differences between tivo and replaytv?
 

amazon has a pretty good deal on a replaytv with 3 years of service..
or at least, it seems good compared to the prices i normally see on tivos

so whats the big differences between the two services? because Im considering getting it

DVD Talk Forum > General Discussions > Other Talk > differences between tivo and rep
 

Wrong Forum, Newbie. -rolleyes-



Wow! The mods are fast today! :up:

THE IDIOT MODS KEEP MOVING MY POSTS!

What do you have - cable or DirecTV?

I saw that on techbargains, and I then I read a thread herep.

cable

thanks
Im going through it now..

what was the concensus?

I always say the best option is DirecTIVO - obviously for DirecTV folks or people capable of getting DirecTV.

However, for cable and digital cable folks (where I have a lot of experience with Replay and TIVO), I prefer Replay. I find it easier to use - channel guide and recording guide in same place, recording time available, and the ability to easier jump around in shows. Plus assuming it is not a brand new model, commercial skip. Plus if you have broadband, you can send shows over the internet and download program guides over the net (instead of dial-up).

Don't get me wrong, (standalone) TIVO is a fine product. I just like the Replay features more plus Replay is generally cheaper than TIVO.

Also, you can probably find better deals for both at other places besides amazon. I would try to look for sites selling refurbished Replays (with activation already included).

well.. going by the link heimerSWT posted.. i guess i wont be jumping on that replayTV deal

was listed at 124.95 and included 3 year service
but it appears that the vendors may have messed up and service wasnt suppose to be included

dammit

A few different things. First, they were discussing the company, and how long it will last in its current state. Second, they were talking about whether the activation truly is included in the price. Third, they were talking about the reason behind the price drop, apparently due to the increase in popularity of PVR units that can record to DVD. But, this is in Japan, and to me, the $124 is a great deal for 3 years worth of service.

Still on the fence about it. I just got one of these through Time Warner last week to see if I would be interested in actually buying a unit for myself. So far, I like it a lot, but I don't know if I like it enough to pay a lot of money for one.

Another big reason for it is that I was told by at least 3 different Time Warner reps that sometime early next year, they will have a PVR HD box available. This is a major plus for me, because most of the things I would record are shown on my HD channels...and then I can watch them on the HDTV instead of my shitty 27" Sanyo. :)

I don't know what "herep" means, btw.

I've been a TiVo user for over a year. My friend had (emphasis on had) a ReplayTV and quicky sold it and got himself a TiVo after playing with mine. I've had very little experience with ReplayTV, but I think my friend's actions speak volumes.

Perhaps, too many :beer::beer::beer: ?? ;)

I got my ReplayTV for Christmas last year, so I have no idea how much it cost. I pay the $10 a month for the service and never thought about paying the $250 one time fee.

The only problems Ive had with it is when it gets unplugged; then I have to sit and wait for it to reconnect. Also, last night I tried to record Queer Eye's reunion, but the channel guide wouldnt go passed 5:30, and then would skip back to Monday's schedule so I said SCREW YOU YOU PIECE OF CRAP. :)

BTW, that Amazon price went back up to $454.99! That is definitely a huge price difference.

just got direct tivo about a month ago, and I can't imagine anything better... Every day it still amazes me. Not sure about Replay though, sorry. :D

I've been using the Replay for at least 6-8 months now and absolutely love it. I find it extremely easy to use, does everything I ask for, etc. I was gonna jump on this deal to get a second one for my bedroom so I could Send shows back and forth (If you have more than one replay, you can send shows from one replay to the other if they're on your home network).

The other aspect I love about the replay is that they update the code in it here and there, so one day I turn it on and it says "hey, you got a new feature!". (The feature I mentioned above was added a few months after my purchase with this type of update as well).

asking around.. and reading that link heimer posted.. seems most people love their replay tvs, and this would have been an unbelievable deal

Im still thinking about taking my chance on the 150 unit from circuit city.. because people are saying they got it and it was already activated so they get the free 3 years.. i guess if i get it and it wont activate free, I can just return it

but that price is unbeatable

If it include the activation, go for it. I have two replayTV's and couldn't imagine life without them. At work five other people have replayTV and two guys have tivo AND replayTV and everyone's happy. It seem no matter which one you go for, you'll love it.

