Replay TV: Continued

Aside from the technical issues, there are a few usability snags as well. Frame by frame advance is clumsy at best. To implement it you have to hit the play button while already in progress. Unbelievably, you can't got to frame by frame from pause, and you switch direction of playback, which makes frame by frame mode a frustratingly futile exercise involving hitting the "replay" and and "play" button with the correct timing. A lot of problems seem to be tied to the show description database. The keyword search for subjects doesn't always work. For example, a key word "Theme Channel" containing the word "skateboarding" failed to pick up any x-games action - but maybe it was doing me a favor. When surfing channels, the show description gets cut off. Most cable boxes display a quick description of a show as you change channels or search through the channel listing. Cable boxes usually let you scroll through the description if it can't be displayed in four lines or so. Replay TV limits the display two lines without the option of scrolling. Consequently, most show descriptions (which include main cast members) are truncated. Not a big deal, but easy enough to do it right. A lot of shows don't have descriptions, and some listings are completely wrong, though admittedly very few. Sometimes "theme channels" can screw up. Once, Space Ghost Coast to Coast got recorded in one 15 minute blocks instead of a half an hour. The theme channel was only set to keep one episode, so the second half got dropped. Sometimes shows don't start or end exactly on time, so you'll miss the first minute or two, or the last punchline at the end of a sitcom. Another quirk involves the remote control. After programing the remote number to match your cable box type you must plug in an infrared transmitter and affix it over the receptor on the cable box. Pressing a button on the remote sends a signal to Replay Tv which then passes it through the infrared transmitter to the front of the cable box. Sometimes the signal doesn't quite make it, so you end up with half a channel change. It's a minor annoyance that compounds itself when hitting the "jump" button to go to the last channel you were at. If your channel change doesn't go through, simply re-entering the correct channel will have no efffect. If Replay TV thinks it's already at the right channel it won't send the signal to change channels again. That means you have to enter a different channel (or hit channel up/down) and then re-enter the correct channel. Often times Replay Tv will display an annoying message telling you that no signal can be found, check your guide, etc. while in fact the cable box is slow in responding to the the request.

All complaints aside, Replay Tv works remarkably well for the first generation of the technology. Once you master the arcane science of programming theme channels you'll find that your hard drive will fill up pretty fast, especially if you record at a highr level of quality. You won't miss your favorite shows. In fact, you'll find that you're watching all kinds of shows you never new about. You probably find yourself watching too much television.

Tivo is the competiton. It's basically the same product with a few minor differences, the biggest one being that you must pay to download channel listings. 10 bucks a month or $200 for life. That makes choice a no brainer, even if Tivo has got the frame by frame slow motion down pat. Tivo's rewind and fast forward speeds top out at 60x as opposed to 20x of the Replay Tv. Another feature that Tivo has is a voting system that lets you vote thumbs up or down on shows that you watch. Tivo can sift through program descriptions and make a judgement call on whether or not you might like to watch a show, and then record it without you having to lift a finger. I don't think I would want a box telling me to watch more tv. In their continuing quest to rename existing technology developed outside Sony (Think Firewire), Sony packages a Tivo box under the name of Digital Network Recorder, or DNR. Besides a new name, the DNR has the added bonus of being able to automatically dump shows to tape provided you have a compatible Sony branded VCR (those bastards). Panasonic packages a Replay Tv that seems to be the same box with a 3d plastic name stuck on it.

In the future, I imagine that you will be able to ditch the phone line for a permanent internet connection. I'd like to see some boolean action on the show search. That kind of feature would allow you to find movies with Burt Reynolds but not Dom DeLuise - all three of them. Firewire. Those of us using our boxes for a little postmodern cut and paste action would appreciate a digital line out. One day recordable DVDs should drop enough to replace VCRs and make the digital out a standard. Bigger cheaper hard drives. With hard drive prices dropping, I'd like to see those prices relfected in the cost of the unit. According to the vague guy in tech support, the 20 hour model has a 20 gig hard drive. It's safe to assume the 30 hour model clocks in at around 30 gigs or less. On board hardware mpeg encrytption should give a decent lattitude for drive performance which should inlude a wider variety of cheaper drives. At that level of capacity, 10 gigs shouldn't cost $100 bucks. As your drive gets close to capacity playback will sometimes hiccup, so bigger drives will always be better.

Even with it's current limitations, Replay Tv works as advertised. It really does change the way you watch tv. You'll quickly beccome accustomed to skipping commercials 30 seconds at a time. If you're an early adopter of technology or have an unhealthy infatuation with a particular show or actor you can't beat it. Why you'd want to pay an extra 200 bucks minimum in subscription fees for the Tivo model is beyond me. Now that Panasonic has liscensed the technology it seems more likely that Replay Tv channel guide services will be available for quite some time. Since the operating system is upgradable, it's conceivable that an upgrade or a future hack and the eventual ubiquity of internet connections could make that service unnecessary. Since the foundation is already good, newer models will probably be even better. If you've got to have one now, stick with the entry level models which can be bought for arround $400. Depending on how and where you buy, you might need to follow the rebate path.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5: Works as advertised, but not yet perfected. Somewhat expensive but cheaper than Tivo

Online Action: Replay TV: replaytv.com - Panasonic: Showstopper - TiVo: tivo.com - Sony: DNR

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by kilwag

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