Customer Reviews

ReplayTV 3060 Digital Video Recorder

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I've had this Replay unit for about a month now, and right now I'm trying to decide whether or not to keep it plugged in my home theater. There are lots of reasons I love the device, but there are enough little bugs that I'm thinking of unplugging it and waiting until a later generation of these TV recorders fixes these issues. To put this in context, I'm an early adopter, a gadget freak, so I generally have a high tolerance for the nagging quirks of new technologies. But I'm also a home theater nut, so I have a higher than normal bar for what equipment can be added to my system.

I have a DirecTV satellite dish in my system, and beyond that your basic home theater setup: bigscreen TV, DVD Player, Receiver, Amp, Speakers, S-VHS VCR. Setup was fairly easy using the diagram included. I just installed the Replay device between my DirecTV box and my receiver. I plugged it into a phone jack and walked through the setup menu which was straightforward. You have to let the device use your phone line for a while to download all the necessary initial setup info, like local channel listings and Replay Zone info.

After using the gizmo for a while, I can confirm that these things deserve a lot of the good press they deserve. (1) The device tapes shows when you're not around, so if you're a fan of a TV show you can set the device up once and you should never miss another episode of the show again. (2) I like being able to quickly rewind a show I'm watching, especially sports.

(3) If you tell it you have a DirecTV, it will download all the channel listings and allow you to just use the ReplayTV remote to change the channels on your satellite dish.

Now for the ugly: (1) The record quality at the low setting looks really lousy on a big TV. I think the Medium setting is as low as I'd ever set it. My S-VHS VCR record quality is somewhere between the Medium and High settings. (2) These devices are still way costly. I wouldn't recommend getting anything less than a 60 hour unit, and you're looking at a big chunk of change for those right now. At Medium and High quality settings, you'll fill the hard drive in no time if you watch just a few shows regularly. (3) The audio and video keep going out of sync for me. That drives me nuts. I don't know how to fix it when it happens, and I don't know why it goes away, but the only time I can guarantee it won't happen is when I'm watching taped shows. This even happens when I'm watching live programming. (4) You can't watch one show and tape another. Not a huge deal, because it's the same with my DirecTV, but something I think they could fix someday. (5) There's about a 3 second delay when you change channels before the next channel's video/audio comes in. It's hard to channel surf patiently that way. (6) I now can't use the digital audio output on satellite dish since the ReplayTV doesn't accept that input. If I plug it directly into my receiver, then the audio won't sync with the video from the DirecTV unless I use just the composite video output. I like having the digital audio output because the sound quality is much better through that, and it's the only way to receive Dolby Digital broadcasts, which some DirecTV channels broadcast in. They should think about incorporating component video inputs into the Replay device as well. (7) I prefer the channel browsing menu on the DirecTV, because it shows you a thumbnail of the channel in the corner as you browse. My Replay doesn't have that. (8) There's no locking mechanism so that the satellite receiver and the Replay are frozen when taping. One of my roommates turned off the satellite dish while the Replay was taping a show for me and I lost it. My DirecTV receiver didn't have that problem.

These are all solvable issues, and I expect we're about one to two generations away from a great product. I know Tivo just issued an integrated DirecTV/Tivo device, but I don't like how Tivo charges a monthly fee. You may not find the problems above to be an issue for you depending on your setup and TV viewing patterns. I can't wait to buy one of these once the problems are solved. By then the hard drives should be monstrous, satellite and personal recording devices should be integrated, and life will be merry. But until then, I feel like this is a device that is probably too difficult to set up and use for those who can't set the clocks on their VCRs, and just buggy enough to annoy high end home theater users. For some folks in between, it will be life-changing.

First off, I don't own the 3060 yet, but I own a predecessor with a smaller storage capacity. My unit has the same remote control and the same user interface and control software.

There's a little "religous" war going on between ReplayTV and TiVo advocates. I'm sure we all would love to have the other if we couldn't have the one we have. So people try to make big issues out of little things like a still ad image that most users will never notice.

The 3060 shares with the Phillips 60hr TiVo unit the bragging rights to being the highest capacity Digital Video Recorders (DVR's) available over-the-counter. Digital Video Recorders are great! I won't list the common virtues of ReplayTV and TiVo units here, but let me focus on the differentiators I've seen between the two:

The ReplayTV 3060 comes with a lifetime of free (prepaid)service. The TiVo will cost you more for a lifetime of service. If you expect your unit to work beyond 10 months, and I know I do, then the ReplayTV is more cost effective.

