screen instructions which found my cable system and downloaded the week's worth of programming. And I was on my way... The payoff: immediately I realized that this was a special piece of equipment. I had used one in a store before and paused live TV, which was kinda cool, but doing it in my own home was just amazing. Phone rings, pause the show. Bio break. Pause. And just pick up where you left off. And unlike TIVO, which boasts a pause time of 30 minutes, Replay TV will pause for nearly 10 HOURS! As you've probably read in several writeups, you can find shows based on category (SCI FI, sitcom, drama, etc.) or by show title, and even actor/director. A simple Tarantino search let me know that Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown were both airing this week, and with the touch of a button, they were mine. Going further, watching recorded programs is a dream. I was watching "High Fidelity," which I had taped (is is still called 'taped' if there's no tape???) and stopped it midway through to watch a "Seinfeld" that I had recorded. When I was finished with the "Seinfeld" I went back to "High Fidelity" and was amazed to see that it remembered exactly where I left off! The 30 hours of programming is on the extended play, which is fine for my viewing purposes. I suppose that there might be an occasion that I would use the high level play, but I can't see how it would be worth it to use it too often, as I'd rather save the hard disk play for more programs. 30 hours is really a LOT of television. Even for me. I'm sorry if I'm gushing, but I'm just so thrilled that I actually own one of these suckers. Obviously, I got a helluva deal. But I would easily say that this unit is worth the price that it was originally advertised. Panasonic has discontinued the Showstopper 2000 in favor of a new high end broadband 4000 unit (which runs anywhere from ($) based on the programming capacity), so it's tough to find new units in stores, but if you're fortunate enough to locate an open box buy like I did, run, don't walk to the store and buy it. Simply put, you now own your TV...your TV no longer owns you. Best of luck all!
Rating:
Summary: Its Great!
Review: Without a lot of typing. This unit has changed the way I watch Tv. I dont miss a beat with this unit. In fact it is a must have.
I find my self watching it 7 days a week. This is a bad (great) unit. This will be money well spent. You can even control it over the internet. regards,
Kelvin
Rating:
Summary: Great Machine
Review: I could sell a million of these baby's! My wife could not believe I was buying another "gadget" and now she is hooked. We watch our shows when we want and "zap" right through the commercials. The on screen programming makes recoding very simple. I had no problems with the set-up. Saving a show on a VCR tape is also easy. I do not understand the "carping" about the machine breaking down-I have had ours for over a year and have had no problems. This is the way tv was meant to be seen!
Rating: 
Summary: It's great when it works...
Review: I love what this machine can theoretically do. To use an oft-used phrase, it has changed the way I watch TV. However, it crashes A LOT. At least once a week, I have to reset it to get it to dial in correctly (which they don't tell you how to do in the manual). In the four months that I've owned it, I've had to perform two hard resets (which they also don't tell you how to do in the manual) wiping out all stored data, including recorded shows and settings. Their customer support line closes daily at 9, which is kind of a pain. It's kind of noisy too, making a high pitched whirring sound whenever it's in use. It cannot record while you're watching another show on live TV, which most VCRs can do but you can watch a recorded show while taping another. Pausing live TV is great, as is instant replay, and programming it to record shows is pretty easy. While I am not exactly a novice with gadgets, I had a hard time installing it, and had to get a techie friend to do it.
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