The Replay is probabaly a better machine, with slightly better capacbilities. But most of that will never matter to most users. I love my TiVo, though I've had bad luck with it (I've had to send it in for repairs twice). They've happily sent me replacements, though.
I have ReplayTV and I've seen a friend's TiVo in action and I can tell you I converted him to a ReplayTV user. So I can tell you that I much prefer the ReplayTV.
I've got SkyPlus over here (England) and that's a pretty impressive bit of kit... Tivo is available over here but I've never heard of Replay TV... Trouble with SkyPlus is that it can only record one thing at a time... I still use my VCR though... And my DVD Player...
Do you have DirecTV? If so, you can get a combo box that has the TiVo service built in. I've had one for a little over a year now and absolutely love it.
Another option: Ultimate TV, which also works with DirecTV. Mine is a Sony machine with a nifty wireless keyboard for entry of search terms and so forth. You get some WebTV internet connectivity with the same service - base price for service about $10/month on top of whatever you normally pay for DirecTV. It will easily record two different programs at the same time, it provides picture-in-picture capability regardless of what your TV offers, and has the same "record all" features as a Tivo "Season Pass" I have had the machine for about 18 months and it has never had an operational problem.
Another option 1 - if you have Dish Netowrk you can get the PVR 501/508/721. Like the DirecTIVO these units simply archive the stream. Best Quality! Better than the stand alone units. Dustin
Clarification on UltimateTV - it IS my DirecTV receiver, not a stand alone unit. Do not know if it comes as a stand alone or not.
I've had a stand alone TiVo for a year and a half and it rocks. No problems so far. I'll be upgrading to a DirecTiVo unit in the near future (record 2 programs at once, higher capacity and better picture quality, etc.) I've also read that TiVo is a safer bet for the long haul since they now own the patent/copyrights for DVR technology.
Speaking of DVRs, anyone else having trouble deleting world cup games? I flirted with the idea of buying a new one and renaming this one my 2002 US World Cup machine, but luckily a bigsoccer poster solved my dilemma for me.
Just buy a DVR you will not be sorry. A DVR is to a VCR is what a computer is to a typewriter. I have a Re-Play Tv and I like it. The best feature that Re-Play TV has is Quick Skip. It jumps 30 seconds ahead in the program. Bye bye commercials. Re-Play TV is running a rebate program. My advice is go to the web sights for the different DVRs and pick the one that fits you the best. Aaron
imho, i think the replay is the better machine. it has a larger up front cost, but no monthly fee (tivo does offer lifetime membership and i believe replay is going to introduce a monthly option) replay allows for networking of the units so you can send programs via an internal "replay" network or across the internet. you can program it via the internet as well (so if you forget to tell it to record that mid afternoon champions league match you can do so from work). replay is also easier to hack, being pretty much a straight linux based OS, though there are plenty of tivo hacks out there as well. you might want to consider looking at a PVR card for your PC. it doesn't offer some of the benefits of a tivo/replay unit, but the right card records to MPEG-2 (tivo is a proprietry format) and is easily offloaded to CD or DVD straight from the hard drive. it's much more difficult to accomplish the same thing with tivo/replay. i'm going to build my box sometime next year (wait to see which dvd recordable format wins out)
I don't have one, but I hear the DirecTivo units are great. The newest ReplayTV units are broadband-enabled, so they can access the ReplayTV listing service via the internet, and so users can share programs (there was a copyright challenge on this, about which I don't know the status at this point). The 30-second skip is a great feature, too. And everyone that has one says something to the effect of, "Just get one, it'll completely change the way you view television, and that's understating it." I SO need one of these. At this point I don't care which kind. Here's a relatively recent ZDNet article: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-931223.html
OK, I am recording the second leg of a UEFA cup tie and the match goes into extra time and then penalties. Will the DVR (TiVO, UltimateTV, etc.) continue with the action or will the recording stop at the designated time in the listing? Also, if one service does a better job in this circumstance, please post that info also. I plan on getting a dish within the next month (don't know what brand, but that is another thread) as I am losing my Digital cable.
Don't know if it is better, but on the UltimateTV system it is very easy to extend the time for recording an event. That is one of the options you are given when you initially mark something to record, and I routinely set soccer matches for +30 minutes. Otherwise I do think the time for recording is tied to the information shown in the on-screen guide.
You have to tell Tivo to record 15-30 minutes extra. It's pretty easy. When you're telling it to record the programs, just go into the "options" and you can have it do that. I give MLS matches an extra 15 minutes, just in case there's a lot of stoppage time AND 10 minutes of overtime.
And this is very easy because you can just set this once in a season pass for all your soccer watching and be covered. The season pass feature is a gift from god, at least for a couch potato like myself Andy
I have the Directv/Tivo integrated box and don't know what I did before it. I record so many games that I end up watching most in the first FFWD setting and now can watch a game in about 50 minutes and not miss any action. when a goal is scored I just go back to regular speed and back it up a little bit to get the full build up and then resume in FFWD mode. Also the Season Pass rocks.
I'm just waiting for the day we can send games ove r the internet through one of these systems. Also an option to edit, like cutting certain lengths, kepping the goals.