Rating: 
Summary: I can't live without my ReplayTVO
Review: I GOT MY REPLAYTV AT BEST BUY AND HAD MY BOYFRIEND HOOK IT UP. iT JUST TOOk ABOUT 1/2 HOUR (IF IT WERE ME I WOULD HAVE BEEN ON LINE WITH THE TECH SUPPORT PEOPLE ALL day. bUT ANYHOW WE GOT IT RUNNING AND WE WERE IMMEDIATELY HOOKED. I can interrupt him when I have something to say and he just pauses the live show tells me to shut up and goes right back to where he left off. Same thing when we get a snack. It works like magic. Then we punched in Will & Grace and it instantly found every Will and Grace (I love that show) that's coming up this week. then I just touched the record button and now the show is automtically recorded every time it's on. This has got to be the best thing ever invented for people like me who can't program a VCR and miss my favorite shows cause I'm too much in a hurry to program my VCR. And that's only if I can find a blank. With Replay, it's digital and so easy (a monkey could progaam ReplayTV (I wonder what he would program?). Plus I like not having not to the pay a monthly fee forever. But what really got me was ReplayTV's QuicSkip feature--this invention is right up there will the wheel and the Guttenburg Bible. Every time I see Tori Spelling, I can blast 30 seconds over her overacted scenes. Now that's livin, girls. ReplayTV makes TV so much fun again-I couldn't live without it. No kidding, thanks ReplayTv, now I never have to watch boring tv again. And my boyfriend thanks you too.
Rating:
Summary: I guess it's personal preference
Review: For me, ReplayTV was a much better deal and a much better product thatn TiVo. I have seen both in action, and chose ReplayTV over TiVo for several reasons:1. NO MONTHLY SERVICE FEE! It *really* sucks when you get nickle-and-dime'd to death by companies. One purchase, that's all! 2. MORE UNOBTRUSIVE UI. TiVo makes you "use TiVO" when doing *anything*. ReplayTV seems more like an enhancement to my viewing. It stays out of the way until I need it. 3. FREEDOM TO *CHOOSE*, NOT LED LIKE A LEMMING. I really don't like a computer telling me what it thinks I want to watch, thank you very much. ReplayTV is like having a search engine for your TV! I can search for shows that *I* want to watch, not just settle for shows TiVo *thinks* I want to watch. It's very liberating! Stop filling my hard drive with () you think I want, and fill it with the cool stuff *I* choose to watch! 4. STABILITY! My ReplayTV box has never crashed and does exactly what it says it will do. I have read more TiVo crash stories than I care to remember. 5. FEATURES HERE AND NOW. Sure, there is a nice sized list of "wish" features that many ReplayTV owners would like, but if you look at the corresponding "wish list" for TiVo owners, many of the features are already in ReplayTV! "Wait until v2.0" they say. BAH! ReplayTV is already at rev 2, and rev 3 is in the works.
