SONICblue ReplayTV 5000 Digital Video Recorder

Pros: Will record every episode of your soap, if you ask it to.
Cons: Can't watch that television while using the Replay machine, unless it is the same program.

December 22nd. The Manager of Circuit City sent off the paperwork. Nothing happened. We contacted him again mid November. He sent the paperwork a second time. My husband telephone him and he suggested we go to the store. He said that 7 months was ...

Pros: USB port, Excellent recording quality, impressive feature list, commercial advance, Cheaper than ever, video extraction
Cons: Multi-tasking slow, bugs need fixing, still high cost of entry ($250 activation fee!)

HI! I’m glad you chose to at least browse this review to help you decide which PVR you’d like. I currently own the Showstopper, RTV5xxx, Tivo1, and Tivo2. Hopefully this review can bring to light the strengths and weaknesses of ...

Pros: Update: Not really many Pros after the new Tivo Update.
Cons: Not as user-friendly as TIVO, No Thumbs-Up, Thumbs-Down system, Slow channel switching and setup.

Reviewers Note: Since I originally wrote this review, Tivo has come out with the Home Media Option Package, which was just added into the normal price for a subscription. This package lets you view your digital photos and listen to music that you have ...

Pros: Quietness of unit. Guide navigation speed very snappy.
Cons: S-L-O-W channel changes. Remote layout is much different from 3000 series.

After seeing the new 4000, 4500 and 5000 ReplayTV units hit the streets, I wanted to see if it was worth upgrading my Panasonic Showstopper 2000 (OEM version of the ReplayTV 3000 series). Here are my initial comments after using the 5040 for...

Pros: Watch what you want, when you want--if it's working.
Cons: Terrible, absolutely abysmal customer service.

I purchased my Replay TV 5040 unit (made by Sonic Blue) in mid-December 2002. My reasons for buying the unit (apart from generally being an "early adopter" of new technology) were primarily that: (1) I work lots of long hours and don't get much of a...

Pros: More features for less money then TiVo. Period.
Cons: my.replay.com only updates once a day your selections.

Excerpt taken from my web site, svenrox. You can read the full review here:
http://svenrox.com/index.php?p=1188&c=1#comments

To give you a quicky on the title. It's basic. TiVo is like the Macintosh OS9. Simple, easy on the eyes, a...

Pros: Easy to use, easy to setup. Will fundamentally change the way you watch tv.
Cons: Built in tuner seems lacking.

I had been tracking the PVR's waiting for the price/performance to get down to a reasonable level. The 5040 came out at the sub $250 with rebates we decided to jump.

I consider my self a techie - so I can tolerate some hitches as an 'early...

Pros: Couch potato's dream. Tape-less, instant access to recorded shows. Channel guide.
Cons: Slight picture quality degredation when watching live program. Cannot watch other channels while recording.

I purchased the Replay TV 5000 along with my Sony KP-46WT500 (See my review Sony's 46 inch TV Wonder). Using a component cable to connect to video 6 on the Sony there is a slight but noticeable degredation in picture quality in comparison to direct...

Pros: Sleek looking design, Heavy, solid construction.
Cons: Terrible customer service, doesn't record shows 100% of the time

My father told me that I could choose a TiVo or a Replay TV for Christmas this year. I hadn't heard of RTV, so I looked into it and was sold by the fact that it had the ethernet capability built right in, plus it was $3.00 cheaper a month. I got it home...

Pros: hard to tell given the multitude of technical and customer service problems encountered
Cons: horrible customer service, website activation does not work, activation took a week

Received this as early Christmas gift and so far it's the gift that keeps taking -- the aggravation trying to set-up and then activate are almost not worth it. I suggest staying away from Replay until they get their act together.

Service is...

Pros: Commercial advance feature
Cons: Poor documentation; terrible customer service

The product itself works as advertised, but is a little slow and buggy when switching between onscreen menu options. As for the options themselves, configuring a show to record is no simple decision: The record-all shows option only works for programs on...

Pros: good features vga output
Cons: worst support i've experienced in 10 years slow, error prone when changing channels

My experience with Replay.

I purchased a unit from J&R Music World right before christmas. J&R themselves did a great job - effecient site, quick delivery, no hassles.

A few days ago, however, I went to activate the service for my...

Pros: Looks nice.
Cons: Expensive, poor quality and inconsistent recording, fussy to use.

I sent this unit back after a week as it did not live up to expectations. DishTV was running a special for new and existing customers that included a 501 unit, a JVC product (for $99 and $199, respectively). Thus far the 501 does everything the 5040...

Pros: Rewind live TV, ease of programming
Cons: Ambivalent customer service, outrageous dial in time for program guide updates

My fiancé and I received a RTV5060 as a gift a couple weeks back. We were excited to use it, but there were no local numbers for it to dial into and we did not have our DSL hooked up yet. We decided to let it call a long distance number for a few days t ...

Pros: Good Picture quality, easy search
Cons: Unusable USB port, subscription cost

I purchased my unit just before christmas 2002, it set up fairly fast and easy. You have a choice of subscription levels, I chose the $250.00 lifetime subscription. The unit worked great for a little over a month. The first week of Feb. the unit froze...