Rating: 
Summary: Good product, but lacks an important element
Review: The 4504 works as advertised. However, if you want to take advantage of its ability to use your home network for viewing stored program material from another location in your house, you not only have to buy another unit (this is reasonable), you have to pay the activation fee for the second unit (which is not). This is like having to pay for a new water meter every time you add a new hose bib in your garden. You only need one unit to do the recording, to be hooked in to the programming information the activation fee gives access to. The other units ... should be able to be slaved to the main unit. The activation fee in the case of secondary units is just a way to stick you for more money. That said, it's still a marvelous little box. I just don't like the bait-and-switch aspect of the added, uncalled-for fee.
Rating: 
Summary: ReplayTV or TiVo?
Review: The features of the ReplayTV are well documented in other reviews. This review is for those people trying to decide between a ReplayTV or a TiVo. Both are fine products, but there's one feature that ReplayTV has that TiVo doesn't (and never will)...the Commercial Advance feature. This one button makes all the difference! If you have recorded a show, with the commercial advance feature enabled, you can play the show back commercial free. The feature works by detecting the gaps that are present in between commercials. When the commercials come up, it simply skips over them and back to the program in a split second. With TiVo, you have to fast forward (just like speed searching on a VCR). The commercial advance on the Replay unit is not fool proof. It looks for those gaps in :30 second succession. So if the network throws in a :60 second commercial, that's where the unit will advance to. But, Replay has a "QuickSkip" button. Push it, and the program advances :30 seconds per push. "QuickSkip" is another feature Tivo doesn't have.
I own 3 Replay units (2; 2000 series and 1; 4040) and have never had a problem with their tech support. Contrary to what another reviewer stated, I've always found the tech people at Replay knowledgeable and helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: Replay TV Comes Up Short Where TiVo Does Not!
Review: The RePlay 4000 series has a few awsome features, but this unit comes up lacking in some areas that TiVo is great in... The 1st thing is the RePlay does not have the option to only record 1st Run Shows... So if you have it set to get every show of E.R., it will get them all including ReRuns, TiVo has the option to not do this. Also the RePlay units do not have a ToDo list, you must scroll through the guide for to see whats going to recorded... So if you are wanting to check whats going to be recorded for a week, it will take a few hours out of your schedule to scroll through the guide. TiVo has a ToDo list that shows when everything will be recorded. Lastly, RePlay units conflit resolution is the pits. If a show moves one night it's bassicly a toss-up as to which show will be recorded. And there is no way to know until it's already missed your show! TiVo Shows when something will not be recorded and you can set a priority for each show, so TiVo will know what to record in case of a conflict. The only positive thing I have to say about replay is the network sharing, it's a very cool feature, but it has bugs and from what I hear Replay Tech Support is lacking - ALOT. Keep in mind TiVo will soon have this feature (on Series 2 Units only). Save yourself the problems and get a TiVo!
Rating:
Summary: Not that great
Review: The ReplayTV was very disappointing. This unit dramatically reduced the picture quality of cable tv. Infact I had to buy a video amplifier in order to make the quality of certain stations acceptable. The quality of recorded shows was also very poor. Just to make it clear the quality of cable tv is excellent when the unit is not attached. Customer service is non existent. I sent 2 e-mails to tech support and NEVER received a reply. The good:
- The commercial advance feature is cool
- Don't have to rewind video tapes The bad
- The remote is big and not very well laid out.
- The advertised 80hrs of record time is on the lowest quality setting. It gets about 25hrs on the high quality setting.
- Picture quality is really bad
- No tech-support
Rating: 
Summary: The worst products, support and service ever!
Review: The unit does not work, no service provided, no toll free support, must call long distance and pay a fee to talk, and when they cannot figure it out, you still pay the phone fee, and there is no one available to service the unit. Basically, if you buy it, and there is something wrong with it, you are stuck with it... and that came out of the tech support mouths! GET TIVO!
Rating: 
Summary: From a TiVo user....
Review: This is a very nice unit. After having a Series One Sony TiVo, I wanted another PVR... With the open ReplayTV community, there are many freeware apps to make your computer act as a large storage facility for your Replay and many other apps. Setup was very simple (network) and the menues are easilly accessed (though not as simple as TiVo). This is a great unit for many home users and perfect for teckies. But, for my parents and grand-parents, TiVo still has my vote.
Rating:
Summary: From a TiVo user....
Review: This is a very nice unit. After having a Series One Sony TiVo, I wanted another PVR... With the open ReplayTV community, there are many freeware apps to make your computer act as a large storage facility for your Replay and many other apps. Setup was very simple (network) and the menues are easilly accessed (though not as simple as TiVo). This is a great unit for many home users and perfect for teckies. But, for my parents and grand-parents, TiVo still has my vote.
Rating:
Summary: BUY IT NOW!
Review: This is the best thing to TV since color! The commercial skip feature, while not perfect, well makes up for any steep price. Easy to use, and NO COMMERCIALS!
Rating:
Summary: best thing ever
Review: This thing is a couch potato's main dream come through.
Rating:
Summary: Check out Digital Networks Better Business Bureau rating.
Review: Unsatisfactory. Do not buy the lifetime subscription. Do not buy the product unless you don't mind awful customer service. I have had two models (RTV3030 and RTV5504). The hard drives will fail. You will need technical support. Here is what you can look forward to.
Their customer support office is closed during the very time when someone is likely to encounter a problem or want to activate a new system. Their hours are from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Pacific time with no weekend or holiday hours. If a customer turns on his TV on a Friday night and discovers a problem with the ReplayTV unit he must wait until Monday and call during hours when he is likely at work and not able to be in front of the device. Tivo, their competitor offers support 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM including weekends.
The customer must pay long distance charges for the 20 - 30 minutes they wait on line for a representative due to higher than normal call volume. It is ALWAYS higher than normal and they discontinued the toll free number.
The consumer must pay $60 for "warranty" service. The warranty covers parts but not labor. If your device needs repair you must:
1. Actually reach a technical service representative.
2. Follow all of the troubleshooting steps he has been trained to walk you through.
3. Have him determine that it is a defect in the device.
4. Agree to pay $59.95 for warranty repair (refurbished replacement) and give credit card information.
5. Wait for 24 to 48 hours for an email from a different department with return authorization and address. (After they charge your card)
6. Call to find out why you never received it. (I was told by a representative that this is not an individual experience.)
7. Box the unit according to instructions.
8. Ship at your own expense.
9. Wait for weeks.
10. Go to the tracking web page to find out that that your RMA number cannot be found.
11. Wait until office hours again to call to find out why. ( I will need to complete the steps later as this as far as I have gotten.)
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