ReplayTV Exits the Hardware Business
Posted by Harry McCracken | Monday, December 19, 2005 10:58 PM PT
Well, this is the end of an era. ReplayTV, which, along with TiVo, created the DVR business, is getting out of it. Getting out of the hardware side of it, that is: The company has
announced plans to sell off its remaining stock of Model 5500 DVRs and prepare for a new life as a seller of DVR software for PCs. (It'll bundle its software with Happaugue's TV tuner cards.)
Replay, founded in 1997, made some nifty products--including, briefly, the only DVR which could automatically cut commercials out of TV playback, no human intervention required. But it had a hard-luck history. Although its DVRs hit the market at around the same time as TiVo's, it was TiVo which became synonymous with hard disk-based TV timeshifting. (As a Replay owner, I quickly got used to raving about the product and having people look puzzled and ask, "Oh, is it like TiVo?")
And Replay went on to go through multiple ownerships and shifts in business strategy--the shift to software is its umpteenth attempt to reinvent itself. I certainly wish it good luck, but it sounds like it's essentially going to compete with Microsoft and its Media Center platform, so it'll need all the luck it can get.
Of course, TiVo seems to have won only the first DVR skirmish, not the war. It too is morphing as it faces daunting competition from DirecTV, Comcast, and other TV behemoths who are hawking their own DVRs. And while TiVo shows no signs of getting out of the hardware business, it's certainly trying to go beyond it, with offerings such as TiVo to go.
I take all of this sort of personally. I bought my ReplayTV-based DVR (a Panasonic model) not too long after the dawn of the DVR. Mine contains the 100GB hard drive I installed myself, and I've probably logged more hours using it than I have any other gadget in my life.
Replay's announcement says that folks like me don't have to worry about service going away...but I still feel like my box has been orphaned. Someday, it'll will croak. (Maybe soon, I don't know how many thousands of hours that drive has been spinning at this point.) I always thought I might replace it with a newer form of ReplayTV; now that won't happen, unless I buy a second-hand one. Or unless I put a PC in my living room.
So, DVR users reading this: What are you using--and how happy are you with it?
It's a sad day when a company that makes an elegant product with possibly the best feature ever - commerical skip - stops making it. I have a Replay 5000 with an upgraded 250-hour hard disk drive. I will keep my RePlay working as long a possible. Of course, I wouldn't mind putting a Mac Mini in the living room, but I would definetly need a bigger hard drive...
Makes business sense that ReplayTV moves from their "hardware island" to providing their elegant software for other (intergrated) platforms. I hope they maintain their good name by continuing to support TV program updates for their legacy hardware products.
God I wish Replay had been purchased by Comcast or one of the other major Cable TV players. Maybe Comcast will get rid of their awful DVR software in favor of Replay's now that they are in the software business. One can only hope. I'm going to miss my Replay. I have a Panasonic with a 80GB drive, a 5000 (love the commercial skip) and a 5500 with a upgraded 250GB hard drive. The best thing is my 5000 will activate commercial skip when watching the 5500 over my home network. COMCAST ARE YOU LISTENING!!!! YOUR DVRS SOFTWARE SUCKS!!! BUY REPLAY TV SOFTWARE!!!!
I use a replay for my DVR and I love it. I have the 40 hour model, and I find this news very disconcerting.
I was waiting for Replay to come out with a HD DVR, but the waiting is over. I currently have HD cable with Comcast HD DVR but the rent will double next month on it and I WILL NEVER OWN A PRODUCT WITH TIVO. I have to switch provider on HD next month and do not want to put 2 dishes on my roof, so I will switch to Directv HD and use my two Replay units to record
and the unit from Directv but not in HD, until Directv or someone comes out with one with Replay software in it.
At my house, we use a Comcast DVR that we get for a discount because a family member works at Comcast.
I have never used any other DVR, but I would have to agree that it doesn't have the best DVR software out there. I really really really really hate the fact that you can't cut out the commercials, and that the hard drive is so small, since I have to share it with two other people, and one of them even has one in her room but she still insists that she use the other one. WHY IN THE WORLD DOES SHE NEED TO USE TWO?! And if anything on there is on there for more than two days or if you watch it and don't delete it, then you get pestered non-stop until you delete stuff. By the way, here's a heads up to other Comcast DVR users: Don't count on keeping your stuff on there too long. There's a few different components that have the potential to die after only a few months of use but Motorola, the maker of the first generation of the DVRs, insisted that Comcast sell them anyway. If any of those components goes bad, it will render the whole box unusable. You will get a free box replacement if this does happen, but the point is they shouldn't have been released in the first place if the box was known to have problens prior to release. It took 2-3 tries before we got a working box. The first time we traded it in, we got a box that worked, but the menus never displayed even though they still worked. Ironically, I lost a few recordings of Digital Duo, but nothing too important.