Until Tivo series 2 came out, Replay had many advantages, but now it's more a matter of preference and price.

I picked up a replayTV from buy.com with rebates a few months ago. It ended up being $100 or around that. I also upgraded the hard drive from 40gb to 160gb which was easier than I thought it would be.

I really like it, I use it with cable tv. It is easy to use and does everything I need it to do. The commerical advance feature is something I never thought I would care about but now that I have it, I can't imagine being without it. It's great to watch a show and not touch the remote when commercials come on. Some how, replaytv knows how to skip the commericals. Sometimes the feature doesn't work (I guess it depends on the show), but most of the time it does.

From what I've been reading, the new versions (these 5500 series that has been featured in these deals) no longer have the auto-commercial skip feature. However, if they have the latest feature that was added to mine, it wouldn't matter. I think they call it the "quick skip" feature. Essentially it adds chapter marks into a show after each commercial break, so you just hit the left and right arrows on the remote to jump back and forth.

Yes, I think you're right. I got one of the last of the older versions with the commercial advance feature. A month or 2 ago ReplayTV upgraded the software on the unit to add that quick skip feature which is also quite useful.

I have a replay and love it. It's easy to set up recordings. The commercial skip has been much improved since I've had my replay and works correctly almost all the time. Swapping in a 160GB drive was an easy process.

I've only ever had one problem with it. A few months ago they upgraded the software and were sending it out to the units during the nightly updates. For some reason, some units that used dialup were having trouble receiving the upgrade and it would freeze your unit so you had to unplug it. This would cause me to miss shows and got to be a pain in the ass. Eventually I found a thread over at the AVSForum (a good resource for Replay owners) that explained how to work around the problem and it worked like a charm.

All things considered, I couldn't imagine living without it.

well.. i told corrie about it and she really wanted the replaytv and didnt mind taking the risk

so she went and bought the 149.95 unit from circuit city.. and when she got it home it was already activated and good to go..

so now to play around with it..

it was late before i got home from work lastnight and i was wore out, so corrie hooked everything up.. I assume its connected correctly because we did test recording, ffwing, skipping commercials, etc... and everything seemed fine

a couple quick questions..
if you set it to record something.. can I watch another channel?
the box says you can record two shows at the same time, but when i tried, it said 1 conflicted with the other.. am I missing something?

Yes and No. You can't use the Replay to record one thing and also use it to watch something else. But you can use the tuner in your TV too watch something else. How do you have the Replay hooked to your TV? (Coaxial cable or a video input)

You can't record more than one show, cause it only has one tuner. You can watch a previously recorded show, while another show is recording.

I have 4 ReplayTVs and 1 TiVo (and i just bought 2 more ReplayTVs from yesterday's deal to use as gifts.. i've also owned 3 or 4 previous ReplayTV versions which i sold to upgrade to my current ones). i RARELY use my tivo.

Twikoff, as far as watching a "live" show while recording another "live" show, it can't be done, unless you're watching the TV's tuner while recording something else on the ReplayTV. Same thing goes for the (stand alone) TiVo. However, the DirectTiVo DOES have two tuners, which is why you'll see people (even ReplayTV fanatics) recommend DirectTiVo if it's relevant.

But seriously, once you really start using your ReplayTV, you'll love it. EVERYONE i have recommended it to (at least a dozen people) has started with skepticism -- they now come up to me and say "it's changed the way i watch tv". In fact, their SOs also agree (after initially questioning the purchase -- VERY high "WAF" -- wife acceptance factor).

So, you'll end up finding that you RARELY watch live TV anymore -- you'll watch something previously recorded whenever you feel like it.

Check out http://www.avsforum.com -- there's a ReplayTV forum there for questions and chatter. Also, you can easily swap out the hard drive in the ReplayTV with a larger one (with minimal effort), changing your 40 hour unit into a 120, 160 or even a 200 hour unit. Let me know if you need more info on that..