Rating: 
Summary: Heaven's Gift for Commercial Haters
Review: I have lived a about month with my new ReplayTV model 2020 and find it a mixed bag of wonderful convenience and frustrating limitations. On one hand, its ability to pause live TV is a revolution in the way TV can be watched. On the other hand, it falls short in the ease, and sometimes even in the ability, to record the shows you want to want it to record when you're not there. For someone who hates commercials as much as I do, ReplayTV is a gift from heaven. It's so cool to enjoy a live show or movie on commercial TV without repeated interruptions by annoying ads. If I'm going to watch a program that has commercials, I'll pause the ReplayTV at the beginning for five minutes or so (to make a snack, check my e-mail, go to the john, or even sit there doing nothing). From that point on, I can watch the slightly delayed show without any commercials at all, interrupting the program only couple of seconds at a time to punch the Quick Skip button on the controller to vault past the commercials in 30-second chunks. It's a great way to improve the quality of time spent watching TV. Recording shows in advance with ReplayTV is less rewarding. There are two basic ways to record future shows. One is to find the show in the ReplayTV Channel Guide (it lists programming going forward about a week) and set it to record with a few presses of a button. The other way is to create a Theme Channel, where the ReplayTV searches the listings for a keyword you have specified and records any show whose listing (title, description, actors, director, theme, subject) contains a match to that keyword. Recording a show from the channel guide is fairly straightforward, except for sports events and other programs that might run longer than shown in their listings. In that case you have to also record the show(s) following the event. Since recording each show requires a sequence of button presses on the remote (which is not very easy to use quickly--the guide responds slowly to input and there are other issues, mentioned later, that slow down the process), it gets to be a pain to record multiple shows, or even to locate a show far in advance. What's missing, when you know the channel and time of a show, is a VCR-like interface that lets you quickly program the record start time, end time and channel. (According to a ReplayTV representative, the addition of a time-based programming feature is planned for this year.) Theme channels do not work for me as well as I'd hoped. You can enter a word or phrase to search, but you are likely to capture and waste recording space on matches you don't want. For example, if you want to tape all episodes of Friends, entering "Friends" as the keyword will get you Friends, but also Barney & Friends, not what you had in mind. Entering "The One With" (all Friends episode titles begin with "The One With") will get you only Friends episodes, except the occasional ones where the phrase is inexplicably missing from the listings. Try "Aniston." This actor's name is good to use since it appears in almost every Friends listing (but not all), and it's alphabetically the first name listed (the listings cut off after a certain length, so "Schwimmer, " for example, will often not appear), so it's a good choice. However, "Aniston" will also tape every airing of any of the several movies the actor appears in, as well as every tattletale ET-type feature about her. There's no way of preventing an unwanted match from recording in advance. All this illustrates the need for a more sophisticated search function, similiar to Yahoo! or any other search engine on the Internet, where you can specify precisely which terms to search for and also which not to (using "and," "or," "not," etc.) I think something like this would be within the ability of most users, and it could be added as a selectable option so as not to confuse newbies. I have a major problem personally with theme recording of my favorite baseball team's games, which is one of the main reasons I bought my ReplayTV. I subscribe to a premium service on DirecTV called Major League Baseball Extra Innings to see games of out-of-town teams. The problem is, the names of the teams playing each game do not appear on the ReplayTV listings, so you can't search for "Yankees," for example, and find their games. The service that picks up DirectTV's listings and provides them to ReplayTV can't provide the team names (or game times either), because the info is added to DirectTV's listings only a few days in advance, instead of the week normally required. Not even the game times in the ReplayTV guide are right; it lists them in arbitrary 3-hour chunks, so after you have figured out the game channel and times from other sources, you have to begin recording at 3 o'clock to catch the start of a 4 o'clock game, and waste recording time on an hour of blank screen. I'm sure this problem is not unique to my situation and that subscribers to other sports services have the same problem. Overall, your satisfaction with ReplayTV as it currently is--enhancements are in the works and are downloaded to your set automatically along with program guide updates during the night--will depend on which features are most important to you. I think it's worth the price of admission for the way it lets you take control of viewing live TV, but its shortcomings in other areas are frustrating. If these are overcome, ReplayTV vaults into the elite cool category right up there with sliced bread. Summary of Pros
