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I bought a ReplayTV 4500 on eBay for around $200. There's no way I could have built a rig myself that inexpensively which does everything the ReplayTV does. Sure, they're not making the hardware any longer, but it did come with lifetime activation, worth $299. The company is still in business, but no longer selling hardware; they have ReplayPC now which I think is around $50 plus $20 per year, not a bad solution either if you're building (but if you're building you might as well go with Myth).

I absolutely love the auto-commercial skip feature! (Myth has this also.) Just don't get the 5500 model, as it was removed from that release in an attempt to stave off the lawsuits; they "lost", folded and were bought by the company now providing ReplayPC. (Lost in quotes because they ran out of money defending themselves, so the trial didn't need to finish...)

With the ReplayTV, you can use DVArchive to transfer shows to your PC; they're in MPEG-2 format, ready to burn to DVD. You can set it up to auto-download as well.

If you're worried about them gathering data on how you watch (for instance freeze-framing the money shots, etc.) then just watch on your PC with VLC. But then you don't get the commercial skip functionality. However, it does download the index file, so I suppose someone could add that to VLC. Other than the "viewing habits" data it sends back it doesn't seem to have any "limiting" features, like broadcast flag support etc.

I've also heard good things about Vista's Media Center, but haven't used it myself.

SonicBlue was picked up by DMR (Denon/Marantz) a few years ago, the units have been produced and sold continuously, and the ReplayTV web site has always been active as far as I know.

I use my ReplayTV 5040's ethernet card to obtain programming info via my cablemodem connection which is far easier than using the unit's modem, IMO.

Give them a call -- your lifetime subscription should still be valid if the unit can be repaired.

FWIW, ReplayTV http://my.replaytv.com/ has had this for years.

I'm afraid it's more than half.

Get a Replay or build a MythTV box if you're up to it. Don't support Tivo no matter how hard the astroturfers try to justify all the nonsense.

I use ReplayTV and have never had any problems with content protection. There is even a great open source tool called DVArchive (at sourceforge) that lets one copy shows to/from the ReplayTV units and even stream content directly from the ReplayTV to any machine that supports HTTP streaming.

I highly recommend both of these products for the geek who wants a great DVR and the freedom to DivX content at will.

I'm not trying to be a (overused phrase here) "fanboy", just trying to check your argument.

This is why I use a ReplayTV http://www.replaytv.com/ and DVArchive http://www.dvarchive.org/ (running on a PC). This combo lets me get the shows off the ReplayTV and burn them how ever I want, using my PC.

Actually, I would suggest that you want ReplayTV -- not TiVo. See http://www.replaytv.com/ It's a much more open box than TiVo.

1. Why are you using the fast-forward button? Why not use the commercial-skipping forward button? What do you mean TiVo don't have one?

2. Okay then, why not use skip-ahead 30 seconds button or random-access? Oh, TiVo doesn't have that either.

This is why I have a ReplayTV. Actually, I have two of them. I can skip commercials with a single button press. This works 90% of the time. Also, I can skip ahead or back any amount or go any point in a program instantly. Plus, a lot more.

Also, check out the ReplayTV forum at AVSForum

Not only did it have great features like commerical skip (until the we practically sued to death and tivo grabbed share). But with lots of extensibility like the great oss dvarchive where you create watch, archive and control your networked replaytv boxes, I always think it is a shame that tivo with the cuter name and better marketing campaign which caught so much of the market share.

I strongly suggest people think about checking out the competition, all the hacker types I know prefer it. But now that tivo has the market, they really don't care what consumers want as long as they sell more units. Tivo has become synonymous with pvr; and utimately we the consumers are really loosing out.

The whole state of affairs is disappointing.

I fully understand that for other people, other solutions are more appropriate, but I really prefer a dedicated ReplayTV unit right now, especially for the consistency and reliability, not to mention the cool remote, though I may roll my own when I eventually move to HD (there are no Replay HD or Replay+DVD offerings announced, and Tivo's HD is too encumbered out of the box for my needs).

