Replay 4080 or Tivo? (1 Viewer)

[Michael De Costa]

I have been reading various sites on this topic, and it seems that many people who have both PVR's tend to like Replay but I think many important points are overlooked. I am about to purchase a PVR and can't seem to buy Replay based on the following but possibly someone might have suggestions/coments.

Replay needs a broadband connection-How hard is it to set one up if it's not near your current DSL/computer and not possible to move the computer closer?

If using Satellite, you can't watch one channel and record another.

Purchase without the subscription. At least with Tivo you can still use the PVR like a VCR.

I have also read that sharing files takes an eternity, is that true for most Replay owners?

Also there are no DirecTv tuners built in, on a 16x9 60" TV, won't you lose signal clarity going between sat box- then Replay- then TV?

I am not a Tivo owner, just found these facts hard to pass up before purchasing Replay on the new 4040 and higher models. Thanks for any advice/comments

 

[GordonL]

Also there are no DirecTv tuners built in, on a 16x9 60" TV, won't you lose signal clarity going between sat box- then Replay- then TV?

There is a slight degradation with any stand-alone box because it undergoes a digital to analog to digital to analog conversion. If you're concerned about that, get the DirecTivo or UltimateTV which records the digital bitstream directly so there is no degradation.

 

[MarcVH]

Is there a reason you're looking at the Replay 4080 insted of the new version of it, the 4580? I didn't know you could still buy the 4080 (which is what I own) and it confuses me more that you talk about "purchase without subscription" -- the 4080 comes with service included (the 4580 has a model more like TiVo's.)

The 4580 can use an analog phone line instead of an Ethernet connection if that's a big deal to you. Running Ethernet means either getting wireless LAN stuff or somehow pulling a Cat5 cable from your existing network setup (and an appropriate NATting router.) Note that this pisses off some people, since they charge the same fee for analog phone users and broadband users even though analog phone users are more expensive to service.

Personally I haven't had much occasion to share shows over the Internet, though I've done it once or twice. More useful is the ability to pull shows off the Replay via the network and watch them on your PC. The "killer feature" for Replay in my mind is auto commercial skip; given a choice I would not consider a PVR without it.

If you use DirectTV exclusively, I'd agree that weighs heavily toward using a PVR that is integrated with it.

 

[Mark_E_Smith]

I have 3 DirecTv with Tivo service receivers and THEY ARE HANDS DOWN the best pvr if you have DirecTv. They can record 2 things at the same time, there is no PQ loss, and they are a DD 5.1 receiver! They will be releasing the series 2 DTiVo at the end of the month (hopefully) Starting Nov 1 the tivo fee for DTiVos will be $4.99 for ALL DTIVOS on the acount, free if you have the premium package.
HOWEVER..... they ONLY RECORD WHAT COMES FROM THE SAT not off the air or cable as they do not contain a compression chip, they just save the digital bit stream to the hard drive. If you receive what you need off the sat then you are good to go, and I would recommend HIGHLY the DTiVo. They also do not record HDTV... that would take an enormous hard drive. for more info you can go here: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...threadid=59215 this is the FAQ thread about the new DTiVo

 

[Pamela]

Purchase without the subscription. At least with Tivo you can still use the PVR like a VCR.

I'm pretty sure that's only with the Series 1 TiVo (with a nag screen). I believe the Series 2 cannot function without a subscription.