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"DO NOT ACCEPT A REFURBISHED PRODUCT" on by irvin1
Pros: Great, if you can get it to work
Cons: Programming goes down every Sunday, must reboot
Summary: We purchased our first Replay TV brand new from a retail store, when 3 months later it broke down. 6, yes SIX refurbished replay tv's later, (1 year) the company finally sent us one that WAS not refurbished when we threatened to call Consumer Affairs. Well, we did call them, and we are negotiating our $100.00's of dollars of phone bills to their non-toll free number in Texas, along with our $$$ of postage for having to return 6 units back to them. Seems the refurbished units are ALL seriously flawed and the Replay company knows this. Now that we FINALLY received a BRAND NEW one direct from the factory, it works great, but every Sunday the channel guide must be rebooted for some reason. If you don't reboot it, then the channel guide is blank and you cannot access channels or record any program. YOU MUST REBOOT! The problem is not our telephone line as we had to hire the phone company rep at 200.00 to find the problem, and it is not our alarm line which we spent 65.00 for them to discover was not the problem either. It was THE PRODUCT ITSELF! We only were so persistent in trying to fix this stupid thing because we purchased the lifetime program and Replay refused to refund our money though I had all documentation. They do not know how to fix their product, so don't bother holding for 20 minutes while they give you a case number. We have apprx 27 case management numbers, none resolved, and they are closed on the weekends. BUY TIVO!!!!!
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"Blows away Tivo" on by bentl1
Pros: unmatched versatility
Cons: No hi-def version
Summary: For the most electronically illiterate the Tivo is a good choice. But for anyone who needs or wants more options, the Replay is without question a better DVR. While the Tivo has many crippled functions, the Replay is "full-strength" with commercial skipping that is at least 85% accurate, full networking (both WAN and internet), full sharing capability with other Replay owners, full video extraction with free third party software and much, much more. This is the one that freaked out the television industry and Hollywood, due to it's power. It's really not fair to even compare the Tivo against the Replay as it's really intended for a different market. While the Tivo is little more than a sophisticated VCR, the ReplayTV really is in a class by itself.
The only complaint I could admit to is a lack of a HD unit. But as far the overall design, right down to the remote control is concerned, is vastly superior. Be aware that this version was the last of the "good ones".
The newer versions lack many of the features of the 5504. As I said eariler, this is the one that freaked everyone out in the entertainment business, so the newer versions are "dumbed down". (however, there are simple hacks to fully restore most of the features) Even with some of the features being turned off in the newest versions, it's still vastly superior to the Tivo. Having had both, it's no comparision.... -
"Still Best Out There, if Only HD" on
Pros: Best Logical Interface, not cutesy. Networks in a flash, share, shows over the internet. Online software to move shows to your PC easily. BURN AWAY
Cons: Not HD. If it was HD compatable it would RULE.....
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"It will change your life." on
Pros: I've had one for 4 years and recommend it to everyone. Check out this undocumented feature that TiVo doesn't have: hit a number and then the 30-sec skip button and it goes forward by that many minutes. Works with the 7-sec backward button too.
Cons: Slow channel changing
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"very cool, but the quality is POOR and customer service is just as bad" on
Pros: show nav will skip commercials
Cons: quality, reliability, out sourced customer service that can hardly speak english and are not very helpful, not to mention its a toll number!!!! do not buy at any cost!!!! I should have heeded everybodys warnings.
ReplayTV 5504 user reviews (DVR - ReplayTV)
Where to Buy
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