Replay TV 5040 now for $199 with free shipping (1 Viewer)

[Parker Clack]

Replay TV has the 5040 for $199 (after two mail in $50 rebates) and free shipping and handling now. This is a 40 hour unit. If you have been setting on the fence about getting one of these at this price this is a no brainer.
Click here for details.
Parker

 

[AnthonyJS]

Wow! May just have to pick up one of these now that there under $200. Just out of curiosity, how many hours will a 40 hour unit give me at the BEST quality? I'm assuming that the 40 hours is at the lowest quality. The Sonic Blue website isn't very clear on this.

 

[Beau B]

Does this unit have 5.1 audio sound? Also is this just as good as a TiVo or better

 

[Carl Johnson]

I assume that means 40 hours at best quality, 320 at worst.

 

[MarcVH]

Nope, it means they make models with larger hard drives that have 320 hours of storage (that cost more money.)

The 40 hours is at low quality; I'm not sure exactly what high quality would give, but I'd guess around 12 hours or so. If you anticipate using high quality and plan to use it much, you probably should get a unit with more storage capacity. Personally, I use "medium" quality for most shows, with "high" reserved for a few programs that deserve it.

No, it does not do 5.1 sound; there's no input for it (unless you count the network.) Personally I think Replay is better than Tivo, because it has supported Internet access, supported show xfer over LAN and Internet, and 0-button commercial skip. Tivo is brownnosing content providers, so they don't provide those things.

 

[Parker Clack]

Like Marc said. If you are wanting to record in high quality then you need to pick up the 80 or more hour model. I have a 4080 and use it record my favorite shows. For this type of recording the low quality works just fine. I got done recording all of Taken on Sci-Fi and I have plenty of room to record my weekly shows and still have over 40 hours of recording time left.

They have great prices on the 80 hour, etc. just not with the same type of offer as the 40 hour model. You really can't go wrong with any of these units and the 5000 series are the best of the bunch.

Parker

 

[Mark_E_Smith]

How easy is it to upgrade a replay to larger capacity?

 

[Parker Clack]

Mark:
I doubt that it is really all that difficult but I would sure wait until the warranty has expired before doing so.
Parker

 

[MickeS]

I went to Best Buy yesterday to buy a Tivo as a christmas gift for myself.... then saw this offer. Now I don't know what to do!

The Tivo is $300 after rebate for a 60 hour unit, but it doesn't have as many connections as the ReplayTV. I know how Tivo service works, because a friend has one.

I know nothing about ReplayTV. Can anyone give me answers to these 2 questions:

1. How easy is it to upgrade HD capacity?

2. How is the service as far as correctness? Meaning, do they keep up to date when it comes to program changes, keeping track of new shows vs reruns, catching the shows you've set to record and so on.

EDIT:

just found this thing about ReplayTV:
ReplayTV buffers live TV for as long empty disk space allows, but doesn't buffer when a recorded show is playing

Does that mean that if I for example record a sports event, come home in the middle of it and start watching my recording from the beginning, it can not record while I watch it? Or does it just mean that if I watch a show I recorded, it no longer is recording the buffer on whatever channel is currently set on the unit?

/Mike

 

[Richard_s]

I know this is a simple question. Is the ReplayTV service FREE (Not sure but it looks like older models cost more but included the service and the newer models are less expensive but like TIVO have to pay for service)? I was going to build a PC based PVR but the record quality is horrible so I just started to look into Tivo and ReplayTV. Searching the net is seems that TIVO still charges $9.95 per month and ReplayTV seems FREE. Both require signing up or all the main features are dissabled. Is this all correct sorry for such a mundane question.
Found this link. Assuminf the information is up to date for models like the 5040 referenced in this post it answers many of the above questions.
http://replayfaq.reidpix.com/faq.asp?section=begin

 

[Parker Clack]

Mike:

If you come home and start the program that you are in the process of recording from the beginning it will continue to record it to the end while you are watching it. So if you are in the middle of recording a game you can go back to the beginning and watch it all the way to the end.

The hard drive can be upgraded but it would void your warranty and is a bit involved.

The program guide is updated daily so it is always up to date. You can either plug the unit into your phone line or use the ethernet connection and connect via your cable modem or DSL.

Richard:

ReplayTV charges either a monthly fee or a lifetime fee. Check out the ReplayTV site to find out the rates.

Parker

 

[MickeS]

Thanks for the link. I did some more research and found the answer to both of my initial questions above. Apparently ReplayTV does not differentiate between reruns and new shows as good as Tivo does, and it also has the traditional grid layout on the menu (one of the things I love about Tivo is the excellent menu system). They can both be upgraded with bigger HDs.
So I went to the Tivo website and ordered a 40 hr unit for $199 after mail-in rebate, with free shipping right now.
EDIT:
I gotta say though, that with component output, digital audio output, Ethernet connection and an additional A/V input, there's no question that the ReplayTV unit is the more appealing model, hardware wise....
/Mike

 

[Norm Strong]

Did you read the legal agreement?

SonicBlue can remove any feature of RePlayTV without notice and at their sole discretion. IOW, they can remove the commercial skip feature at any time, and you have no recourse. In fact, they reserve the right to alter RePlay's software in any way they wish--right there in your home. Furthermore, they have the right to use all the information you supply them for any purpose at any time. The best you can hope for is to be informed 30 days ahead of time if there's a change in their "policy." (Incidentally, a policy is not legally binding.)

Norm Strong

 

[MarcVH]

Norm, I'm not sure you you are addressing when you say "you."

I agree that such agreements are troubling, but unfortunately they're also the norm for the industry; Tivo's service agreement contains essentially the same language. I'm not aware of any examples where ReplayTV has faced allegations of violating its own privacy policy, unlike Tivo.

 

[Norm Strong]

The "you" is a generallized you.

The most troubling part to me is the part where they can remove the commercial skip feature at any time. It's not like the Apex AD600 where Apex had to get their hands on your unit to remove the "secret" menu. If Sonic Blue is successfully sued by the major networks for the commercial skip feature, they can, as part of the settlement, remove that feature from units already in customers homes. The fact that Tivo is no better in that regard is hardly comforting.

 

[Henry Colonna]

The only thing that scares me about ReplayTV is that SonicBlue loses a lot of money every month. And has been for awhile. I don't have the figures in front of me and Minority Report is waiting for me in the other room with my new Pioneer 811 receiver & JBL NSP1 speakers....

 

[Patrick Sun]

Say SonicBlue goes tango-uniform, do these units allow manual programming entry for weekly shows you want recorded without relying on updated TV broadcast schedules (or are you SOL)?

 

[Parker Clack]

SOL

Parker

 

[Evan Hartnett]

SOL

Not necessarily. If you pay for the lifetime activation you'll still be able to use the unit for manual records (the code has already been sent to the box so it won't know SB isn't supporting replay anymore).