Not to beat a not-dead-yet horse, but ReplayTV recently dumped a lot of their 5040 units for $50 each, or $30 with a special coupon code (the latter seems to have been a mistake that they cancelled quickly). These are previous-generation models that can transfer shows to other Replay units of the same 50xx model line, something Tivo has not been able to do natively, before, and which is unfortunately dropped in the 55xx line. The 50xx line also has the controversial commercial advance feature, which was dropped on the 55xx line for legal reasons(it sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but is nice when it works). With lifetime activation at $299 (or monthly fees that now vary depending on number of units), that means RTV is still a platform worth comparing against. Especially when you consider third-party tools like DVArchive (java-based!) that exploit the XML interface of the units to copy programs off for safekeeping and later streaming, without any hacking of the box or transcoding of the native .mpgs or weird versions of mplayer, unlike Tivos, again.

Oh, one more thing: people outside the US have managed to set up their legitimately-subscribed ReplayTVs with another tool called WIRNS (which you can find in AVSForum, to scrape local show listings. I mention this because, even if ReplayTV as a company dies, owners will still have alternatives to keep their schedules from going dark. And a lot of owners are also joining Poopli, a website with the objective of making transfers between Replays easier.

(No, I don't work for anybody making or selling these, nor do I own any of these websites. I'm just an owner of a 50xx that I've bumped up to 200GB with a simple patch-and-swap, very much like a Tivo owner would do. Before I bought my box, I had almost given up on tv entirely. Now, I'm looking forward to my next hard drive upgrade. And I really regret not buying another unit on sale).

A ReplayTV comes out of the box with network streaming capability. You can stream any recorded show to a laptop using free software from http://www.dvarchive.org/.

http://www.replaytv.com/.

You just need a ReplayTV and the ability to type poopli.

What? No.

ReplayTV
TiVo

Take a slightly closer look.

If you have a ReplayTV PVR you can find people who will trade shows with you automatically via Poopli.

There's no reason to pay anybody more than $12/year to update an Internet TV-Guide. In fact I think that's about how much the paper TV Guide costs.

No, commercial-skipping with a TiVO is manual (and you have to enter a code to enable the "30-second skip" button, otherwise you have to fast-forward an stop at the right time -- not hard to learn, and effective once you do, but not automatic).

ReplayTV, on the other hand, does have automatic commercial-skip on playback (it still records the commercials, but it will automatically skip over them when playing back, if you want it to).

Of course, replay had some financial trouble, partly because of lawsuits over this commercial skip feature (and the internet-show-sharing function), and ended up being bought up by Denon/Marantz (D&M), who announced that these cool features may not be available in new replayTV models. So, if you want no commercials, buy a series 5xxx replaytv while you still can.

As a long-time ReplayTV user who is active on the ReplayTV Forum of the AVS Forum, I can say that this is a feature that has been often requested. The ability to be able to watch TV recordings at a faster speed with pitch-adjusted audio would be great for watching things like news shows, etc.

Recent bankruptcy and current product line notwithstanding, ReplayTV had a 320 hour unit a year or two ago.

replay tv can do what you want with an open source pc program called dvarchive over fast ethernet (wireless or wired).

there's no info in the article as to whether this device does it or not. but if it has a modem (and not ethernet) as most stock tivo's, it wouldn't be fast enough to transfer any video.

You mean that the Tivo 2 will possibly have the same features sometime in the future that the ReplayTV 5000 and 4000 series ALREADY has?

I'm underwhelmed. No broadband. No sharing. No commercial skip.

According to Tivos' website , you need a subscription. Same according to replaytv's website. Where can I get one that doesn't require 'activation' or subscription?

Check your facts, man. Replay is alive and kicking at SonicBlue and in fact just released a new crop of players (the 4500 series).

Check your facts, man. Replay is alive and kicking at SonicBlue and in fact just released a new crop of players (the 4500 series).

ReplayTV's latest units (the 4000 and 4500 series) take care of this. You connect them all to your home Ethernet and you can watch shows in the bedroom that you recorded in the living room. They even have enough CPU now to be streaming one show while you record another.

Replay has also added other features that TIVO doesn't have, like web-based scheduling without compromising the security of your home network, photo viewing and sending shows across the net.

Sorry to be such a blatant shill, but I've owned a ReplayTV for about 3 years now, and I think they're great. In many ways I think they are much nicer than TIVO. (I don't own stock in SonicBlue or even know anyone who works for them).