My wife and I love our 5000 series replay. I've got it networked and download my shows regularly for backup to DVD. Unfortunately, I've got a couple hundred gigs of programs I haven't gotten around to editing and authoring to disk. For that reason I'm thinking about getting a standalone DVD recorder which I'll use to record the shows to disk, from the replay, as I watch them. It'll cut out a bunch of steps, but I'd like a HTPC instead. I love the replay interface, so this announcement may be just what I need to break down and build a new computer. But then again, maybe I should wait for Vista and see what the big lumbering giant microsoft comes up with. I'm sure it won't be as good, but in the end, it may be my only choice.
We have 2 ReplayTVs in use now. The 5000 with Commercial Advance is the one used most often and lives with the rest of the entertainment center. The 5500 lives with the other TV in the house and is networked with the 5000 so we can watch programs on either RTV at either location. Unfortunately, we also have a Comcast DVR so that we can record HD. It kills me that I have to pay an additional monthly fee to Comcast for a clearly inferior DVR but I can't go back to appointment TV just, even for HD which makes a DVR from Comcast a must. Regardless of what DVR we get in the future, we'll continue to use that Commercial Advance unit for as much non-HD content as we can.
We have the 5000 and wish we had one or two more. I recently bought a DirecTV DVR R10 (Tivo) because (1) it was free after rebate, and (2) it uses a dual LNB which allows recording one channel while viewing another - or you can simultaneously record two satellite channels while watching over-the-air tv. The TIVO software sucks and I'm already employing hacks to make it more like ReplayTV. Clearly we'll take all possible steps to keep the 5000 running. Thank you Replay for a great device - NO THANKS to Hollywood for their continuing greed.
Should have bought a Tivo...
I have two TiVos (networked) with 250 gig HDs in each. However, I was always a little jealous of ReplayTV owners (fierce icconoclasts)...well, I guess, less so now. Anyway, I know how I'd feel if TiVo made the same annoucement. Condolences.
I have owned a Replay for three years now and I love it. I also have a lifetime programming subscription and I wonder what will happen to it. I liked Replay's Tech Support also, whenever I had a problem they were very happy to help and they were american. Fry's has been selling the 5000. I love my Replay and I am going to miss them.
I have been an Ultimate TV fan for years. And I am really stressing as to when my machine will finally kill over. I have recommeded DVR's to friends and family for a couple of years now, and with no more Ultimate TV DVR's around, they have had to go to TIVO. And I must say that the TIVO's that I have help them set up are no where as user friendly or as quick as my Ultimate TV. I wish they would have stuck it out for a couple of years. I think they would have been on top!
I have a ReplayTV from the commercial skip era. I love it--and even without the commercial skip, which I don't use much, it's by far one of the finest and most user-friendly consumer-electronics product I've ever owned. I also use a DVR embedded in my Charter Digital box. It's not a good product. It really is a shame that one of the big cable companies never worked a deal with the ReplayTV people.
I liked the Replay because there wasn't a monthly subscription, unike the evil money-sucking clone. If they must go to software only, I will gladly sacrifice my gaming computer to convert to a capture monster. What is the shelf-life for backup units stored well?
I've owned a Replay for 3 years now. It's just wonderful to not have to listen to those assinine commercial any more. The only thing that could possibly surpass it would be free money.!Dirty shame that a commercial skip machine is not available anymore.
I recently bought a 5500 unit (40 hour refurb) which I upgraded to a 300 GB harddrive via a weaknees.com preformatted harddrive kit. The unit is great, but I've had issues of setting up a wireless network, which I was finally able to do with a Linksys Wireless Router/Switch and a Wireless Gaming Bridge (meant for the XBox). My last hurdle is splitting the signal so I can watch one channel and record another. This has been the toughest nut for me to crack. Other than the these challenges, which I expected, the unit has perfomed flawlessly and the recorded shows are in high quality. It's everything I've wanted from a VCR that I've never done with a VCR because I didn't have a handful of blank tapes laying around. I'm able to watch the shows I want and still have a life. I've been able to schedule recordings from work via the internet and grab a whole day's worth of viewing of Noggin for my preschooler for when our DirecTV signal dies from heavy storms or being iced over. The last thing I'll do with it is burn DVD's of shows to free up hard drive space and create a personal library to watch.
I'm sorry to see that the hardware part of ReplayTV is going away, but I've also heard really cool things about the software side of the company. I'm looking forward to ReplayPC.
What is the official website for ReplayTV now? The "old" one is not working, at least not today.
ReplayTV is back, soon to have a free trial download for their PC-based product. ReplayTV and DVArchive along with a large, external USB2 hard drive are a great match.