That should be the one that skar mentioned. It's on BB's website with free shipping.

My experience with TIVO was not so great. I got it as a gift for X-mas and ended up returning it for the Dish 720 box. Couldn't stand the tuner getting hung on channels when flipping and not being able to record two things at once.

If you have Dish Network and want to have a dual tuner to pause one channel and watch another make sure to buy their Dish's digital recorder box. No monthly fee and you only have one box.

Your SA TiVo got "hung on channels" because of your Dish Network receiver's crappy design. If the receiver winds up on a channel you don't subscribe to, it gets hung and entering channel #'s via the remote or TiVo's IR blaster won't fix it. Only entering channel up or down will break it loose, so the fault for your gift TiVo not working correctly belongs to Echostar.

That "no monthly fee" nonsense sounds good until its examined closely, so let's add it up -

Directv's 2-tuner HDVR2 costs an existing subscriber $200 + $5 a month for service (if you have TC+ programming for example).

Dish Network's 721 costs an existing subscriber $520 !
If no one believes me - http://www.dishdepot.com/Cart/descri...812.145.85.203

You could use a HDVR2 for 64 months - OVER 5 YEARS - before it cost the same as a 721. Get 2 HDVR2's vs. 2 721's and the price difference becomes even more pronounced in Directv's favor. If you have TC Premier programming, you eliminate the $5 a month for the TiVo sub and it becomes an even bigger gap.

And lastly, compare TiVo's solid, stable, robust OS (with Wishlists, Season Passes and self-adjusting schedule changes) against Echostar's buggy, unreliable, tapeless-VCR-style of recording and Dish subscribers' best deal is, well, to switch to Directv

Can't say that I disagree... Dish Network was the biggest mistake I ever made. If I wasn't locked into a one year contract I would probably have switched to DirectTV long ago. If only I would have researched it more before making the decision to go with Dish.

I have Dish and while the channel thing is irritating, everything else about it is good. You have tinker with your Tivo to stop it. I got the $9/mo sub deal.

If you need to get a tivo now, check out this link for a great deal: 80 hour Tivo for $249 after $50 rebate w/ free shipping:

http://www.tivo.com/sales/hollywoodreporter/

Of course, you'll have to pay for the subscription services.

I have to totally agree with this. Before we got our TiVo I never, NEVER watched tv. Except Sports Center and PTI of course Anywho, it does revolve around you as they say. TV watching becomes more time managed and you spend less actual time in front of the tube if you did actually watch the shows before. Just go for it. We promise you'll love it and if you don't at first you will, believe me you will.

Just to clarify about pulling shows off of a ReplayTV:

As long as you've got it hooked up by ethernet, it's about as easy as you could ask for. You simply download a free program online, and it detects your Replay on your network, and can download shows to your computer. You can then playback the shows directly from your computer.

While it is true that SonicBlue has filed for bankruptcy, I'm not particularly worried about the service disappearing.

Even as a staunch ReplayTV supporter, I've always said to go to the store and look closely at both of them. Each offer advantages over the other, and it's only a matter of what matters more to you. With ReplayTV, you can automatically and effortlessly skip over commercials and extremely easily download shows to your computer (among other advantages). With TiVo, you've got a ToDo list, and the ability to not record repeats (among other advantages I'm sure, I've never owned a TiVo). Both have their disadvantages too. But, for what it's worth, I've never had any problem with my ReplayTV 4540. It was one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Will the Replay play a file from your computer, regardless of the format? Such as .avi? Is the playback smooth?

Would the Replay service be required to just use it in this way?

I have a Panasonic replay machine and don't see the hookups to accomplish this. I see an "in" but no "outs" for this purpose.

Any ideas???

The Panasonic Showstopper models do not have this capability. Only the newer models made by SonicBlue do.

Funny you mention PTI. I have found PTI to be the ideal program to watch on my ReplayTV. I hate MJ & NBA discussions so whenever they come to one (and the PTI agenda tells you when it is coming), the Replay and the 30-second skip feature is perfect for jumping the NBA discussions. Let's me watch PTI in about 15 minutes. This will probably go down to 10 minutes as NBA discussion should increase over the coming months.

