What is ReplayTV? 

The ReplayTV RTV2020 is a new PTV receiver from a company called ReplayTV  If you are unfamiliar with PTV receivers, this new technology allows for "VCR like" features such as recording of television while you are not home and adds many new and innovative features that help you take control of you television watching, such as live TV pause.  

    What other online resources are available. Update 

• www.cravan.com - Great News and Links to all of the PTV receivers

• www.replaytv.com  -  Check out ReplayTV's site for information or to buy your very own ReplayTV receiver.

• Eric Lund's TiVo vs. Replay Comparison Chart - Comprehensive Comparison Between TiVo and Replay

• www.deja.com   - Search their Usenet archive for old discussions of DishPlayer

• www.remotecentral.com - a great source for researching universal remote controls.

 How do I make my ReplayTV's hard drive power down.

Starting in version 2.0 when you put the unit in standby (push the power button) the hard drive will power down unless it is recording something.  This feature allows the ReplayTV to use less electricity and remain cool when not in use.

 What's the difference between the Panasonic Showstopper and RTV2020

The differences are few, but there are noteworthy differences.  Also keep in mind that recently the ReplayTV models were updated to have the same circuitry that is in the Panasonic.

• Color of fascia - The box and fascia look very similar to the existing ReplayTV units.  However, the plastic has a slightly silver (pewter) finish to it.  Both look very classy.  I hope they continue to maintain this look.  It looks good and over time will be very recognizable.
• Macrovision Copy Protection - The previous ReplayTV models stripped out Macrovision encoding.  The Panasonic retains the copy protection scheme on it's outputs.
• Closed Captioning Support - The Showstopper supports closed captioning.  This feature required a hardware change and will not be supported on previous models.
• Better Ventilation - Previous ReplayTV models ran a little hot.  So ventilation was increased on the Showstoppers.

   What's New about Version ReplayTV Version 2.0

• Themes Becomes Replay Zones.
  In addition to being able to create themes, ReplayTV Zones shows many pre-created themes including ReplayTV Movies, ReplayPicks and Search.  Don't worry you can still  create themes. For more information on ReplayZones, check out the ReplayTV2.0 Guide
• Find Shows Replaces Customize
  The feature formally known as Customize now resides under the Setup option on the main menu.  You can now use the New Find Shows to search for shows to record.
• ReplayGuide
  There have been some changes to the ReplayGuide to show information more logically by showing the recorded shows on each theme or show based channel across instead of down.

 Can I run my Playstation, Sega or Nintendo through the Inputs on Replay

While this technically will work, you are better off running game consoles directly into your TV.  In order to provide live TV pause, Replay must encode and decode the signal before it is seen on screen.  This causes around a one second delay.  While this is fine for running external sources into the ReplayTV unit, the delay is too long for playing fast action video games..

    Important news about  Version 2.0 - Important Update

Be very careful when you upgrade to 2.0.  Here is a quote from a recent post at www.avsforum.com related to after you receive the Version 2.0 Upgrade.   "When you first access the Replay Guide, you will be asked to optimize your hard disk. Optimizing your hard disk will erase all your recorded programs, but greatly improves the reliability of future recording. Before you perform the optimization, we recommend that you view all your Replay Shows."

Don't worry, you will be given a choice to wait.  It will continue to ask each time you access the Replay Guide until you complete this task.  It is highly recommended that you do this as soon as possible, but make sure you don't want to watch anything on you system before you do.

   Does ReplayTV  have a universal remote.

The ReplayTV remote is great.  In addition to allowing control of the ReplayTV  PTV features,  It can be setup to control a TV, Cable Box, VCR or a DVD Player.  The only drawback I found was that it can't be setup to control the volume on are Audio receiver or preamp.

  Can I see my version number

To see your version number press 411 while watching live television, before the channel changes,  press ReplayZones. 

   How do I access the Secret Menu in Version 2.0  - Update

To see the secret options menu in Version 2.0 press 243 while watching live television, before the channel changes,  press ReplayZones.  You will be able to select the following options.

• Toggle Clock - Toggle an on-screen clock showing the systems time and date
• Toggle CPU Meter - See the current CPU utilization onscreen.
• Net Connect - Force a Program Guide Download.
• Refresh Partition - It appears to update the partition to the current format.  See Upgrading to Version 2.0.  Not accessible once you have upgraded to 2.0
• Clear Channel Guide -  Delete all Downloaded Channel Guide Information and Reboot.  

  Can I hide channels

Yes, you can hide any channels that you don't watch.  Just access the setup menu from the ReplayTV Main menu screen.  

  Can I record over the air or cable broadcasts?

Yes you can.  ReplayTV has a built in Encoder.  This means that you can record any source you can connect including over the air antenna, cable and satellite.  Keep in mind that unlike PTV receivers with a build in satellite receiver, ReplayTV must compress the signal.  TiVo gives you options to record at varying levels of quality.

    Can you upgrade the hard drive?

No, I haven't found any available hard drive upgrades for the ReplayTV receivers     

   How much does it cost.  

Here is the the ReplayTV Reciever Pricing

•  RTV2020 (20 Hour ReplayTV) - $699 Now $599  This price includes service for life.

As I mentioned, with ReplayTV you don't need to buy a subscription as long as you own the unit.

  Thanks, but I still have questions?  

If this web site wasn't able to answer all of your questions, feel free to send us a quick question to be added to the list