Its ALIVE!!! Replay TV RTV5504 40 Hr for $149.95 - Replay Maybe Stepping to the Plate

[HarryK]

Originally posted by: dr_wily
thanks sngryng, I hooked it back to the router while it was on last night but havent checked if it worked, it was prefilled in the settings though. The thing that bothers me the most will be the hassle of boxing it up and taking it back rather that losing out on the deal. I spent a good amt of hours worrying and purchasing and such that i wont get back and that irritates me

Amen, I raced all over town today trying to find these. I ended up with two units from radio shack. I've hooked up one of them and no dice. No activation. I just called the replayTV 800#, gave the guy my serial number and the guy said "Did you buy this from Radio Shack?" I told him that I did, and he explained to me that those units don't come with activation. I told him that the sign at Radio shack said there was activation and he said that they no longer come with activation and that the radio shack people should have told me that. We mutually came to the conclusion that I should return the units to radio shack since they were the ones that told me I was getting something that I wasn't.

Actually, a side note, the manager at one of the Radio shack stores did tell me that they no longer came with activation. He said: Yeah, we just did a price drop on these and removed the service. We started off selling them for $199 without activation. Then we added the 3-years of service and raised the price to $499 and now we've dropped them back down to $149 and removed the 3-years of service from the deal.

I'll try my second one tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. Looks like Radio shack's getting some returns.

 

[SuepaFly]

So let me get this straight, even if I buy the 5040's from Radio Shack and they have a red sticker, I can still get free activation?

Sorry, reading all the post but does not compute. It seems that everyone is getting them activated via customer support.

 

[royaldank]

Just for the record, I have been running one from CC yesterday and today. Registered it online for the web features. Forced a call tonight and that setup the web stuff. Everything is just as it should be. I can log in online and view evrything on there, make changes, manually set record times, etc. Hopefully others have the same luck.

A tip: I sent my buddy to a Radioshack. He got the box and called ReplayTV from the store. Read the seriel number and they verified it had a lifetime subscription included. He bought it. He will not have time to set it up until tomorrow night. Sounds very promising though, since the ReplayTV folks verified it's got subscription included. I suggest this approach if you are still going to try tomorrow.

 

[HarryK]

Originally posted by: royaldank
A tip: I sent my buddy to a Radioshack. He got the box and called ReplayTV from the store. Read the seriel number and they verified it had a lifetime subscription included. He bought it. He will not have time to set it up until tomorrow night. Sounds very promising though, since the ReplayTV folks verified it's got subscription included

Yeah, but there are people who called the CSRs to verify their 3yr activation only to find out later that their replays had suddenly changed from "activated" to "hey, pay up or your trial runs out in 3 days"

My guess is that what the RS manager told me is true. That the price drop was not a $499 machine with 3-years being dropped down to a $149 machine with 3-years, but rather, $499 machine with 3-years being dropped down to a $149 machine with no years. (or their $199 Replay with no-years dropped to $149)

My guess is that it's just a matter of time before the $149 machines all get processed back to a no-year status. Sure, some might slip through, but I really don't believe the $149 deal ever was supposed to include the 3-years. And RS quickly changed their website to reflect that. The workers I encountered at RS fell into 2 groups:
(group 1) knew nothing about the price drop from $499 to $149 (were shocked when the price came up so low) but thought the product included 3 years because that's what the $499 tags said
(group 2) Was very aware that the price had gone from $499 to $149 and were also very sure that the 3-years were no longer included

 

[HarryK]

Originally posted by: SuepaFly
So let me get this straight, even if I buy the 5040's from Radio Shack and they have a red sticker, I can still get free activation?

Sorry, reading all the post but does not compute. It seems that everyone is getting them activated via customer support.

Hmmm... I don't see that, although I've only made it through the 108th page of the FW thread.

And my experience with customer support certainly does not reflect that. They seemed aware of the situation and made it clear that the Radio Shack units did NOT include any years of service, no matter what the old pricing signs said.

 

[tmchow]

i just picked one up from a local CompUSA. Sticker on the top of the box clearly says "3 year activation included". Shelf price was $499, but when I asked the salesguy to scan it, it came up as $149.

 

[wileybot1]

I was at CC at and talked to the manager about the whole thing, basically this is what he said, ReplayTV dropped the price to 149.00 this does not include any activation, despite what the box says. He said if i bought the unit it was only a matter of time and i would have to pay the monthly fee, of course if i wasnt happy I could return the unit within 30 days. He then got a black marker and crossed out all the labels on all the units that this would effect. All the pricing on the display was clearly marked with the activation/monthly details. Looks like a good ole screw up.....i would be surprised if this works. ReplayTV created a little bit of stir but all in all they are going to have a lot of returns.

 

[Bas2000]

I already own a couple of replaytvs. I just came from RS and purchased another 5040 but for 149.99

The 5040 was sealed and had the red tag. I came home and setup it up. The waybill on the box was dated May 21, 03 so it was from the original stock. Bummer is it needs to be activated My 3 day grace period will expire on Dec. 23.