The user interface in the ReplayTV is information dense. The program guide shows you alot of programming on one screen. I haven't spent much time with a TiVo but I've read that it requires more paging around to view programs.

Some people love the TiVo remote control. It fits nicely in the hand and seems to be good for one-thumb button pushing. The ReplayTV remote can be used one-thumb but it may help to be double-jointed. The ReplayTV remote has alot of capability and all the buttons to show for it. The TiVo has cute logos and a red "thumbs down" button and a green "thumbs up" button - it lets you vote a show good or bad, and uses that accumulated data to recommend (and automatically record) new shows for you. The remote control is the primary means of controlling both the ReplayTV and the Tivo units, so you want one you'll like.

Soon Internet savvy users will be able to select programming for their ReplayTV units from any web browser. From home, from work, or from another country, they'll be able to capture those shows they don't want to miss.

Remember the old Apple computer ads for the Macintosh, the computer "for the rest of us"? It didn't appeal to me. I don't want an appliance that's dumbed down so I won't have to learn to use it. I am willing to learn powerful new features and new user paradigms. I'm willing to let a new appliance change the way I do things, whether it's writing a letter, heating a sandwich, or watching TV. This is why I prefer the ReplayTV. I covet the new 60hr units!

I've had my ReplayTV 3020 for a week now and thought i would express
my views on it.

The box has a lot of different setups, you need to
choose the right one for you. Personally I just split my cable feed
and ran it to both my TV and the ReplayTV box so i can watch live TV
or ReplayTV. Then i have the Svideo out of the ReplayTV to the TV and
treat it as a VCR.

First i gotta say, the compression ratings that
ReplayTV would have you believe are not exactly accurate. Standard
recording quality can be as good as a VCR/Cable tv or worse it
dependson the video being recorded. If the images are big and there's
not too much movement it's pretty good. But if it's a crowd scene or
a sporting event iwth lots of movement, it's worse than VCR. It can
be very grainy uniless theres little movement or it's a closeup. It
looks like you're watching an internet realvideo playback most of the
time.

The Medium quality is a lot better, i'd put it up there the
same quality as a vcr using Svideo out. Highest quality is great, but
if your'e going to record everything on highest you should get the
3060.

It has lots of outputs on it to go out to a PC for video
capturing or a VCR to save to a permanent storage which is nice. Also
it has a few inputs, rca or svideo so you could record a DVD movie if
you rented one and didn't have time to watch it unlike the Panasonic
model which won't let you do this.

The ability to control real TV is
nice. It actually records as you watch live tv. So you can pause,
rewind and replay a live broadcast that you're not recording. The bad
part of this however is sometimes the audio/video get out of sync.
I'm not sure yet why this happens but it happens very seldom and it
does clear itself....

The box itself is pretty quiet and it's
smaller than most VCR's. It does have an off button if you want to
turn it off, but i'd recommend just leaving it on.

The channel guide
is nice. It's really easy to navigate around and select shows to watch
or record. You can use this to replace your cable box if you want,
then you don't need a TV guide or anything. I wish the channel guide
displayed more listings per screen though, and i wish it started back
at the beginning of the list instead of your current channel. Overall
though it's very easy.

I'd definitly recommend this box, it's been
pretty good and i've enjoyed having it over the past week.

The ReplayTV system is amazing. It will totally change the way you watch tv. I watch tv on my schedule now, not according to the networks schedule.

The TiVo and Replay are very similar. Personally I like the Replay more, although either purchase will probably satisfy you. As for the ads that show up when you pause the screen, they don't appear until the show has been paused 30 seconds. Even then, they are just static images (not moving commercials) and you can make them go away by simply hitting the exit button. If you don't like ads, Replay is the way to go as it has a 30 sec skip button, allowing you to instantly skip passed ads, as opposed to fast forwarding through them. Tivo does not have this feature. You will not be disappointed with this product.

I've been using the Replay since the first one came out. Fortunately, they've been getting better and better, as the first ones had a tendency to lock up sometimes. The 3060 and the latest software are working quite well, and Replay has changed the way I watch TV. I never watch commercials, unless there's a good one worth watching, and I can't stand to watch live tv anymore. Plus you can't believe how nice it is to just select what you want to record from the program guide and not have to worry about swapping tapes, positioning the tape and recording everything while you're on a trip. And having the list of things you've recorded there in a list and not having to scan unlabeled tapes (if for no other reason than to label them).