[/end commercial]

Note that with Replay or TIVO, you can watch a recorded program while it is recording something else.

yea.. i figured i would just use the coax to watch another channel.. just wasnt sure if that was my only option, because it will require switching video sources.. no big deal

fatwallet thread is up to 100 pages so far :lol:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/mess...797&lastpage=1

with either replay tv or tivo, can to record on the fly and channel surf with it?

No. They only have one tuner. And a tuner can only be tuned to a single station. To do what you're asking, you have two options. First, you can record the show you want on the DVR and than bypass the DVR to watch straight TV (like if you had the TV connected to an antenna or second cable line). Or with DirectTiVo, you get two tuners which would let you record from one tuner while you channel surf on the other tuner.

Having said that, I still agree with everyone else. Once you get used to the DVR, the need for channel surfing goes away. Why search for something interesting, when you have things you know you want to watch already recorded and sitting there?

And having said that, if it's an option at all, go with the DirecTiVo. Worth every penny. I hear people talking about how TiVo's or the like have changed the way they watch TV. And I can understand that. But if I ever had to give up my DirecTiVo and downgrade to a regular TiVo, it would just be too much to handle. I'd have to replace it with two seperate TiVo boxes.

One little trick: If you're using the coax from the replay to the coax of the TV, you can turn the power off on the replay while it's recording. The replay will continue to record, and then you can use the TV remote to watch whatever you want. It works just like a VCR where it will still pass through the signal, it just depends on what device is tuning.

i think i did a poor job of explaining what i meant. if this makes it more clear, can i record my channel surfing? this is kinda brought on by the qvc ladder fall... if i had tivo on and was recording and i switched channels by mistake and aught that fall, would the tivo or replaytv have captured it?

With the replay it will delete the file of the channel you were watching and start a new file for the channel you switch to. So channel surfing isn't really recommended because it is slower then on your tv due to the unit starting a new video segment everytime you switch channels. So the answer to your question is no, the replay will not allow you to surf and record multiple channels into one file. But if you were to surf to qvc and catch the ladder fall, until you switch channels, it will be saved and replayable.

I don't know how a Tivo works.

My sister called me today asking about one of these thinking I would know about them, I don't. She mentioned she was interested in one of the combo Tivo type players that also was a dvd recorder and asked if that allows you to burn tv shows to dvd. It doesn't does it?

ok.. a BIG QUESTION!
if I set it to record a sporting event
does it setup to record over a specific time period?

if the game goes into 47 overtimes or 90 extra innings.. will it continue to record until the end of the game
or do I end up with a worthless recording that doesnt include the end?

It'll only record for as long as the game is scheduled. If it goes over, you're out of luck. Which is why I always add on an hour or so to my sports recordings.

Why yes, yes it does.

http://www.pioneerburner.com/

Thanks. Shows you what I know about these things. I thought it was illegal to burn copyrighted tv/movies.

Passing along the info as I think that is the one she asked about.

Depends on your setup. If you are actually using your ReplayTV's (or TiVo's) internal tuner, then as mentioned above, when you "surf" by changing channels, the buffer is erased. Or if you had an actual recording set for this specific time to record the internal tuner, it shouldn't even let you change the channel, or at least prompt you before it does...

HOWEVER, if you have your ReplayTV/TiVo set up with your CABLE BOX feeding into your it, then you probably have an IR blaster hooked up so your machine can control the cable box. The output of that cable box is then recorded -- no matter what it is (hopefully your DVR has automatically sent the correct IR signals to the cable box so that it's recording the correct show). Later, if you end up changing the channel on the CABLE BOX ITSELF, they ReplayTV/TiVo will have no idea that you did that... it will just keep on recording.. including the channel surfing, the "informational banners", etc -- whatever shows up on the cable box itself gets recorded by your DVR.

Does that help?

the fatwallet thread discussing the latest replaytv deal is now up to 132 pages.. and growing faster than i can hit refresh :eek:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/mess...hreadid=254797