huzefa

I'm looking at getting either a TiVo or a ReplayTV, but I can't decide which one. They're both around $450 for the stand-alone unit(30 hr) (That includes TiVo lifetime subscription). I looked at a lot of sites and ultimately it looks like ReplayTV is for the power user and TiVo is for JP6. Any opinions on either of these systems?

Static Cling

TiVo is for Jurassic Park 6? Don't know what being a J6P has to do with it... like, do you mean TiVo is more simplified? User-friendly?

I have a TiVo, and I'm VERY happy with it. No complaints. I guess it just depends on what you want your DVR to do. TiVo meets my needs.

Fire bad!

theedge

Don't go to the dark side!

I like ReplayTV. Especially the new models. They have built in Ethernet, so you can use the internet to get the program guides, if you want. Also, you can send shows to anyone with one of these units, and it has commercial advance.

If you shop around for the RPTV Panasonic Showstopper 30 Hour, you can find it for $329 plus a $100 rebate from Panasonic. I got 1 at UBID and 2 others at different online stores. Good Luck

Great TiVo/Replay TV Forums here:
http://www.avsforum.com/

huzefa

Thanks guys

Static Cling

Hey... why is TiVo the dark side?! One of the things that concerned me with ReplayTV is that I went to Best Buy and Circuit City in my area (around Washington, DC), and both stores sold only TiVo units. I know that e-tailing is huge right now, but when TiVo basically has a monopoly in the two biggest consumer electronics stores in my area, I didn't think that boded well for ReplayTV.

Plus, I'm not big on buying electronics online, and I got a great display unit price on a TiVo at Circuit City. They knocked $100 off a complete unit, MUCH more than Best Buy was willing to knock off for a unit that was missing many things, including A REMOTE CONTROL! You can't even operate your TiVo without a remote control, and they wanted to sell that unit! One of the few times I've chosen CC over BB.

I'm sure either unit (TiVo/ReplayTV) is fine, though.

Fire bad!

Scott

I have a TiVo (and have never even looked at a RePlay). No hype when they say it will change the way you watch TV. After a week, you wish that the rest of life operated like a TiVo. [examples: I don't want to have this conversation now, I'll just record it and play it later. I don't like what this person is doing now, I'll just fastforward to the good part. I heard that sermon last week, I'll delete it.] I love my TiVo.

There are tons of TiVo bargains to be had. You can get one as low as $99 (I thought I saw something earlier this week for one for $49, but I don't remember where.

TiVo will work with OTA or cable (standalone) or sat (DirecTiVo). You can hack a TiVo to increase the program storage. The lifetime subscription is well worth the small one-time price.

If you'd like to see direct comparisons, go to the TiVo forum TiVo Forum and ask the question (or search for the many threads devoted to comparisons).

I won't bash RePlay because I've never laid eyes on one.

MWHeier

I've added an extra 80 gig drive to mine and haven't had a lick of trouble. The dual tuner works slick also since Tivo upgraded.

I never watch any movie live anymore. Its Tivo or DVD!

BDB

I have a tivo, never even considered ReplayTv.

I love my tivo. I was out for drinks last night, will be tonight, and will be thursday, and all my shows will be there waiting for me from my season pass's

I think that is one thing that Replay is missing.

Red Dog

You can set up a season-pass type recording on Replay. Just set up a Theme-based record on that TV-show's title.

I have a Replay and my roommate has 2 TIVOs. I prefer Replay. It can do the same exact things. I prefer the channel guide on Replay and all-in-all, I find Replay easier to use. I got my Replay brand new off ubid.com for $269 ($369 - $100 rebate). No subscription fee. TIVO 30-hour players starts at $250 (more likely $300 and then you have shell out $250 more on top of that for lifetime service). Therefore, I paid almost $300 less for Replay, which does the exact same thing as TIVO.

The new Replay models sound awesome.

huzefa

I'm assuming that with TiVo, you have to subscribe to the service. But if I just want to record a certain show that comes on everyday at the same time, do I really need the subscription?

Red Dog

You don't have to subscribe (the 1st 2 weeks of TIVO service are free). They have VCR-style (manual) timer recording (i.e. record a certain channel at a certain time). You just won't get the program guide and data.

RandyC

Unfortunately, the newer software in Tivo sucks for people using it as a manual VCR. There are annoying ons-screen messages saying the Tivo has no show data that you have to click thru. Ack...


On the other hand, my initial plan was to only subscribe for 30 days, but at the end of that time, I found that the tivo automatic recording of my favorite shows and season subscription to certain shows and more....was worth it.

