ReplayTV RTV5040 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder
You will change the way you watch broadcast entertainment
After owning ReplayTV 3020 and Showstopper 2020, I finally upgraded to the 5000 series from ReplayTV. <br />For the newbies:<BR>1) great to record broadcast shows; don't have to watch it live which does not make a difference due to work and personal schedules.<BR>2) easy to set up and it automatically keep up with the TV shows with a nightly download of &quot;TV guide&quot; or &quot;Channel guide&quot;<BR>3) a bit noisy because of the fan; may be an issue in the bedroom.<BR>4) 40 hour unit is only for standard recording which is degraded. However, for TV shows this is fine for most.<BR>5) record 2 or 3 episodes easily.<BR>6) commercial skip is bad for advertisers, but heavenly for couch potatoes.<BR>7) very slow channel surfing probably due to buffering so that one can do &quot;replay!&quot;<br />For the more experienced:<BR>1) great inputs (2X analog)<BR>2) outputs to preamp/processor (audio digital out)<BR>3) Progressive output (1X)<BR>4) Ethernet connection is so much better than modem<BR>5) buy a wireless bridge if you have a wireless setup <BR>    recommendation: Linksys WET11 <BR>6) normal wired eithernet is fine too<BR>7) still hate the connection fee, but it is better than ReplayTV going out of business.<BR>8) sharing shows between the 5000 series is the way to keep the disk space somewhat under controlled.<BR>9) have not tried the photos function<br />Good luck and enjoy.