Pausing live TV--fantastic feature makes ReplayTV worth the price of admission. Theme channel recording--when it works, it's great. Turn on the Replay TV and your favorite programs are there waiting for you. Quick Skip--heroic champion in the war against the commercial. Instantly skips forward 30 seconds in a recorded or delayed program each time you press it. Instant Replay--Helps conquer the "What'd he say?" syndrome--instantly backs up 7 seconds in a live, recorded or delayed program so you can catch what you just missed. Setup is not as bad as it could be, given the way in which the ReplayTV has to interact with your cable, satellite, TV, VCR, phone line, etc. Instructions are pretty clear and helpful support is available by phone. Customer support--ReplayTV's customer service and tech support reps are accessible, friendly, and seem to really care about your satisfaction with their product. Summary of Cons
Remote control is not comfortable. Have to shift it awkwardly in your hand to reach the commonly used buttons and to press the recessed "Select" button, for example. Channel up and down buttons and the arrow up and down buttons don't repeat when held down in Channel Guide. Theme Channel recording--search function is weak, unwanted shows are recorded, no way to tell ReplayTV not to record an unwanted show. Mysterious glitches--too many instances of discovering that the last few minutes of a show didn't get recorded, or that an entire program didn't get recorded. In the latter case you're left with only dubious error messages like "No video signal" or "You do not subscribe to that station" (YES I DO). Record quality--Standard mode is marginally acceptable. Medium and High quality modes drastically decrease available recording time. Standard is OK for most programs; the quality of the original signal makes a big difference. Digital satellite programs record much better than cable programs. On some of the marginal local cable stations, the lack of picture quality can be distracting. There's distortion and "noise" around shapes on the screen similiar to low-quality Jpeg images on the Internet. Occasionally sound and picture go out of sync. Fast-moving images get distorted; for example, when the camera is following a running player the background gets all hashy. However, I find I can still watch a baseball game in standard mode without having the experience lessened by picture quality issues. Football or hockey might be different. Replay Zones--these are preprogrammed theme channels provided by ReplayTV, some as a result of promotional deals. Useless. How much of a chance is there that I really want to record _all_ NBC comedies? Remote control is too directional. Need to be able to delete unwanted found theme shows before they get recorded. When you set a theme channel with a keyword, you can review all the matches it finds for the coming week. But if unwanted shows are found and slated for recording, there's no way to delete them from the queue. So you end up wasting precious recording time on shows you don't want to see. Need to have record programming by channel/start time/end time. Sometimes it's still the easiest way. Need to be able to add extra recording time onto the end of a program when recording from the channel guide, say in 15-minute increments, to handle events like sports that run over their time slots in the program guide. I believe VCR Plus has this feature. The channel guide reacts too slowly to input and it takes s
Rating:
Summary: ReplayTV v. TiVo debate
Review: If you are debating whether to get a ReplayTV or a TiVo, I strongly recommend the ReplayTV. I own both units, and with ReplayTV's recent software upgrade (delivered in April 2000), it has all the features that would have given the TiVo an upperhand. My preference for the ReplayTV is primarily because of its ease-of-use in programming: the channel guide follows the "grid format" (like in a printed TV Guide), so it is intuitive and natural to use. My only complaint is the slow response of the remote control, but this is a relatively minor inconvenience compared to all other benefits the ReplayTV provides.
Rating: 
Summary: Tivo is much better
Review: My friend has a Tivo but I bought a ReplayTV because the service is free. His Tivo is so much better and easier to use. I have returned the ReplayTV and bought a 30 hr Tivo. I hope others don't repeat my mistake. Tivo's show recomendations are great. It learns your viewing habits. It has 10 more hours than Replay, a better remote, and a really good program listing.
Rating:
Summary: It will change the way you watch TV - This is Great
Review: I'm buying my second one now that the new software has been downloaded. I use it to tape every cubs game. Then if its a no hitter or Sosa hits 4 HR's all transfer it to tape later. That's how I was lucky enough to get Kerry Woods 20K game on tape(yes I have had one for almost 2 years now). Other reassons I like it, besides all the other benefits mentioned is, it saves me so much time by taping shows instead of watching them live. I'll watch South Park while the Simpson's is recording. That way I can watch them both in 40 Minutes by skipping Commercials. The reason It doesn't get 5 stars from me is because unlike my old 'Video Guide' It gets the info from the phone line at night instead of a Satellite so there is no chance at them upgrading the system so it can change the TV guide quickly in case of a programming change(i.e. Extra Innings) so if your show runs long or starts late then you are going to miss it. Also the COM port that talks to the Cable box seems to get intialized a little late sometimes and doesn't send the first number to the cable guide. Though it only happens when im changing channels I have never missed a show because of that.