Rat Shack still has another 5040 that is a floor demo. I'm going to take this one back and swap them to see if it has the lifetime activation.

 

[Kwad Guy]

A tip: I sent my buddy to a Radioshack. He got the box and called ReplayTV from the store. Read the seriel number and they verified it had a lifetime subscription included. He bought it. He will not have time to set it up until tomorrow night. Sounds very promising though, since the ReplayTV folks verified it's got subscription included. I suggest this approach if you are still going to try tomorrow.

Bad tip. Lots of people (myself included) have 5040s that were "verified" as having lifetime subscriptions that have subsequently had them deactivated.

Kwad

 

[wileybot1]

busted!!!! I got a 5040 from RS (red label) went throught the whole activation process and the guy at ReplayTV basically said pay $$ or return. If you got this system you may want to see how this unfolds in the next 30 days (before you cant return it!). I doubt replay will do anything. To bad, this had the makings of a sweet deal... actual its really not a deal but more of us exploiting a screw up (on somebodies part)
It will be interesting to sit at corporate ReplayTV, they are probably seeing a increase in $ orders which they will book for 2003, but then will have a large amount returned in 2004. This might actual benefit them in terms of making there sales goals for 2003. I dont believe it was intentional just a good ole screwup. GOOD LUCK ALL!

 

[Hugenstein]

Just picked up two at my local CompUSA for $149 each. Nice green sticker on the top saying 3 years service included, should be equivalent to the Circuit City buyers who seem to be getting to keep the 3 years service.

Let's hope this works out, I can't figure out what else to get my parents for Christmas, and they definitely won't be interested in this is there is a $10+ monthly fee.

 

[Bas2000]

My 5040 from Rat Shack has a serial number that ends with 3170. I bought that today and it wasn't activated .

After the initial setup, it has a 3 day grace. After performing the 382 reset, it now has a 10 day grace. Any ideas what's going to happen with this?

 

[royaldank]

Originally posted by: Kwad Guy

A tip: I sent my buddy to a Radioshack. He got the box and called ReplayTV from the store. Read the seriel number and they verified it had a lifetime subscription included. He bought it. He will not have time to set it up until tomorrow night. Sounds very promising though, since the ReplayTV folks verified it's got subscription included. I suggest this approach if you are still going to try tomorrow.

Bad tip. Lots of people (myself included) have 5040s that were "verified" as having lifetime subscriptions that have subsequently had them deactivated.

Kwad

My buddy that got that unit did call. He got the "grace period" screen today when he hooked it up. He called and explained it was a Hanaka gift he got in the mail a few days ago. Couldn't have been purchased this week because he got it in the mail on Monday. They gave him the activation. After a forced call, grace period disappeared.

 

[REDRAIN]

I checked the C.C. Web-site & put in my Zip. It came back with "none available within 100 miles of your location". So I called anyway. One still in Stock! $161.05 OTD. GREEN STICKER on the Box! Called the three Local RS's in my town all OOS except for the Floor/Demo Model (two of three)... Took a chance with one of those.... No box (packing) just a remote the RTV5504 & Instrutions....The Manager said "He had never even set it up" "It just sat on their shelf collecting dust". It came with a 2 year warranty. $161.05 OTD. (CC pitched a 3 year warranty for $25.00). I passed. Wanted to see if it had the Green Sticker first. I'm thinking that RS model is old enough that it probably has the service included. Crossing me fingers!

Redrain

 

[SuepaFly]

You have a chance to set the floor model up yet Redrain?

Originally posted by: REDRAIN
I checked the C.C. Web-site & put in my Zip. It came back with "none available within 100 miles of your location". So I called anyway. One still in Stock! $161.05 OTD. GREEN STICKER on the Box! Called the three Local RS's in my town all OOS except for the Floor/Demo Model (two of three)... Took a chance with one of those.... No box (packing) just a remote the RTV5504 & Instrutions....The Manager said "He had never even set it up" "It just sat on their shelf collecting dust". It came with a 2 year warranty. $161.05 OTD. (CC pitched a 3 year warranty for $25.00). I passed. Wanted to see if it had the Green Sticker first. I'm thinking that RS model is old enough that it probably has the service included. Crossing me fingers!

Redrain

 

[EXman]

Hey y'all my story is below but I got a question about the connection.

I do not have a phone jack near my replay tv is there any advantage to getting this thing hooked up to the internet with my cable modem? From what I see that will cost me ~$100 to get a wireless router and a reciever. Is it worth the extra $100 seems steep for those that do not run a wireless network already.
What hardware you all running for your network?







I got in on this in a couple ways I got 2 of the 5508 the 80hr $299 units with 3 year service from CC/Amazon (still a decent price w/service) and then I got a 5040 from RipShaq that was a Demo w 3 years. I have not set it up yet but I called India errr replayTV and they made sure I had the Activation for 3 years no problem.