ReplayTV's latest units (the 4000 and 4500 series) take care of this. You connect them all to your home Ethernet and you can watch shows in the bedroom that you recorded in the living room. They even have enough CPU now to be streaming one show while you record another.

Replay has also added other features that TIVO doesn't have, like web-based scheduling without compromising the security of your home network, photo viewing and sending shows across the net.

Sorry to be such a blatant shill, but I've owned a ReplayTV for about 3 years now, and I think they're great. In many ways I think they are much nicer than TIVO. (I don't own stock in SonicBlue or even know anyone who works for them).

ReplayTV's latest units (the 4000 and 4500 series) take care of this. You connect them all to your home Ethernet and you can watch shows in the bedroom that you recorded in the living room. They even have enough CPU now to be streaming one show while you record another.

Replay has also added other features that TIVO doesn't have, like web-based scheduling without compromising the security of your home network, photo viewing and sending shows across the net.

Sorry to be such a blatant shill, but I've owned a ReplayTV for about 3 years now, and I think they're great. In many ways I think they are much nicer than TIVO. (I don't own stock in SonicBlue or even know anyone who works for them).

ReplayTV's latest units (the 4000 and 4500 series) take care of this. You connect them all to your home Ethernet and you can watch shows in the bedroom that you recorded in the living room. They even have enough CPU now to be streaming one show while you record another.

Replay has also added other features that TIVO doesn't have, like web-based scheduling without compromising the security of your home network, photo viewing and sending shows across the net.

Sorry to be such a blatant shill, but I've owned a ReplayTV for about 3 years now, and I think they're great. In many ways I think they are much nicer than TIVO. (I don't own stock in SonicBlue or even know anyone who works for them).

ReplayTV's latest units (the 4000 and 4500 series) take care of this. You connect them all to your home Ethernet and you can watch shows in the bedroom that you recorded in the living room. They even have enough CPU now to be streaming one show while you record another.

Replay has also added other features that TIVO doesn't have, like web-based scheduling without compromising the security of your home network, photo viewing and sending shows across the net.

Sorry to be such a blatant shill, but I've owned a ReplayTV for about 3 years now, and I think they're great. In many ways I think they are much nicer than TIVO. (I don't own stock in SonicBlue or even know anyone who works for them).

ReplayTV's latest units (the 4000 and 4500 series) take care of this. You connect them all to your home Ethernet and you can watch shows in the bedroom that you recorded in the living room. They even have enough CPU now to be streaming one show while you record another.

Replay has also added other features that TIVO doesn't have, like web-based scheduling without compromising the security of your home network, photo viewing and sending shows across the net.

Sorry to be such a blatant shill, but I've owned a ReplayTV for about 3 years now, and I think they're great. In many ways I think they are much nicer than TIVO. (I don't own stock in SonicBlue or even know anyone who works for them).

Old price: $1249.99

New price: $899.99 (but the service price is broken out. even if you want to add the up-front cost back in, it is still $100.00 cheaper than is was last week. This price is for an equal (160 hour) system. You can get the smallest one (40) for $350.00 now.

Here is the price page

competition is GOOD.

I could have sworn I've used a PVR that does most of this and also connects to a broadband connection, as well.

Don't you mean Replay TV? Or does TIVO now connect via broadband and allow for the sharing of programs like ReplayTV does?

I can't help but feel I'm being trolled, but what the heck. ReplayTV is a DVR box pretty much just like Tivo; check out ReplayTV's web site for more info.

Come on, people. This is nothing to get bent out of shape about -- this is exactly what the free market is for! Yes, it might be a kewl product, but if you don't agree with the license, don't purchase the product. Get a TiVo or other similar device that doesn't have these ridiculous limitations. The policy will die a natural death when market share dries up because people who refuse to abide by the policy don't buy the product.

Note, too, that if you do disagree with the policy, and yet still purchase, you will have lost. Sonic Blue will have gotten your money, and that tells other companies that people accept this asanine policy. Don't buy!

Also, remember that click-through licenses are as yet unenforceable (but keep watch the DMCA, SSSCA, and sister laws). But I doubt any of us wants to be the guinea pig to drag this through the legal system.