Rating:
Summary: Replay TV - the BEST way to watch TV
Review: I don't know how better to describe this device than to quote my (non-techie wife), who exclaimed that "It's the best way to TV." I've had mine since December, and now have the upgraded 2.0 software (a download which occurred overnight in the routine dialup). The good: 1. A great program guide that lets you see about 8 days of programming. To record, you simply highlight a show and hit the record button and then you decide if your recording is a one-time event, an "always record" event, and how many episodes of the show you'll keep. 2. Pausing live programming or rewinding a live show. This is great - you get a phone call, hit the pause button and go back to the show. The nice thing is you can catch up to live by fast forwarding the commercials. 3. The quick skip button - lets you jump 30 seconds forward (through commercials). This is a huge time saver and a 30 minute show can be watched in 22 minutes or so (skipping intros and commercials). Seriously, I feel like I'm getting away with something here and HATE watching live TV now as I must sit through the commercials. 4. Search options. As part of the 2.0 upgrade, you can search by show title, actor, dirctor, etc., and pick and choose what you want to record. 5. You can watch one recorded show while it is recording another, or walk in during the recording of a show and start watching it from the start. The Bad - or, wouldn't it be nice if they included that. 1. It is not clear what show will be deleted if your drive is full - they should advise you at a menu or with a different color on the listing of recorded shows that "This goes next". 2. When you switch channels during live programming, the buffer (for you to rewind to catch dialogue you might have missed) is erased. I've found that if you use your cable box remote rather than controlling the channels from Replay, this gets around this problem. 3. No way to control the dialing in. It is set to dial in every day. I pay for every call, so it would be nice to have it call every other day. 4. Record options don't make perfect sense. You can do a single record or a "record all", the latter of which looks for the same show EVERY DAY at or around the same time. If, for example, you record an HBO show, which they show reruns of on other nights, it'll record the new episode Sunday and the replays during the week. You should have the option of saying record ONCE, DAILY, or WEEKLY rather than once or every time it is on. 5. Channel guides should be translucen (like TIVO) so that you can watch the show as you are programming other shows. 6. It would be nice to see a "task list" where you could see a list of shows that will be recorded today. As it is now, you just see a long list and don't know when the show will be recorded. . .
Rating:
Summary: 30 hour ReplayTV available "by May, 2000"
Review: I recently e-mailed ReplayTV to ask if they would be coming out with a model that recorded up to 30 hours of programming (similar to the TiVo HDR312). They responded, "The Panasonic Showstopper (a product of Panasonic featuring ReplayTV service) will be coming out with a 20 hour and a 30 hour unit in stores by May 2000." Based upon the numerous posts regarding TiVo vs. ReplayTV, I have decided to buy the ReplayTV, but would like the option of recording more programming on "high" or "medium" quality settings. Apparently, the Panasonic should give me that option.
Rating:
Summary: Four months using Replay...I'll never be without one!
Review: The old way to watch TV is just a distant memory now (a bad one). What a great product. Ours has been flawless for over four months now. I never watch "live" tv anymore. Prior to the last upgrade, Replay had it's frustrating little sniggleys but since the upgrade it's been heaven on earth. It took me a long time to decide between Replay and TiVo but a friend bought TiVo and they are so similar except for the fact that my friend keeps on paying for his. I made the right decision. That aside, it's so nice not to be tied to the schedule of the networks! Comercial skip is great too!
Rating:
Summary: Great and Innovative Produt
Review: I really liked Replay TV, with its easy setup, and awesome performance. Where I live (S.F. Bay Area), there were plenty of toll free numbers to choose from. In addition, ReplayTV is a lot better than TiVo because there is no monthly change associated with using it. Buy it, you'll like it!
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