Digital Video Recorders

Rating : Best Price :$299.99 Availability : N/A

ReplayTV RTV5508 80-Hour Digital Video Recorder Specifications

The RTV5508 personal video recorder, or PVR, delivers the ability to pause and replay live TV while recording and storing an impressive 80 hours of digital, tapeless audio and video–more than three solid days’ worth of entertainment. Enjoy a broadband or phone-line connection to the ReplayTV service and convenient home networking through a built-in Ethernet port–there’s no extra hardware required. Subscription to the ReplayTV service is available as either a .95 monthly fee or one-time lifetime fee of 9.99; a discounted .95 monthly fee is available for consumers with more than one active unit.

ReplayTV’s 5500 Series is the most powerful and flexible PVR yet.

With the RTV5508 and the other models in the 5500 Series, ReplayTV has made major revisions, enhancing its feature base while removing certain contentious features found on previous models. ReplayTV’s 5.0 software adds four powerful features: recording priority, which identifies recording conflicts and lets you decide which shows to record; network recording, which identifies conflicts and automatically assigns recordings to a home-networked ReplayTV with available hard-disk storage; pause and resume, which lets you pause a movie in the living room and finish watching it in the bedroom; and First-Run Recordings, which records only the new episodes and skips the repeats.

A PVR makes it simple to record favorite shows without the complicated programming requirements of VCRs and without videotape hassles. A PVR frees you from fixed TV schedules so you can watch what you want, when you want. Because ReplayTV uses digital recording to store television and/or cable broadcasts on a hard drive as you’re watching, you’ll also be able to control live television. You can pause live TV to take a telephone call, rewind to see a scene again, use instant replay to jump back seven seconds, or watch a scene in slow-motion.

Remote is well laid out and easy to read.

ReplayTV connects nightly to the ReplayTV Service to download the latest channel-guide information. Use this intuitive guide and the main system menu to follow simple–and in many cases, one-button–prompts. A feature called theme record automatically records shows using keywords or themes that you supply. You can also search for programs by keyword, helping you discover programs you might not have known about otherwise. If you forget to program your receiver to record a show before you leave for vacation, no worries: you can access your ReplayTV over the Web and program it from anywhere using MyReplayTV.

With multiple ReplayTV 5500-series models in a home connected via their built-in Ethernet ports, you can bounce programs around the house to different PVRs or to send digital photos between your PC and your ReplayTV units. And, like the 5000 Series, the 5500 Series still offers the option for broadband connectivity, which at this time consists of the future potential (via upgradeable firmware) to send non-copyrighted material across the Internet to other ReplayTV units and, possibly, to computers. The 5500 Series units network seamlessly with 5000 Series units.

And while ReplayTV has removed the Send Show and Automatic Commercial Advance features, the 5500 Series retains the QuickSkip and high-speed fast-forward buttons, so you’ll still have considerable flexibility in your playback viewing. At the touch of a button, QuickSkip hops through a recorded program in 30-second increments–great for news features you don’t care to watch and, yes, for bypassing the less interesting commercials out there. The fast-forward button scans at up to 20 times normal speed.

Built-in Ethernet port allows for convenient home networking.

Other features include room-to-room streaming between networked ReplayTVs, a progressive-scan output (for seamless, flicker-free displays on high-definition and HD-ready TVs), an optical digital-audio output (for direct connection with a compatible AV receiver), parental control (including channel blocking), show organizer, manual record, show extender (which lets you manually extend the start or end times of a recording).

What’s in the Box
One ReplayTV RTV5508 PVR, a remote control, remote batteries, a user’s manual, a coaxial video cable, a composite-video/stereo analog audio interconnect, an IR blaster cable, a 9-to-15-pin adapter, an RJH-to-9-pin adapter, and an RJ-11 phone cable.

ReplayTV RTV5508 80-Hour Digital Video Recorder Overviews

The ReplayTV 5508 has everything that makes DVRs great and advance features that make it the best DVR available today.PRODUCT FEATURES:Easy tape-free recording;Pause and instant replay live TV;Progressive Scan for digital TVs;Digital Audio out for Home Theaters.

