ReplayTV RTV4504 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder

Other products by Replay Tv

Product Details

Product Manual [3.72mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 17 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000068PJ3
• Item model number: 4504
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 20, 2002

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
Touted as the world's first broadband and home network-ready DVRs, ReplayTV's 4000 series digital video recorders let you distribute recorded programs within your home and share personal recordings of nonprotected video content with 15 friends and family members who also own 4000 series DVRs.

The ReplayTV RTV4504 stores 40 hours of programming while letting you pause, replay, and slow down live television--all with no tapes, no timers, and no trouble. A handy Commercial Advance feature plays your recordings without advertising! The cable/DSL/Ethernet-ready 4000 series DVRs even store digital photos and home movies for television viewing.

Now, you can watch television on your own schedule, free from the constraints of network scheduling, which often pits multiple cool programs head to head.

If you have a cable modem or DSL, you can hook up the RTV4504 for fast and easy broadband video transfers with other broadband-connected 4000 series users. You can also share video throughout the house using a built-in Ethernet port and your existing home-networking equipment. The RTV4504 can store digital photos and home movies, letting you see your favorite digital photos on TV. The ReplayTV Channel Guide, downloaded daily through the broadband connection, offers a convenient, grid-based list of shows that can be recorded at the touch of a button.

Product Description
With the new ReplayTV 4500, you can now connect to the ReplayTV Service through your high-speed broadband Internet connection or an analog modem. Your choice. And regardless of how you connect your ReplayTV, you'll enjoy all the benefits this first-class DVR offers, including easy one-button recording of your favorite shows and the option to watch recorded shows without commercials! Plus, ReplayTV 4500 series comes with hours of storage capacity - to record all you favorite shows and movies! And, if you forget to record a show, no worries - access your ReplayTV over the Web and program it from anywhere!The ReplayTV 4500 is so connected, it allows you to share recorded programs with your friends and family that have ReplayTV 4500s. And with its broadband connectivity, sending and receiving programs is a breeze. So, if you forgot to record your favorite soap opera, just ask your Mom to send it to you! With two ReplayTV 4500s in your home connected via the Ethernet port, you can watch recorded programs stored on either unit. So if you're using the upstairs ReplayTV 4500 unit and you want to watch a program that was recorded on the downstairs unit, no problem - just select it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

151 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Replay has done it Again and Again and Again...., June 1, 2002

By	Steven Hughes "fyiguy" (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

ReplayTV has done it again with their latest release and improved on it.

The RTV4504 Replay unit is very similar to previous ReplayTV/ Panasonic offerings, making it a very good PVR. One of the best new features over the older models is the addition of control buttons on the actual unit, while the older models depended solely on the use of the remote. The Replay unit comes well apportioned with inputs and outputs and a very usable universal remote, not like the ones sitting around your house doing nothing. There are two sets of composite inputs(RCA), one RF antenna, and one S-Video input. The outputs are one digital audio, one component (through a VGA adapter), an S-Video, and two composite outputs.

In order to use even the basic functions of the ReplayTV, you must have a broadband connection to register online. Once you've cleared that initial hurdle, you'll be ready to play. This unit different from previous units has a phone jack in the back that was disabled in previous versions of the software and hardware.I t offers connectivity via both phone and an always on broadband network connection. This unit allows for 40 hours of storage at standard recording quality. Of course, the amount of programming you can store depends on whether you record at the Standard, Medium, or High setting. At its best resolution, the RTV4504 holds around 26 hours worth of content.

Using the RTV4504's high-resolution VGA connector, you can hook up the PVR to a PC or to a TV's component input. You can even use a DLP or LCD projector with VGA inputs to enjoy ReplayTV at the 480p, semi-HDTV video resolution.

One of the main features of this unit is its network capability. If you have a home network you can share shows with other Replay 4XXX units and you can share it with others outside of you home via the internet with the required broadband connection. With variables such as your ISP and connection along with those with whom you're sharing programming content with can mean that a single standard-level half-hour recording could take anywhere from two to eight hours to download.

The internet interoperability also allows for you to program you Replay via a web interface called MyReplayTV.com. This however takes at most 24 hours for it be "synched' with your replay unit when "calls" in for updated programming schedules usually around 3-4 AM. Sonicblue says the 4000-series models will "soon" support direct, instant access so that you can set shows remotely to record on the fly. And they upgrade their software regularly.

The best feature is the PVR's ability to filter out almost all commercials with a simple menu change. When it's recording in the Commercial Advance mode, the ReplayTV RTV4504 automatically skips from about one second into the first commercial to about five seconds before the program resumes, but you still may end up with a few commercials (it isn't perfect).

I love my ReplayTV, there is great third party support ... for this unit just like TiVo that if you are so inclined to void your warranty can improve on this already great PVR. There is talk that the low introductory price may involve a subscription base service of [price] instead of the all included Lifetime Service Fee from previous models

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ReplayTV or TiVo?, October 21, 2002

By A Customer

The features of the ReplayTV are well documented in other reviews. This review is for those people trying to decide between a ReplayTV or a TiVo. Both are fine products, but there's one feature that ReplayTV has that TiVo doesn't (and never will)...the Commercial Advance feature. This one button makes all the difference! If you have recorded a show, with the commercial advance feature enabled, you can play the show back commercial free. The feature works by detecting the gaps that are present in between commercials. When the commercials come up, it simply skips over them and back to the program in a split second. With TiVo, you have to fast forward (just like speed searching on a VCR). The commercial advance on the Replay unit is not fool proof. It looks for those gaps in :30 second succession. So if the network throws in a :60 second commercial, that's where the unit will advance to. But, Replay has a "QuickSkip" button. Push it, and the program advances :30 seconds per push. "QuickSkip" is another feature Tivo doesn't have.
I own 3 Replay units (2; 2000 series and 1; 4040) and have never had a problem with their tech support. Contrary to what another reviewer stated, I've always found the tech people at Replay knowledgeable and helpful.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good product, but lacks an important element, July 31, 2002

By	J. Houghton "Dead Man Dancing" (Encino, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The 4504 works as advertised. However, if you want to take advantage of its ability to use your home network for viewing stored program material from another location in your house, you not only have to buy another unit (this is reasonable), you have to pay the activation fee for the second unit (which is not). This is like having to pay for a new water meter every time you add a new hose bib in your garden. You only need one unit to do the recording, to be hooked in to the programming information the activation fee gives access to. The other units ... should be able to be slaved to the main unit. The activation fee in the case of secondary units is just a way to stick you for more money. That said, it's still a marvelous little box. I just don't like the bait-and-switch aspect of the added, uncalled-for fee.