I got my sister a Tivo for Christmas, 2000. Partly because I wanted to see how it compared, and partly because I'd heard Tivo's winning the marketing battle. She lives on a farm about 10 miles out from a small town. The Tivo modem would not connect to the service modem, and was useless (the weak modem is a common issue from reading the net). I took it home and played with it, and was appalled to see it take *hours* to process the initial program guide. What on *earth* are they doing? The Replay just has to download it and it's there. Albeit that takes 20 minutes itself. Then I tried to use the Tivo. While it's prettier, I found it harder to use, and having to fast forward rather than use the 30 second skip button clinched it --- I'll never buy a Tivo while it is missing that function.

The main things I wish for now are: 1. Ethernet for downloading the program guide over my DSL connection 2. HDTV recording capability (without compressing it to the point of losing the HD) 3. Let me add my own hard disks to expand capacity!

Without Replay, I'd go back to not watching much TV...

Update in 2007: I just noticed my comments about Tivo here; I actually did switch to DirecTivo to get unrecompressed video quality for a large front projection system, and because there were hacks to upgrade them that there weren't for Replay at the time. It didn't take long to get used to the different operation, and the "last in first out" directory actually turns out to be handy. Any, more when I actually review the tivo, but I thought I would make a note here to update those specific comments.

I still consider PVRs a revolution though --- I can't watch live TV anymore, though the downside is that now that I can watch what I want on my schedule easily, I watch far more than I ever did before...

First of, YES this does work with digital cable systems! After looking at this unit and all the competition for the last few months I finally got that question answered. Luckily one of my customer's had a @tivo email address and I found out that both Replay and Tivo are Digital Cable compatible. Shame, Shame, Shame on both of their advertising departments and even Amazon.com for not letting customers know that this is in fact compatible.

Anyways, picked this replay unit on the basis of price and options, as well as reviews in comparision to Tivo.

Wiring Set-up: Set-up was not too difficult. Used to have the tv connected to the cable box, all I had to do was change the connection from the Cable Box to the Replay Box, and then used the included s-video and analog cables to connect the Replay to my TV. Next step was to attach the included telephone 2 way splitter to the wall jack and connect the 50ft phone cord to the replay unit and the splitter. That was it, no further set-up was required in terms of wiring. ***Again shame on Amazon for not stating that this unit has no "coax cable" out, (the cable some people use to connect their cable box to their TV). So if your TV does not have Auido/Video In jacks this will not work for you***

Replay set-up: Once you power on the unit, it asks for your area code and zip code to find a local access # to dial up for tv listings. Next step is to choose what type of tv service you have, (Cable, Sattelite Dish), and then it lists all the Cable providers and services in your area. Select your cable service and you are all set. It will take 20 minutes to dial up and set up everything on its own. You are then ready to go.

The record quality in standard mode is like a low end 2 head VCR, medium quality is similar to a 4head vcr, highest quality is better than SVHS. You do not have to use one setting for all programs, you can set recording quality differently for any recording.

The channel guide is excellent, it is similar to the channel guide option on digital cable and DSS. You can search for a ny movie or show by name of show, or actor appearing in show. You can set it to record the program once, every week, or every time that particular show plays. Playing back your recording is as easy as making your recording. Click on one button and it takes you to a screen showing you titles of all your recording. You can play or delete them from this menu.

Now for the reason why I gave this 4 and not 5 stars. Apparently the 3 second delay experiance by DSS users is also experianced by Digital cable users. This is slightly annoying as it kills channel surfing. Although with the channel guide you can immediatly see what is on at any given time. I am a channel surfer by heart, and this three second delay also affects when I am switching back and forth from shows.

If you are looking for something better than a VCR, this is it. This will be very useful during when I vacation as my VCR only has a 6 hour tape. I can records 36 hours in medium quality mode with this Replay unit. Buy itt, you will be glad you did! By the way, have had this unit for almost half a year and have yet to experiance any problems or malfunctions.

it's changed my life :) now i can do whatever i want, and I don't have to arrange my schedule around a few shows i want to see.

I bought the first replaytv available, back in 1999, for $1400 i think it was. maybe more. anyway, i noticed that for a while after i bought it, i watched more TV than ever, because suddenly i could watch anything i wanted to.

then after a while, a few months, i watched less tv, because the novelty of watching CBS Sunday Morning on Tuesday night wore off. But now i just watch what i want to watch. And it's great for shows liek the simpsons, where there are a lot of little jokes. if you're watching and you think you missed something, just hit instant replay and watch it again. Or hit instant replay and then slow-motion and catch every single joke :)

a great product :)

An open letter to the Replay folks....