[if One of my ReplayTV boxes is a 4500 model purchased in 2002. It has NEVER needed repair. On the RARE occasion (less than a Windows-based computer) it hangs, just reboot it by pushing and holding the power button until it reboots itself - instructions are easily found in the manual). In the beginning when I had questions and hadn't read the manual, I found their Tech Support people to be fast, exceptionally helpful, knowledgable, and friendly. The machine is either recording or being watched or both nearly 24/7 and is still going strong after all this time. Love, love, love it! How Tivo users live without commerical advance, commercial skip, or 30-second skip is unfathomable!]

Customer Review

One of my ReplayTV boxes is a 4500 model purchased in 2002. It has NEVER needed repair. On the RARE occasion (less than a Windows-based computer) it hangs, just reboot it by pushing and holding the power button until it reboots itself – instructions are easily found in the manual). In the beginning when I had questions and hadn’t read the manual, I found their Tech Support people to be fast, exceptionally helpful, knowledgable, and friendly. The machine is either recording or being watched or both nearly 24/7 and is still going strong after all this time. Love, love, love it! How Tivo users live without commerical advance, commercial skip, or 30-second skip is unfathomable!

Definately used but still works – Gayle Ostic – Morganville, NJ United States
I purchased this DVR because I have 2 boxes already and one broke. I love the service and software that it uses. They do not manufacture the units any more so I purchased a used one. It was sent pretty quickly (10 days) and I was taken back by the condition. It was very scratched and dirty. It was also missing the raster blaster cord which is needed to change channels on any cable box. BUT it works so I guess thats all that matters so far. The seller did respond to all my emails regarding questions and stating the condition. He said he wrote it was scratched in his description but that wasn’t posted on the amazon item.

Terrible Service Ruins Everything – M. Mitton –
When my ReplayTV worked, it was great. (Though now having tried others, it was worse–except for those few features, like commercial skip, that they took out anyway.) But every single time I had to get support from them, it was an awful experience.

Most recently, I just called for my third time (at least a 20 minute wait each time) to try and cancel my service. You can’t cancel on-line–it’s the only thing you can’t cancel on line. Somehow, that charge never stopped coming. 4 months and counting. This time around, assuming they do actually cancel the service, they refused to even consider refunding the other three months.

Whenever there were problems with the unit, their technical support was incompetent. The only advantage they has was they knew the service codes for the remote, but once I found them on-line, their support was useless. I’m a competent computer person, not a geek, but I was better than they were.

On two occasions, my service stopped, with them claiming that they couldn’t charge my card. (It was a “glitch” in their system each time) I went a week without being able to use it, and they didn’t credit my account. Then, when I got my new ATM card, I changed it with them. On-line, the change was reflected, but they kept charging the old. Eventually the old one expired, and they didn’t even have the patience to let me explain what was wrong; they kept insisting they had made the change. That was two weeks without the use of my unit, no refund for time lost.

I’m using Comcast’s DVR now, and it’s almost as good, and–I can’t believe I’m saying this–their customer service is far superior. Last time I called for help, the woman asked if she could find some specials for me, and 5 minutes later, she had lowered my cable/Internet bill by . And later this year, Comcast is switching to TiVo software.

In Sum: even if you think the ReplayTV is a bit better (debatable), you better pray you never have to call them, because then it just won’t be worth it.

NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS – Peterc Wu –
im not going to write a long review on this. i’ve had mine for about 6 month now and it has broken down 3 times!! everything was coverd under warrenty but each time i have to ship it back,it takes about a month to get back. imagin having to re-enter your shows…three times..not having a dvr for a month 3 times. i had a tivo before…now i kick my self for not buying another one when they still had the life time subscriptions.

Related Products

Related posts:

1. Check Out ReplayTV RTV5508 80-Hour Digital Video Recorder
2. Save more for ReplayTV RTV5508 80-Hour Digital Video Recorder Today
3. Check Out ReplayTV RTV5516 160-Hour Digital Video Recorder
4. Save more for ReplayTV RTV5516 160-Hour Digital Video Recorder Today
5. Check Out ReplayTV RTV5516 160-Hour Digital Video Recorder
6. Save more for ReplayTV RTV5516 160-Hour Digital Video Recorder Today
7. Check Out ReplayTV RTV5516 160-Hour Digital Video Recorder
8. Save more for ReplayTV RTV5504 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder Today
9. Save more for ReplayTV RTV5504 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder Today
10. Check Out ReplayTV RTV5504 40-Hour Digital Video Recorder for $99.99