This will be my first DVR. I don't know whether Tivo or ReplayTV is better, but I'm willing to try either.

I'm looking for an inexpensive entry-level unit (40-80 hr?). It will be used with regular analog cable for right now. Does not need to be able to update over broadband or anything fancy like that. If anyone wants to upgrade their DVR and is looking to get rid of an old one, let me know.

Replays (and I assume tivo's) are pretty damn cheap these days. Replays go for $100 with a $50 rebate. Of course, then you're left with activation, which is the main expense. If you're still "trying things out" you can go monthly, but beware as that adds up. The nice thing about lifetime activations is they don't seem to depreciate so you can usually get your money back.

Matthew

There's a wealth of information at AVS Forums about both the TiVo and ReplayTV units. I'm a big Replay TV guy, all the way back to the Model 2004 (28 hours) to today where I have 4 modified 5000 units (larger hard drives installed).

You'll love this new way of watching TV whenever you like. There's lot of good features on both brands that you can use to pause live TV, time-shift, skip ahead, back, etc.

One thing to note on the ReplayTV series....

The 5xxx series are the most desirable right now, because they have the automatic commercial skip and Internet Show Sharing features. Those features were removed when ReplayTV was sued recently and the latest models (the 55xx series) do not have these features.

So you'll see on eBay that the 5504 is cheaper than the 5040 (both 40 hour units) because the 5504 doesn't have the commercial skip and show sharing features. They're still great machines...

With commercial skip, you can watch a 60 minute show in about 40 minutes. You can still skip manually if you have a non-commercial skip machine. And you can watch a 3 hour football game in about 70-80 minutes by using the Replay 30 second skip button right after the ball goes out of play to skip ahead to the next play.

Once you get one, you'll never look back. You'll probably want one on every tv....

Let me know if you have any questions and I can help. I'm more familiar with Replay than Tivo, but I think Tony can help with the Tivo questions....

Randy

If you get a ReplayTV, the 4000 and 4500 series also have internet show sharing, but only amongst themselves, not to 5000 series.

I have a ReplayTV 3030 (but now it is a 3160 after a drive upgrade...) and have had the 50xx model and I have to say I sold my 50xx because of the sluggish UI. Judging by friends who bought the 50xx's I had and who'd never been exposed to the earlier models you'll love it. But for me the performance of the UI in the newer models made them almost unusable. Changing channels took ~2-5sec and made channel flipping a tiresome chore.

I'm sure I could've enjoyed the commercial skip--even more so the Ethernet out on the newer models, but just not enough to part with my older unit.

Either way, you'll never watch TV the same way again--unless you're traveling, which really sucks cause you don' t have that 30-sec-skip-forward or 7-sec-skip-back button in the hotel. ;-)

Edit:Ooh, and I forgot to mention: the 20xx, 30xx models have no monthly fee for programming info!

... I have to say I sold my 50xx because of the sluggish UI.
I've read about this a few times over at AVSForum, but I've never understood why this is true for some users and not for others. The UI has always been quick for me, both before and after a hard drive upgrade.

Changing channels took ~2-5sec and made channel flipping a tiresome chore.
I thought of it this way as well, at first. But these things really do change the way you watch TV, regardless of which brand you choose. I personally never watch live TV anymore. Or on the extremely rare occassion that I do, I "guide surf." But then, I was never much of a channel surfer before I had a ReplayTV.

Ok...At Amazon, I can get a 40 hour TiVo for $70.94 (after $100 rebate) or a 40 hour ReplayTV for $49.74 (after $50 rebate). Those of you that have used both, given this choice...which would you buy and why?

I only use Tivo because of the integration with DirecTV. If I was using cable, there is no question I would use a ReplayTV 5000 series.

I've only used a replayTV for about a week and since I already had a TiVo I gave up on the replayTV. So you can see I would say go with TiVo. But what I really want to recommend is that if you get a TiVo try to get a Philips because the remote is 100 times better and if you need to replace a dead HD the Philips images are easier to find.

The TiVo (peanut) remote is boss. There is nothing else.

I prefer interacting with TiVo. I prefer ReplayTV for extraction and show sharing. What are your (primary) goals, I guess...

The ergonomics of the Sony TiVo remote suck, whereas those of the peanut remote are excellent. End of story.

I don't have a problem with either. I get along just fine with either the Sony or the peanut.

FWIW, the ReplayTV remote I have is very similar to the Sony TiVo remote. So similar that it's obvious one is a copy of the other.

Well, my Ratshack 15-1994, custom configured with all the Tivo functions and set up with a great custom labeling system is the best of all. Not as ergonomic as the peanut, but the peanut can't control all of my A/V functions or the DVD and VCR either.

MMmm..... Peanuts.

The Replay remote is a JP1 remote, like Tony's 1994. You can completely reconfigure it.

Also, you can interchange the Philips and Sony remotes on a TiVo as long as you use a small patch. I was using a Sony TiVo image on my Philips TiVo and had to use a patch to switch the remote back to the peanut.

Bruno

In TiVo hacking, only a "moron" would keep their box connected to the phone line in the first place.

On a Series 1 DTivo, yes, you can run a Sony image (at least of 3.1.x) on a Philips box (that means an actual Philips or Hughes). These units are pretty much all the same really.

P.S. The TiVo forums (linked above) are mostly full of hot air. So I try to avoid them.

Bruno

Or you could use ethernet

I have a series 2 and it connects to the tivo service via a usb ethernet dongle.

Well, I just sent payment for this:

Phillips Tivo HDR 312 upgraded to 128 hours recording with LIFETIME subscription

This series 1 unit was upgraded with a second HDD (Maxtor 5400 rpm 80G HDD). Mounted with a bracket purchased from 9thtee.com. Nice clean installation. No tape or dangling wires. No problems with the modem at all. This unit will be shipped in original box with remote and manuals.

Lifetime subscription from Tivo = $299
Bracket from 9thtee = $20.74 shipped
HDD = $40 shipped after annoying rebates
Phillips hdr-312 = originally $199

price is $300 + actual shipping.

Thanks Rob, I'll give it a try and order one if I need it.