The unit is almost perfect. In fact it's GREAT.

Here are three changes that would be siginificant:

1) Build in the ability to connect for updates through a lan connection for people with high-speed internet connections. The dial-up method is S-L-O-W.

2) Eliminate or diminsh the three second delay when changing channels. This functionally prevents surfing.

3) Remote control should have backlights for viewability in a dark room (especially considering the myriad of buttons.)

To all: You shouldn't let these points dissuade you from buying. As mentioned, the unit is GREAT and the tech support is one of the best groups I've ever run into. And, I don;t know if the competitors units are any better with respect to the above mentioned points.

Good luck.

This Replay unit is a great idea, but the execution falls far short to make this a recommended item. I have the usual home theater set-up, big screen TV, DSS, DVD, and LD; I connected my over the air antenna and the DSS to the Replay unit. The basic idea, for those that don't know is as follows: the Replay is at its core a computer. It has a modem that it uses to dial out every day to obtain programming information from a central network (in the Replay's case it is free, while for Tivo there is either a monthly charge of 10 dollars or a flat fee of 200 dollars). It also has a hard-drive that is used to store the programming that is being recorded. Being a digital process, there is no image degradation after repeated viewing, although it is conceivable and probable that the hard drive will eventually fail and thus render all the recordings unviewable. Since it is a computer, the Replay unit can search programming, keep a running schedule of shows to record, etc., making TV viewing a more pleasant experience, because it allows the viewer to set his or her own schedule to watch TV. It also records the channel that the viewer is watching "live." Therefore, the viewer can "rewind" the "live" show, pause it, etc. Sound neat, but the problem is that there are two main alternatives right now, and Replay is the inferior choice.

Let me start by saying that I have tried by Tivo and Replay, and although they both share many shortcomings, I prefer the Tivo hands down. First for the shared shortcomings: 1) Using a DSS system, one cannot watch a program and record another, because neither the Tivo nor the Replay stand-alone models have built-in DSS receivers. 2) Channel surfing is slow because both devices send in either IR signals or use the serial interface to send the channel information to the DSS receiver, so that instead of sending "channel up" it sends "channel 192"

Now, the Replay is inferior to the Tivo in a couple of major points. First, the remote is very badly designed. There are lots of small buttons cluttering the lower half of the remote, and the major cursor control buttons are these thin curved rectangles that feel uncomfortable to press. Further, in order to move up and down channels, one has to repeatedly press the buttons, since pressing and holding a button will not result in continous movement. In other words, if one presses "Down", the cursor will move one step down, and stay there, regardless of whether the user is still pressing the button. In most other consumer electronic devices, holding a button will continue the command, so that if one presses "Down" in a TV remote, the channel will change, and continue changing. Now, this might seem to be nit-picking, but if one considers that the usual DSS line-up consists of over one hundred channels, one can see that hand strain is going to be a big problem for Replay users. Furthermore, in order to search programming, one must enter the complete search word. For example, if one wants to record Politically Incorrect, one must enter either "Politically" or "Incorrect", or "Bill Maher". In the Tivo, entering each letter provides a list on the right of programming that starts with those letters - but the Tivo is a lot slower than the Replay, because it has to continuously update the list after every letter.

All in all, Tivo has a better looking interface, a remote that is hands down superior in terms of ergonomics, and it is easier to locate programming that one wants to watch. One caveat is that the Tivo is extremely time consuming to set-up - in my case it took over 12 hours for the machine to be ready to go - my advice, start the set-up at night, and when it has to download the programming for the first time, turn off the TV and let it cook overnight. The Replay is very quick in comparison, taking about an hour. This review does not mean to say that the Tivo is a perfect device. It has shortcomings, but currently, it is the better of the two.

I bought this unit in October, 2000. Within three months it began to whine, and finally froze. Hard drive failure. The manufacturer agreed to replace it--but I had to pay the $67. shipping charge.
After two more months, the hard-drive on the replacement unit failed also!!!!!!! Another $67. bill to send it back for replacement.
For three years I've also had a TIVO unit. Never a bit of trouble with it. Wish I'd bought another Tivo--instead of this miserable RePlay unit.

Addendum-9/23/01. Third unit arrived on Thursday. It failed on Saturday. It appears to be a failed unit sent back by someone else, not repaired properly, and sent to me as an "exchange unit." Quality control is not a strong point!!!!!