Replay TV or TIVO? (1 Viewer)

[Matt D K]

I'l looking at purchasing one of these units, Either one better than the other? They look pretty similiar to me....

 

[Ron Snaider]

I have two TiVo's and they have changed the way both my wife and I watch TV. Both units offer similar features but the TiVo won me over with things like; To Do List - allows you check what will 'actually record'; Wish Lists - Let's you google your cable line up for things to record; and the overall UI is cleaner then the Replay's.

I am sure you will find opposite opinions, but bear in mind TiVo has just raised its Lifetime from 249 to 299 effective 3/1/03, and Replay is busy defedning itself in the legal system for things like Commercial Skip and Show Sharing over the internet. Neither feature is on the TiVo, but TiVo is not in court either.

 

[TimTurtino]

Check out

The ReplayTV vs. TiVo Comparison Chart

My opinion--

ReplayTV has better hardware (more i/o, etc). TiVo has much better software (based on linux, much more usable). I personally am leaning towards TiVo, although I haven't made up my mind yet.

Me

 

[MikeSh]

I just bought into Tivo, the DirecTV-Tivo unit and am loving it. Don't have any experience with Replay though.

MikeS.

 

[Anthony Lengyel]

I was in the same boat just before xmas of last year. I had an intrest in the tivo / replay tv for some time but always put it on the back burner.

I bit the bullet and went to buy one just before xmas, and after long hard consideration I went with tivo. I could have kicked myself soo much for not doing it sooner.

The replay has broadband and all the hardware whistles but the operating menu was not as clean and easy as the tivo. After an hour of operating both and weighing the pros and cons, I went with the tivo reluctant on the dialup instead of broadband. It is not really an issue, I never know when it calls and always finding myself looking at the last call menu to see if it actually did call.

It really is the only way to watch tv for active people I love this thing. Simply put its the microwave of tv, something everyone should have.

 

[Lewis Besze]

I have replay tv 5040.The broadband connection was a must for me.I found it's operating menues fine,and so far "crashed" only once since I got it[about a month].
Whish my computer was like that.
I think you can't go wrong with either one of them.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I have DirecTV/TiVo and an older ReplayTV I use for local channels. I use both daily and both have worked reliably. I prefer the TiVo software. Look at features and the comparison pointed out and make your decision. Both are really cool.

Chris

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I just started looking into getting one as well and wasn't sure what to get. This is my current setup:

1. Must be broadband capable. (I won't ever have a phone line again)
2. My tv is an HDTV.
3. My cable is analog. Might get into satellite later, if not then HD OTA sometime this summer.

Guess that is it. I'm leaning towards ReplayTV because it is broadband, and has component out and supports progressive playback. Is there anything I'm missing?

 

[Thomas_Berg]

i'm a tivo man myself. i couldnt live without the 'season pass' feature.

i read in a mailing from tivo that the tivo series2 units will be able to use broadband thru one of their USB ports with an adapter which will be available sometime in the near future. as for lacking component video outputs, i personally think that's inexcusable.

 

[LDfan]

Tivo is great. I've had mine for about 2 years now without any problems whatsoever. The only things that Replay has that I want are the ability to share recorded shows via broadband and the ability to program the unit via the web.
Either one will suit your needs fine.


Jeff

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Guess that is it. I'm leaning towards ReplayTV because it is broadband, and has component out and supports progressive playback. Is there anything I'm missing?

If you must buy now, ReplayTV is your best choice in my opinion. If you can wait, TiVo has announced an HDTV model will be available, I believe later this year or early next year.

Chris

 

[David Judah]

I'm leaning towards ReplayTV because it is broadband, and has component out and supports progressive playback

Unfortunately, the progressive out only works for the menu system and the picture viewer at this time, not for programming, but when I asked Sonic Blue about it, they said they would have an upgrade available later in the year.

I went with Replay simply because it was less expensive, but both work fine, IMO.

DJ

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

TiVo has announced an HDTV model will be available, I believe later this year or early next year.

Hmmmm, that may be the best option yet. I told myself that this would be the year that I go to HD programming. I don't want to invest in D-VHS. A TiVo or ReplayTV that is capable of recording HD would be awesome. Since it sounds like they may be coming I guess I will just wait and see what gets announced this fall.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Stephen Tu]

The value of the component progressive out on the Replay is questionable, as you aren't recording from such sources (only composite, S-vid, RF in). About all you really accomplish is using the line doubler in the Replay rather than the one in your TV. I've seen plenty of posts in Replay forums from people who got better results with S-video out rather than the component. YMMV

Tivo already supports broadband via USB Ethernet adapter, unofficially.

I prefer Tivo's scheduling / space management, I feel their software does the core PVR features better; Replay's advantages are mostly in areas that I would use little if ever.

But either is vastly preferrable to no PVR at all.

 

[Brian Glaeske]

As a ReplayTV owner I would recommend Tivo for one reason... ReplayTV seems to be a dead company. Any call/e-mail to them goes unanswered (I don't have time to spend 2+ hours on hold).

I like my ReplayTV, but I think the company needs to be purchased by someone who has some money.

Brian G.

 

[Paul DM]

I have a series 2 60 hour Tivo. I used instructions and software off the web to hack it to 300 hours. It works great and cannot imagine going back to a Non-Tivo world. It makes my $70 cable bill each month much easier to swallow since I get to watch what I want when I want.

Also you can get the USB port to "dial" and use a broadband only connection to get your upgrades and program listing updates. This is well documented on tivocommunity.com.

Good luck!
Paul.

 

[Joseph Howard]

Not much to add. Just another yahoo for TIVO.

Dr. Joe