ReplayTV RTV5516 160-Hour Digital Video Recorder
Best DVR out there!
Well I usually don't write reviews... but this ReplayTV is so good I just had to.  Compared to Tivo, it is miles ahead.  I bought two units through Amazon (the 5504), and with the mail in rebates (up to 3 per household) each unit was only $50.  Like Tivo, there is the option of a recurring $12.95 monthly charge, or a one-time $299 charge (pays for itself in about 2 years), plus each additional unit's monthly fee is only $6.95 a month.  I bought Replay TV because of it's network/broadband options.  Like many people these days, I don't have a land-line.  Who needs one with the price of cellular and Cable Internet?  So, unlike Tivo, which MAKES you use a phone line for at least the initial setup, Replay TV can hook directly to a broadband router and set itself up in mere minutes.  Then it just uses the broadband connection nightly to update its Electronic Program Guide.  If you don't want to mess with wires, you can use a \\"Wireless Bridge\\" to have the unit connect to the broadband connection when it needs to.  As long as you use 802.11g equipment (router+bridge), you can also record a show on one unit, and watch it on another unit/setup.      While ReplayTV no longer has the \\"Commercial Advance\\" feature to automatically skip through commercials, it now has something called \\"Show/Nav,\\" which allows you to skip through a program according to \\"scene changes,\\" or roughly in 5-10 minute blocks.  Essentially what this means is when the commercials come, you push one button and skip through the whole mess of them.  Of course, there is also the \\"QuickSkip\\" button to advance in 30 second blocks, and if you go too far, the \\"Instant Replay\\" button to rewind it in 7-second blocks.      Setup was very easy.  The only trouble I ran into (not sure if anyone else had this problem) was ReplayTV initially couldn't connect to the router/broadband connection.  I figured it was something simple, so I just shut the unit off and tried again.  Presto!  It found the connection.  I'm using a Netgear WGR614 router, and the Netgear WGE101 Wireless Bridge.  Had the same problem in setting up the Bridge (ReplayTV not finding the connection), but again, once I turned the ReplayTV off and on again, it found it, no problems.      One other feature that may interest people is the ability to upload digital photos from your computer to be viewed on your television, through ReplayTV.  I'm not sure if Tivo offers this, but it seems like a cool idea.  While I haven't investigated it yet, it also seems that you can use proprietary software, [...] to upload ReplayTV shows to your computer for watching on the computer or burning onto CD or DVD.  This essentially gives you more options for storing shows if you only opt for the lower-capacity ReplayTV units like I did.  Again, I don't think this is available for Tivo.    SO, I would highly recommend ReplayTV.  With all its features (some of which Tivo cannot match) and competitive pricing, it's a great value.  Sure, you can probably get a DVR from your digital cable company (Comcast charges $10 a month for theirs) or the Dish Network DVR ($5 a month), or Tivo with DirecTV ($5 a month), but none is as feature-rich as ReplayTV.  The ReplayTV units can be connected to any setup (has Coax inputs, two RCA R/L/Video inputs, S-Video in and out, two RCA R/L/Video outputs, a Digital Audio Out-for Dolby 5.1 sound through a receiver, Progressive Y/PB/PR out, and a Serial port for Satellite receivers).      I don't know about ReplayTV's customer service, but my units, new from Amazon, have had no problems in the first week.  I'm sure ReplayTV cannot be any worse than dealing with any other comparable technology company, like Tivo.      So go out there and get one already!  It really will change how you watch TV.  You won't go back!