ReplayTV 3020 Digital Video Recorder
I might get a second one...
I got my ReplayTV 2 months ago and it is one of the best gadget purchases I've made-- and I love gadgets.  I'm an avid TV watcher who works late so having the &quot;always record&quot; feature of ReplayTV greatly alleviates my stress (like when I forget to pop a new tape into my VCR and I miss an episode of Friends).  As great as the machine is, there are a few reasons why I didn't give it 5 stars.<br />First, I have an older model cable box which requires use of the &quot;sticky&quot; IR signal sender that is packaged with ReplayTV.  I find that sometimes the signal gets a bit muddled and the channels don't switch properly.  It makes me a bit nervous that this could happen before a show starts recording and I miss it altogether-- but it hasn't happened yet.<br />Second, setup is not super easy, especially if you want to split your cable line (to be able to watch live TV, while you are recording on another channel).  Also, if you have special considerations (like the old cable box I have) there is a lot of figeting with the settings (like making the machine go to &quot;05&quot; when you want channel 5).  I got a ReplayTV for my future father-in-law for his birthday and he still hasn't gotten it to work (probably because he has a slightly old model TV) and he's a physicist.<br />Third, the &quot;standard&quot; setting (which is what they use to benchmark the 20 hrs record time) is terrible.  If there is a lot of movement on the show, the image gets blurry and pixelated.  &quot;Medium&quot; setting is much better, but then you only get about 12-14 hours of record time.<br />Finally, I still haven't gotten my rebate yet.  I have a feeling that this is one of those deals where you get your money long after you've forgotten what the check is for.<br />But there are some great features that I have to point out.  I love the 30 second skip feature which lets you blow through commercials on recorded shows.  I also use the instant replay button all the time on live and recorded shows because I'm always the type of person who asks &quot;what did they just say?&quot;  And the pause feature is essential for any person who is constantly interrupted during their favorite show (I no longer have to screen calls).  And the on-screen programming guide is just like having an interactive TV guide on your TV screen.<br />In conclusion.  If you are a big TV fan who is competent at fooling around with gadgets, this is a great buy.  If you can't get your VCR to stop blinking &quot;12:00&quot; then either get a handy friend to install it for you, or wait until it's simpler.  If you are going to get one, I recommend the 30 or 60 hour model otherwise you won't be able to keep more than 2 episodes of each of your favorite shows.  In fact, I'm thinking of getting a second machine (remember I split my cable) so I can have more hard-drive space and I can record simultaneous shows on different channels in the same time slot.