I have owned a ReplayTV for the past 8 months (1 year?) or so, and it really HAS changed the way I watch television. When my husband was clamoring to get one before, I was very resistant. I couldn't imagine why anyone would pay that much money for a glorified VCR (we can both program ours just fine)? But after months of nagging, I finally gave in. Now I can't imagine our living room withou one.
Benefits of the "digital personal recorder" (both TiVO and ReplayTV):
1) Pausing live television: If the phone rings in the middle of watching a live program, I can hit the Pause button, go answer the phone, come back to the TV, press Play, and pickup exactly where I left off. 2) Instant replay for live television: If you missed a line of dialogue or just want to see that cool slam dunk again, you can. ReplayTV has an Instant Replay button that auto-rewinds the last 5 seconds or so (you can keep pressing the button to rewind more than that or just do normal rewind as well). I don't know if TiVO offers this feature. 3) Ability to watch a taped show while another is being taped: I can be watching a taped episode of Ally McBeal while the Replay is also recording South Park. I CANNOT watch a different live show while another is being recorded because there is only one tuner. 4) Ability to watch a show from the beginning WHILE it is currently being taped: Let's say you record the X-Files because you thought you'd be out on Sunday night. You come home at 9:30. With a traditional VCR, you have to wait for the recording to finish. With the Replay, you can start watching right then and there from the beginning of the episode. If you catch up to the live broadcast, then it will just be like watching normal live TV through the Replay. (By the way, I thought the Scully Cleavage shot was pretty killer, and I'm a married heterosexual woman.;-)) 5) Theme-based channels: I like Jacque Pepin's cooking shows and equestrian programs, so I have the Replay set up to tape these programs whenever they come on, any time, any channel. 6) Easy to maintain library of recorded shows: We used to have to search through multiple tapes to find the show we want to watch because we were taping so many. Then if you watch one show on a 6-hour tape but doesn't get to the rest of the tape, that tape cannot be reused unless you want to risk accidentally taping over something else. With Replay, each show can be deleted or archived to VCR individually (archiving is a new feature with the January upgrade of the Replay software).
Things I like about ReplayTV that I DON'T like about TiVO:
1) I don't want to pay for my programming guide, not monthly subscription or one-time payment. 2) The TiVO UI is not as intuitive to use or pleasing to look at as the Replay (I saw a TiVO demo at the neighborhood Fry's). 3) TiVO has said that they might start carrying commercials built into their channel guide (like banner ads on web pages). I have not heard any plans to proactively carry advertising from Replay. 4) I REALLY hate TiVO's "smart record" feature where it will tape shows you MIGHT like based on your viewing pattern. Just because I like equestrian programming, doesn't mean I want to tape the entire lineup of Animal Planet! With Replay, I can create theme-based channels that are as broad or narrow as I want. I can just tape Jacque Pepin: Encore with Claudine episodes or any cooking show. This gives me plenty of flexibility but still full control of what gets recorded. This is especially important when disk space is a premium. 5) ReplayTV has a 30 second skip button that effectively fast forward through commercials one at a time. Usually at the start of a commercial segment, I press the button 4 times, and the show is back on. Replay has gotten into trouble with advertisers with this feature, but since I'm a consumer, I love this feature and would not want to see it go away. For what it's worth, I often rewind and consciously watch a commercial ON PURPOSE if it looked interesting.
Wow, for a first post from a new user, this message was hella long. Obviously the personal digital recorder is not for everyone. But for us, the device has really made a difference. And I'd definitely recommmend ReplayTV over TiVO.
Slashdot Mirror
I couldn't agree more, although as a girl myself, I didn't have a crush on Madoka, I wanted to BE her. ;-)
./)
Have you seen the Shin KOR movie?
--madoka (at least I have her name here on
Rei,
How about this variation?
A woman's place is in the house...The White House.
--madoka
My god, are there NO fans of KOR out there? I am shocked...
If you want a kickass, beautiful, smart heroine to lust after, look no further than Madoka Ayukawa the Pick.
Also check out Maison Ikkoku. The underlying angst in both of these series is almost unbearable.
--madoka
I have owned a ReplayTV for the past 8 months (1 year?) or so, and it really HAS changed the way I watch television. When my husband was clamoring to get one before, I was very resistant. I couldn't imagine why anyone would pay that much money for a glorified VCR (we can both program ours just fine)? But after months of nagging, I finally gave in. Now I can't imagine our living room withou one.
;-))
Benefits of the "digital personal recorder" (both TiVO and ReplayTV):
1) Pausing live television: If the phone rings in the middle of watching a live program, I can hit the Pause button, go answer the phone, come back to the TV, press Play, and pickup exactly where I left off.
2) Instant replay for live television: If you missed a line of dialogue or just want to see that cool slam dunk again, you can. ReplayTV has an Instant Replay button that auto-rewinds the last 5 seconds or so (you can keep pressing the button to rewind more than that or just do normal rewind as well). I don't know if TiVO offers this feature.
3) Ability to watch a taped show while another is being taped: I can be watching a taped episode of Ally McBeal while the Replay is also recording South Park. I CANNOT watch a different live show while another is being recorded because there is only one tuner.
4) Ability to watch a show from the beginning WHILE it is currently being taped: Let's say you record the X-Files because you thought you'd be out on Sunday night. You come home at 9:30. With a traditional VCR, you have to wait for the recording to finish. With the Replay, you can start watching right then and there from the beginning of the episode. If you catch up to the live broadcast, then it will just be like watching normal live TV through the Replay. (By the way, I thought the Scully Cleavage shot was pretty killer, and I'm a married heterosexual woman.
5) Theme-based channels: I like Jacque Pepin's cooking shows and equestrian programs, so I have the Replay set up to tape these programs whenever they come on, any time, any channel.
6) Easy to maintain library of recorded shows: We used to have to search through multiple tapes to find the show we want to watch because we were taping so many. Then if you watch one show on a 6-hour tape but doesn't get to the rest of the tape, that tape cannot be reused unless you want to risk accidentally taping over something else. With Replay, each show can be deleted or archived to VCR individually (archiving is a new feature with the January upgrade of the Replay software).
Things I like about ReplayTV that I DON'T like about TiVO:
1) I don't want to pay for my programming guide, not monthly subscription or one-time payment.
2) The TiVO UI is not as intuitive to use or pleasing to look at as the Replay (I saw a TiVO demo at the neighborhood Fry's).
3) TiVO has said that they might start carrying commercials built into their channel guide (like banner ads on web pages). I have not heard any plans to proactively carry advertising from Replay.
4) I REALLY hate TiVO's "smart record" feature where it will tape shows you MIGHT like based on your viewing pattern. Just because I like equestrian programming, doesn't mean I want to tape the entire lineup of Animal Planet! With Replay, I can create theme-based channels that are as broad or narrow as I want. I can just tape Jacque Pepin: Encore with Claudine episodes or any cooking show. This gives me plenty of flexibility but still full control of what gets recorded. This is especially important when disk space is a premium.
5) ReplayTV has a 30 second skip button that effectively fast forward through commercials one at a time. Usually at the start of a commercial segment, I press the button 4 times, and the show is back on. Replay has gotten into trouble with advertisers with this feature, but since I'm a consumer, I love this feature and would not want to see it go away. For what it's worth, I often rewind and consciously watch a commercial ON PURPOSE if it looked interesting.
Wow, for a first post from a new user, this message was hella long. Obviously the personal digital recorder is not for everyone. But for us, the device has really made a difference. And I'd definitely recommmend ReplayTV over TiVO.
--madoka