POLL: Tivo, Ultimate TV, ReplayTV/Showstopper: Which one is your favorite?

[arod]

I am looking to finally join the rest of the world and get a pvr of some sort in the next few weeks but there seems to be 3 choices and I know theyre all basically the same but which ones do the people of AT use and what feature/features made you pick the one you did?

I plan to hook it into my antenna and Dish Network (not sure if I can do the dish as I have the 6000 receiver for HDTV). And before you ask I dont want a HDTV pvr devices that are going to be coming out later this year, I dont have anywhere near that kind of money..... I plan to ebay whatever system I decide on because usually people buy the lifetime sub so I dont have to worry about that.

 

[arod]

anybody?

 

[brxndxn]

My parents have a Tivo and I have a Panasonic Showstopper (first generation).

I would pick the Showstopper HANDS DOWN. Once you upgrade to 100GB's or more, the organizing by shows feature seems to work REALLY well. Tivo would just throw everything into one long list.

Plus, Tivo makes goofy sounds like 'clickup' and 'clockip' all the damn time. The Replay is silent when I use the menu. Also, my parents' Tivo spit advertisements at them more than once and it records stupid stuff like 'Baywatch'.

The new Replay's are badass.. You can hook them up to broadband, get a spoofing program, and download the episodes to your computer and archive them.

But still.. if you don't have either, what the hell is wrong with you? I figure I get about 1 hour more per week of my own time that wouldn't be stolen by watching commercials. Plus, when I wash sports and stuff, the commercials actually seem interesting sometimes because I haven't seen them 9^9! times before.

EDIT: Dammit, I meant to click on showstopper, but I clicked on ultimate tv by mistake. I heard ultimate TV sucks, but I've never used it.

 

[Ameesh]

i have a new replay 5040 and the amount of cool software out there is soo nice.

i give replaytv a thumbs up!

 

[gosstech]

Dish Network offers there own PVR for $200. It is a decent PVR and there is no charge for the service.

I was impressed with ultimate tv and all the features it comes with. But then you have to pay a monthly fee to use it.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

I have a Replay Showstopper 2000. EXCELLENT. Bulletproof programming.

Best of all is that it can be upgraded to a 120 GB HD.

I can never go back to commercials. I will record something of interest and then start watching something in the databanks. Once the recording is over, I watch that show. I do this to skip commercials. My wife and I are spoiled......no more comercials---just pure efficiency and entertainment!

 

[arod]

Cool, thanks for the info... Ill have to look at the Replay some... The only reason Im getting one this late was I was waiting to see what the HDTV recorders were gonna come out as because it would be very nice to be able to remove commercials on HDTV but the recorders are gonna be atleast 1000, which is way more than I have to spend, so Im hoping to catch somebody who is selling their old pvr when they upgrade to the new hdtv recorder

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: gosstech
Dish Network offers there own PVR for $200. It is a decent PVR and there is no charge for the service.

I was impressed with ultimate tv and all the features it comes with. But then you have to pay a monthly fee to use it.

the dish pvr blows, we have it and it sucks compared to the new replays.

 

[Queasy]

I have a directv/ultimateTV receiver and I really like it better than my friend's direcTV/Tivo receiver. That said, I would probably get a TiVo over an UltimateTV right now because the future of UltimateTV is kind of in limbo at the moment. I would get a ReplayTV over a TiVo though.

 

[Aves]

TiVo

 

[BigSmooth]

I have a Replay (Showstopper) and I've really enjoyed it. The reason I chose it at the time is because there was no service fees (a lifetime fee was supposedly built into the cost of the unit). That's changed now, of course.

Only problems I've had: the first one I got was DOA (dead modem). Did an exchange with Panasonic. The new unit died after about 10 months (the O/S was corrupted and it would not boot up). Thankfully, I was able to hook the hard drive up to my PC and fix it with the help of some folks at the AVSForum.

Overall the functionality is great. Recording and watching all your favorite shows is very simple. You even get myreplaytv.com which allows you to remotely record or delete programs via a web interface (although it only updates during the nightly dial-in).

Mine only has a 20GB hard drive but I haven't even bothered to hack it yet. I just delete stuff I know I won't have time to watch.

I haven't used the other PVRs, and I'm sure they have their advantages, but I couldn't be happier with my Replay.

 

[RossMAN]

I have an original ReplayTV 3060, freakin' awesome, !!! NO MONTHLY FEES !!!

