ReplayTV 2020 Digital Video Recorder
ReplayTV is a gotta-have if you do a lot of time-shifting
If you use your VCR to record shows to watch later, because you're not home when the shows are on, you REALLY need to take a look at ReplayTV.<br />The new 2.0 software has been ROCK-SOLID for me for a week, and  adds cool new features like variable-speed slow motion.<br />People with busy  lives -- you haven't lived until you've come home, seen the little green  light on your ReplayTV that tells you basically &quot;you've got new  video&quot;, turned on your TV, and flipped through the shows, picking one  and hitting play to INSTANTLY start playback.  No rewind.  No recording  over a show if you stop a playback in progress and something else is  scheduled to record before you get back to watching the show you were  playing back.<br />And you'll never wait for a fast-forward or a rewind when  time-shifting again.<br />Come home 20 minutes into a movie that started at 9?   If you set ReplayTV to record it, turn on your TV and Play that show.   When commercials come on, hit the &quot;quick-30-second-skip&quot; button  to instantly fast forward 30 seconds at a time through the recorded  commercials.  By around 10:50, you will have caught up with the broadcast  and ReplayTV will switch from displaying the recorded show to the live  channel.<br />Setup might be a bit daunting, but it's no worse than hooking up  a VCR and getting a universal remote to work with all your  remote-controlled devices.  You input your zip code, then pick your cable  company on-screen and ReplayTV downloads the listings.  For my town, they  had a handful of different channel lineups listed, and I picked the one  that corresponded with MY APARTMENT COMPLEX -- yes, the automatic channel  lineups are that specific.<br />Programming the ReplayTV is a BREEZE.  Point  and click all the way.  It's so much easier than my VCR that I can't  imagine ever going back to The Old Way.<br />Like other posters, I'm sure the  Tivo unit is great as well, just that for my money, I'd rather not have to  pay an extra $200 to get free lifetime program guide information, like one  has to for Tivo (or face their monthly fee).  *And* ReplayTV seems more  concerned about customers' privacy than Tivo does.<br />The ReplayTV is just  phenomenal.  It's TV viewing for the 21st century.  Like TV?  Got a busy  life?  Get a ReplayTV.<br />When they offer that 30 day guarantee, they know  what they're doing.  Once you get past the initial setup and use it for a  couple days, it becomes second-nature to operate.  And you'll start  wondering how you ever made do without it.<br />(A satisfied customer with NO  connection to the company who makes ReplayTV's.)