Panasonic PV-HS2000 ShowStopper 30-Hour Digital Video Recorder
A nice device
The PV-HS 3000 is a nice device but it is not perfect. <br />The pluses are that the extended recording mode is at least as good as you get using a VCR. That was something that I found a pleasant surprise because I expected to have to use a higher resolution. The software downloads is a great feature because it enables the manufacturer to upgrade the unit's options without having to buy a new device. The unit's rewind and fast-forward are amazing. Version 3 of the software lets you record by date and time. A must feature if Replay ever abandons the service. They also added a feature where you can add recording time to the program to allow for a sports or political event that may run over its allotted time.<br />The major minus is the setup. My goal when I bought the unit was to hook it up to my cable box and a direct cable feed. Since most of the programs I record are available without decoding, I thought that I could record without tying up my cable box. They do document several possible combinations involving a HS-3000, cable box, A/V receiver, and satellite. They neglect to go into any detail about cable box and a direct cable feed. I think this is because this combination does not work at all at least not with my cable. Panasonic says that my problem is that the channel guide cannot distinguish between the direct feed and the cable box since the channel lineups are the same, which I guess is true because separately they work just fine. Together they are a mess even if you select the input that you hope the channel guide will select from. <br />If you want to use this setup, here are my suggestions physically set up both connections. When you are doing the onscreen setup, do the direct feed first. Then on those occasions when you want to record a scrambled program add the onscreen setup for the cable box (line1 or line2). After the program is recorded, you will need to go back into the onscreen setup and set the cable box back to `nothing'. <br />A `duh' minus thing that they do not document is that the cable box must be ON to record a program with it. You can do this two ways. One is just to leave it on or set the cable box's VCR timer. The unit will not turn on the cable box when it begins recording. This is kind of a hassle with the cable box. This is not a problem with the direct feed.<br />Don't waste money buying a telephone line splitter. One is included with the unit. However, if you plan on an S-video hookup between the unit and your TV plus another one between the cable box and the unit, you will need to buy an extra set of audio cables and S-video. This is the option that I chose and I am very happy with it.<br />If anyone has an answer to my dilemma with the cable box and direct feed setup, let me know at scottshiv@hotmail.com. Thank you.