 

[mpitts]

I have a TiVo and it is great. I have been considering a ReplayTV.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

Originally posted by: arod
Cool, thanks for the info... Ill have to look at the Replay some... The only reason Im getting one this late was I was waiting to see what the HDTV recorders were gonna come out as because it would be very nice to be able to remove commercials on HDTV but the recorders are gonna be atleast 1000, which is way more than I have to spend, so Im hoping to catch somebody who is selling their old pvr when they upgrade to the new hdtv recorder

Actually, the older generation Showstoppers lime mine (HS2000) are more stable and reliable (i.e. bulletproof) than the newer generation PVRs from Replay or Tivo. I've read more reports of problems b/c of their complexity/bells & whistles. It's after all, a video recorder, not some useless broadband file sharing device or photo browser.

The older Showstoppers don't have monthly fees so its a no-brainer to get one of these units. In addition, it DOES have a 30 second SKIP function for commercials. I prefer this Skip function b/c I can quickly browse some comeercials that I have an interest in like upcoming show commercials.

The great thing about an older Showstopper is that you can upgrade it to a maximum of 137 GB! Very easy to hack. If you know how to replace a HD on your desktop, then this would be right up your alley. Of course, 137 GB is overkill, unless you're a champion couch potato...........but you can record at a higher quality............or have a big library waiting for you when you come back from vacation.

I would get a new/used Showstopper on Ebay.........If mine crapped out tomorrow, I would get the SAME unit over any new generation without question.

SIMPLICITY = RELIABILITY

 

[BigSmooth]

TheeeChosenOne: good advice, but have you seen how much old Replays and Showstoppers are going for on eBay? They actually sell for more than I paid for mine 2 years ago. :Q Although I did get mine on clearance from Target.

This is probably the only consumer electronics item I've owned that has actually increased in value.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

Yes, you're right. They have gone up in value. I bought mine for $200.

On Ebay, though, they're sellling for about $200. Some have upgraded hard drives and they're selling for a little more. Ebay Link

I did a quick scan of new ones. Lowest price was: $468.50


==================================
For HAcking, visit: Replay/Showstopper Hacks

 

[arod]

The older Showstoppers don't have monthly fees so its a no-brainer to get one of these units. In addition, it DOES have a 30 second SKIP function for commercials. I prefer this Skip function b/c I can quickly browse some comeercials that I have an interest in like upcoming show commercials.

I have a quick question (since you dont have PM's enabled)

How does this work? Can you somehow look at when certain commercials are going to be played and tell it not to skip those? Does it still have the option to remove all commercials too or is it just this 30 sec thing?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: arod

The older Showstoppers don't have monthly fees so its a no-brainer to get one of these units. In addition, it DOES have a 30 second SKIP function for commercials. I prefer this Skip function b/c I can quickly browse some comeercials that I have an interest in like upcoming show commercials.

I have a quick question (since you dont have PM's enabled)

How does this work? Can you somehow look at when certain commercials are going to be played and tell it not to skip those? Does it still have the option to remove all commercials too or is it just this 30 sec thing?

Just a 30 second thing. The remote has a 'skip' button on it that jumps ahead 30 seconds. Lot more convienent than pressing fast forward. Also why the commercial industry hated the Showstoppers.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

The Skip button is invaluable. I truly want to quickly scan commercials instead of outright eliminating the commercials like the newer machines do (which is still an unreliable function in today's new PVRs).

Plus, those new units have been the object of lawsuits by the Studios. The jury is still out on that one.

 

[arod]

Originally posted by: TheeeChosenOne
The Skip button is invaluable. I truly want to quickly scan commercials instead of outright eliminating the commercials like the newer machines do (which is still an unreliable function in today's new PVRs).

Plus, those new units have been the object of lawsuits by the Studios. The jury is still out on that one.

So I take it the HS2000 doesnt have the option to remove commercials then...

 

[BigSmooth]

You don't have to skip forward only 30 seconds at a time if you don't want to. You can also skip forward or backwards minutes at a time.
I usually hit 3 then skip to go forward three minutes when a commercial break starts, that usually gets me close to the end of the break.

BTW, I can hardly handle watching tapes anymore. Fast forwarding takes way too long.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

Exactly.

Or hit the Skip button 3 times in a row--my preferred option.

It's interesting and cool to see my HS2000 is worth more in the market than the newer models.