I just need more capacity. I have a 14 hours tivo. What was not obvious, is that the advertised time capacity is at a crappy setting that may be below your level of acceptability. It is for me. Realistically, I have 7 hours of recording capacity.

Red Dog

Yeah that does suck - kind of misleading. I have a "30 hour" Replay. I use the medium setting for almost everything and that cuts the recording capacity in half.

Scott

Well, I paid less than $350 for my TiVo and lifetime service! I don't mind a fourteen hour capacity, mostly because that's about as much as I can watch in a week. There are other things in my life, after all. And I don't mind the basic recording, because the programs are all watch-and-delete. If I want spectacular quality, I use my DVD. Now mind you, I did tweak my TiVo setup just a bit to get acceptable quality.

You certainly can use TiVo without a subscription. But then, you have to do all the research yourself (finding times and channels, as well as keeping up with network changes). My time saved by NOT having to do that is certainly worth a lifetime sub. And the TiVo forum even keeps me up to date on the new shows, too.

RandyC

Scott. I also watch and delete, but the basic quality is so distracting for me. I keep thinking, wow...this looks like crap. How does one tweak it to make it better?

P.S. I also have a life, I watch maybe 3-4 hours of TV per week. But I also have a family. The daughter wants all episodes of CSI, 24. The son wants Simpsons and Just Shoot Me and Battlebots and Letterman. The wife wants some shows on HGTV and all Oprahs. Now add in my AutoWeek and the occasional sports show, plus Friends and Frasier.

theedge

FYI:

You can do manual records on ReplayTV as well. Their new 4000 series was voted best of electronics.. I Think I saw that in Yahoo? Maybe Playboy...hmm

Either way you go, A PVR or DVR (personal or Digital video recorder) is the way to go, throw out that VCR, or put it in the other room!

Scott

Someone pointed this tip to me over at the TiVo forum. I simply added a signal amplifier to my cable line. I picked one up at Radio Shack for about $25. The gain is adjustable, so I can fine-tune it. I installed it immediately after the cable entry to the house. That made a noticable difference.

I'm now noticing lesser quality on USA, but all of the other channels look fine. (Well, okay, maybe not fine, but accepable for the kind of shows I watch. I even watch SpeedVision, and the pixilization isn't noticable.

I don't think I've ever seen an error message telling me that I'm full, or that something already recorded will be dumped to record a Seasons Pass show. I have, however, been asked if I really want to "Save Until..." because a future show may be deleted early. Never been a problem, though. (I use the SU to mark the shows that I have not seen, because the kids like to watch programs in the afternoon and I don't want them to delete something I've not seen yet - they may delete shows that we all have watched.)

JaxComet

Haven't all models of Replay TV been discontinued?

Red Dog

No - they recently introduced the 4000 model. Sounds amazing. 320 hours record time, automatic commericial skip, and the ability to "e-mail" shows to other users.

Rypro 525

question, according to a buy.com cataloge a new replaytv is 249.99 after rebate and is 250 lifetime subscription and with 40 hours of recording. is this a good deal or should i go for something else. and also what about those damn nbc schedual changes that they do (supersized everything) would i have to manually record those? and when you pause live tv, the pvr just records the show that you are currently watching.

Icculus

You can actually get it from Circuit City (or circuitcity.com) for $200 after rebate (they have 2 $50 rebates) + $250 service fee. I'm not really sure how the new Replays handle shows running over the normal time... I have a Panasonic showstopper and it works like this: If it's in the program guide as a 40 minute show then you'll be fine, it'll record everything that you have scheduled. If the program guide says it's only 30 minutes but it's really 40 minutes then you can pad the end recording time by an extra 10 minutes. The problem with padding is if you have a show scheduled to record from (for example) 8-8:30 and then another one from 8:30-9 - the first one (with the padding) will be fine, the second one won't record because the replay was already recording at it's start time. It could be completely different now though, the older units don't have the same software as the new ones.

Check out the replay forum at www.avsforum.com - you should be able to find any info you need.

Trelach24

A friend of mine really wants to get Tivo but she wanted the Tivo/DirecTV receiver in one hardware. However after going to Best Buy and Circuit City we haven't found that...only stand-alone Tivo machines.

Do they even make those anymore?

Rypro 525

right here
http://tivo.com/1.8.asp

mikehunt

can't believe I'm suggesting it but,
the sony satt60 is still being made, directv/tivo combo with dual tuners

they tell us at work the the sony tivos that ship with the new software won't even allow manual recordings without subscribing

PhYbEr

Or you could get
this and an extra say 80gig hd that are cheap now and set up your own "tivo" with the free online guide at titantv