Is it worth it? It will change the way you watch TV. Really.

Not yet. There is a small program available that can encode 60 seconds worth for viewing on the ReplayTV, but the MPEGs from the ReplayTV are slightly different from normal MPEGs, so video files on your computer will not play on the ReplayTV. This is something that many people are working on, and hopefully, one day, we'll be able to watch any video file on the Replay.

Does Replay paste information on the screen when it records? And how accurate is the time code on it? I just want to make sure i don't miss the very beginning and end of shows as well as having them WITHOUT writing all over them.

No. When you playback a recorded show, there is nothing pasted to the screen by Replay. Of course, when you get to the end of playback, it goes to a default screen where it asks you if you want to delete the just-watched program.

The time code is very accurate - clock gets set with each overnight net-connect. However, the networks you record from are not always accurate on time so padding can be helpful.

It will be a quick few months. Just ride it out.

A few days before your year is up, call Directv and tell them you want to switch and you want a DVR unit (by then they will have 3 or 4 different models available). Set up an installation on the day the Dish Network contract expires, and after your new satellite equipment is up and running call and cancel Dish Network. Sell your old receivers on ebay to recoup some of switching expenses, if any.

Life is better with a Tivo. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait

For those of you planning on buying a PVR, it looks like any concerns about Replay have now disappeared as D&M has acquired Replay from SonicBlue.

I wouldn't say that concerns have disappeared. Often when a company is bought out, the former CEO makes statements like that to placate customers and employees. It all depends on the new company. Note that there are no promises that the new company will fulfill the lifetime subscription agreement that SonicBlue had with their customers. In fact, this subscription money has most likely already been spent, so what incentive (besides good customer service and fear of backlash) would there be to honor it?
They probably have to come out with a newer version of ReplayTV anyway, without file sharing and automatic commercial skipping, just to avoid the same lawsuits. That is, if they're still interested in the DVR market...

Not to be a naysayer, but I'd still hold off on buying a ReplayTV until we have more hard facts. I really hope they stay around, as a monopoly isn't good for anybody.

From the press release at...

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...2003,+09:01+AM

I feel a lot more confident in a company like D&M controlling Replay than SonicBlue. No slight on SonicBlue because I found their customer service to be phenominal.

While that usually holds true, I'm not sure it's applicable to the PVR market. The Showstopper failed and was sold to Sonic Blue as ReplayTV, Microsoft's PVR failed, and Tivo needs more subscribers. There doesn't seem to be enough demand for all the players.

It really is hard to believe that the PVR demand has not picked up. Except for my TV (obviously), I use my PVRs (actually 2 of them) far more than any other piece of electronic equipment I own. Except for sports, I don't even think that I watch live TV anymore.

Nobody likes commercials. Everyone has a VCR so you figure a sizeable number use them to record programs. It baffles me that more people haven't jumped on the PVR bandwagon. I know that the cost is somewhat high (basically around $500 to enter if you go for a lifetime subscription), but you still figure that PVRs would be a hit - at least be profitable.

I used to use my VCR to record ever single show I watch so as to avoid commercials.

I pretty much haven't bought a single VHS tape in over 2 years when I bought a 10 pack every few weeks.

PVRs may have a bigger upfront cost, but it still can save money in the long run.

I've always wondered why nobody has come up with a PVR that has a floppy drive built in. Something like a zip drive that could hold 2 hours of programming on it.

The secret of gaining market share would be finding the correct pricing structure of the subscription services. Most people probably don't have a problem with the price of the unit. It's the subscription fee (reoccuring $13/mo payments or one large sum of $300) that probably scares most people from buying one. Initial setup is a pain compared to a VCR but after that recording and viewing shows couldn't be any easier.

I don't understand what all the fuss was about with RTV's commercial advance. They've had that feature in some VCR's for a long time but I haven't heard of any lawsuits against VCR manufacturers.

Well my DirecTivo only costs $4.00 per month subscription and I would say that the setup was pretty easy. The worst of it was waiting for the player to test the phone line and download info the first time.