As for me, I will not be buying this product, but I will be writing Sonic Blue to tell them just exactly why I won't be buying. To make it easier for you, here is Sonic Blue's contact page. I urge you to send them a similar letter if this policy bothers you.

Try mine:

REPLAYTV 4500 Digital Video Recorder
Activation and Service Agreement

1. Use of the Service
You may use the service for any purpose and SonicBlue can't say "boo" about it.

2. Fees and Term of the ReplayTV Service
SonicBlue would like for you to pay for the service, but if you figure out how to steal it, well we can certainly respect such an achievement.

3. DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
If you use the ReplayTV 4500 to store emergency response procedures for a nuclear reactor and the product fails to function during a disaster due to neutron flux, SonicBlue accepts full responsibility for the resulting environmental damage.

4. Miscellaneous
You may modify this agreement at any time in any way without notice to SonicBlue. Failure of Sonicblue to notice or respond will constitute our agreement to the new conditions.

BY CLICKING ON THE "I AGREE" LINK BELOW, I REPRESENT THAT I HAVE READ, AND I UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO, THE TERMS STATED ABOVE.

It's quite simple, really -- not once did you ever see the agreement, and therefore you couldn't possibly have agreed to it.

Need it spoonfed to you? Okay, keep reading.

By beginning the activation of your new ReplayTV unit here, you will be activating the unit without agreeing to the agreement that seems to have Slashdotters up in arms -- in actual fact, you won't even have seen such an agreement, period.

In some jurisdictions, click-through agreements are legally binding -- but I've yet to hear of a jurisdiction which would consider you bound to an agreement you didn't see or agree to whatsoever.

The solution is simple: Instead of reading the agreement and agreeing to it, don't!

The solution is simple: Instead of reading the agreement and agreeing to it, don't!

I'm guessing the studios don't like the idea of this anymore than Internet content providers liked "framing" of their content inside others ads.

--H

They now have real damages to countersue for. I was going to buy one of the units (they really look cool) but now refuse to. I will not submit to this sort of monitoring. Period. They lost my sale. Am I alone? I am sending a message to this effect to privacy@replaytv.com, informing them of this and suggesting the countersuit. Maybe if they get more reports of real damages, a counter-suit will be filed.

ReplayTV has offered the myReplayTV service for almost 2 years now. It allows any ReplayTV user to remotely program their unit from the web.

You can see the programs that are currently on your machine (as of the last dial in), all of your record options, and all of your replay channels. From there you can do everything you need, such as delete shows and add new shows to be recorded. It is way cool, not only when I'm traveling but it sure is a lot easier to search for shows using a browser instead of the on-screen keyboard!

(Besides which, I'm think ReplayTV is just a more hacker friendly box in general.....)

I know that being able to program a PVR remotely is a big request

That capability has been available for quite some time from ReplayTV... and you don't even need AOL to do it! :)

Umm, that would be replayTV. No fees, and Broadband connection.

Well you gotta pay for the equipment, but ReplayTV's units carry no ongoing subscription fees.

You can buy it directly from ReplayTV.

You can buy it directly from ReplayTV.

These units have the capability to send shows from one ReplayTV unit to another. There's not a whole lot of detail given about this functionality, but I wonder whether it can be fooled into thinking your PC is a ReplayTV unit. I slobber uncontrollably when I think about a DVR that would let me archive shows to my file server.

I've been a Tivo owner for almost a couple of years now, and in that time I've modified mine with extra disk space, a web interface, an ethernet port, and a shell prompt on a serial port. :> And there is some work going on right now to play raw video streams from the unit streamed over the network (Andrew Tridgell of Samba fame is the main culprit there), but something like this -- and the stand that SonicBlue is taking on this issue -- makes me sorta want a ReplayTV 4000.

For those interested, there's very little information on the "Send Show" functionality listed on the ReplayTV web site, but I am curious how a user with multiple ReplayTV units and a broadband hardware firewall would allow people to send video to them. I assume it's a TCP session and let-'er-rip, but the site is annoyingly lacking on details. I'd love to know.

I've had a ReplayTV for two years now, and have been very happy with the hardware and the company. I'm looking forward to upgrading.