ReplayTV RTV5040 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder
Remain Calm!  The system works well.
I had asked for a TiVo for Christmas. I received the ReplayTV 5040 instead.  I was a little disppointed until I read the features. I kept the unit based on the features. <br />The first couple weeks I owned the ReplayTV 5040 were a mixed bag of pleasant surprises and frustrations.  Here is what I have discovered about the unit:<br />1) It works pretty darn well and the picture quality, even on Standard play back, is great.<br />2) It doesn't offer you programs based on your profile.  It gets the zones and programs you want.  Be specific with the unit and it will get you more TV shows than you can shake a stick at (or your remote for that matter).<br />3) Use one of the alternate phone #'s to access the network. I was having trouble getting my unit to not crash while it was connected to the programming server. Customer Service is terrible, but if you try this technique it will fix many programming related problems (like myreplayTV not being updated daily).  The unit seems to get all my programs now with out any of the problems I was experiencing.  I almost traded in my unit for a TiVo till I read that both company's have similar Customer Service Issues.<br />4) Take the time to get familiar with the unit. It's easy to use, but it doesn't work the way you would expect if you don't know what to expect (the descriptions of features are not always clear to the new DVR user, so expect a lingo learning curve).