Reece: I can try to answer those questions for you.
Sorry, but there's still a 24-hour blackout period. SONICblue has stated that there is no way to contact the ReplayTV remotely; the only way to get a message to an individual receiver is to wait for it to connect with SONICblue's servers.
Gerard: If you're that upset about quality, you should check out ReplayTV's 5000 series. These newer models have higher quality than any of the others (including Tivo Series 2), especially if you use the progressive outs.
If you have home owner's insurance you may be covered. Also, many surge protectors have a $25,000+ warranty (if you registered it) in case a spike does get through. Either way, good luck man. Hate to hear that happen to anybody.
Wow, nice deal! What site did you match it to? The cheapest I've found that set is for $1,299. Oh well, glad it worked. Maybe I can get Good Guys to match that same site for the 32HV600 Sony I'm looking at?