This might be deal of the year especially those that got the CC B&M that had the service and then PMed to $99 price they had (see FW)

I might Sell my 40 hr unit on the bay and keep one 80 hour unit with the service.


IF YOU CAN GET A DEMO GET IT and call them haggle with them some and they will do it.

and to think I was going to get a Tivo for $250 plus mo/ service!

 

[royaldank]

I do not have a phone jack near my replay tv is there any advantage to getting this thing hooked up to the internet with my cable modem? From what I see that will cost me ~$100 to get a wireless router and a reciever. Is it worth the extra $100 seems steep for those that do not run a wireless network already.
What hardware you all running for your network?

I've been playing with mine the last couple of days. Having it on your network gives you the following things.

You run DVArchive on your computer and it acts pretty much like a second ReplayTV unit. You can upload, schedule, download shows, and get updates over the net. You can download shows from your ReplayTV unit to your computer. From there, you can covert and burn as VCD or DVD. You can also stream the video (wireless bridge may be an issue here) from your computer across the network and watch on your TV. You no longer need to upgarde the harddrive and void your warranty. You can just dump every week or two to your computer. Burn anything you want to keep long term. Great for making series VCDs or DVDs of your favorite shows.

Is it worth $100? Not sure. I probably wouldn't pay that, but I'm kind of cheap. I have a 50' network cable running around my computer room out to the living room. But, if this sounds like something you'd use (if you want to DVD or VCD tv shows) then it might be worth the money.

 

[puppyfriend]

I call up a bunch of CC stores in the SF Bay today and they all said they were getting 10 off the truck today. I drove out to the one store this morning who had already unloaded and sure enough, I got a fresh green stickered 5504.

HURRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

David

 

[HarryK]

Originally posted by: puppyfriend
I call up a bunch of CC stores in the SF Bay today and they all said they were getting 10 off the truck today. I drove out to the one store this morning who had already unloaded and sure enough, I got a fresh green stickered 5504.

What does it say when you check out your activation status? CC was already sending out emails saying that as of Dec 17th you'd have to pay for the service no matter what the box says. And it's been reported that CC/Replay know what serial#s are in the new batches that are hitting CC this week. And the CC webpage very clearly states that the service is NOT included with the $149 model.

I think those that got in on the cusp of this deal are more likely to get the service than the new batches, and everybody seems pretty well clued in at this point, but I'm curious what your unit says about your activation.

 

[apatel47]

From Techbargains:

"ReplayTV Activation, Dec 20
ReplayTV.us reports that all 5500's have to be activated by Monday 12/22 or else they will have to pay for activation. Doesn't matter if you have a sticker or not.

If you have a unit, activate it, call in. If you don't buy one right away! "

If you follow the link they provide, (http://www.replaytv.us/en-us/dept_2.html), you get:

"REPLAYTV RTV5500 NEWS (17 Dec 2003)

As everyone has heard, DNNA has changed its ReplayTV marketing strategy. They have decided to completely unbundle the activation from the RTV5500s. Even the units that are in inventory which are labels "3 year activation included" will be affected. ALL RTV5500 units connected after 12/23 will have NO activation, regardless of how much you paid for the unit."

 

[rancidcrabtree]

Replaytv.US is NOT replaytv.com they're just another small time dealer trying to make a buck. Who gives a rats a$$ what this guy in a trailer says.


kev

Originally posted by: apatel47
From Techbargains:

"ReplayTV Activation, Dec 20
ReplayTV.us reports that all 5500's have to be activated by Monday 12/22 or else they will have to pay for activation. Doesn't matter if you have a sticker or not.

If you have a unit, activate it, call in. If you don't buy one right away! "

If you follow the link they provide, (http://www.replaytv.us/en-us/dept_2.html), you get:

"REPLAYTV RTV5500 NEWS (17 Dec 2003)

As everyone has heard, DNNA has changed its ReplayTV marketing strategy. They have decided to completely unbundle the activation from the RTV5500s. Even the units that are in inventory which are labels "3 year activation included" will be affected. ALL RTV5500 units connected after 12/23 will have NO activation, regardless of how much you paid for the unit."

 

[apatel47]

Whew! That's good to know. Thought it was fishy, especially with all the Christmas presents likely out there, but you never can tell.

 

[1Cheap2Crazy]

Originally posted by: apatel47
From Techbargains:

...As everyone has heard, DNNA has changed its ReplayTV marketing strategy...

And just who is DNNA?

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: 1Cheap2Crazy

Originally posted by: apatel47
From Techbargains:

...As everyone has heard, DNNA has changed its ReplayTV marketing strategy...

And just who is DNNA?

Digital Networks North America. Google is your friend.

 

[1Cheap2Crazy]

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: 1Cheap2Crazy

Originally posted by: apatel47
From Techbargains:

...As everyone has heard, DNNA has changed its ReplayTV marketing strategy...

And just who is DNNA?

Digital Networks North America. Google is your friend.

I did that, and just who is Digital Networks North America? Do they control replaytv or is that goofy site just trying to screw us over by making DNNA sound like Denon?