Panasonic PV-HS2000 ReplayTV ShowStopper 30-Hour Digital Video Recorder

When I first opened the box and read that I HAD to hood this thing up to the phone line I almost returned it. I was hoping I could use it like a regular VCR. You can't, and it won't work until it has dialed in and recieved the information about your local stations (and programing). I'm glad I gave it a try.
It has really changed the way my wife and I watch TV. It is so easy to search/scan/record programs and movies we want to watch. My wife could never figure out how to program the VCR to record, but she had the Showstopper figured out in minutes. We have had it for several weeks with no problems and I can't remember the last time I had to watch a commercial. I like the fact that their is no service I had to subscribe to.
Love it.

Ok, I'm going to just lay this out on the table immediately. I love this product. Like seriously love. No, I'm not talking about the love I feel my second cousin or my goldfish, but more like the love I felt for my first girlfriend, or for Heather Locklear, or for Twinkies.

Translated...this is true love.

My brother turned me onto the idea of Replay TV a few months ago. At the time, I had only heard of TIVO, and was convinced that, as cool as it sounded, this technology was out of my price range. I mean, I love TV. I mean LOVE (you get the idea), but still. ($) and up for a glorified VCR? Didn't quite see it happening.

But when my brother told me that he got his unit as an open box buy from a Circut City for only ($) AND that Panasonic was offering a ($) rebate if a unit was purchased before the end of the year, well, that was all I needed to hear.

So I let my fingers do the walking and found an open box buy in a (...) in downtown Philly for ($), mailed in my rebate form, and the rest is history.

And, by history, I mean that this is truly a product that (eventually) will change and revolutionize the way we all watch TV. For now, let me just give you the lowdown.

The setup: out of the box, I was immediately impressed with what Panasonic had put together. Everything that was needed for a variety of setups (VCR, digital cable box, S-Video, even a phone cord and phone jack splitter) was included, as well as a very detailed and easy to read setup guide. The only glitch I encountered was with the flimsy IR Blasters that couldn't seem to marry the cable box channels to the Replay TV channels.

Easy solution, though. I went out and bought a coaxial splitter and ran one wire into the Replay unit and one into the digital cable box, and then both into the TV and...PRESTO! Instant perfection. Now, with the press of my TV/Video button, I could toggle between Replay TV and live television, allowing me to tape one show and watch another. After everything was hooked up, the Replay TV unit took me through a pleasant and easy set of on-screen instructions which found my cable system and downloaded the week's worth of programming. And I was on my way...

The payoff: immediately I realized that this was a special piece of equipment. I had used one in a store before and paused live TV, which was kinda cool, but doing it in my own home was just amazing. Phone rings, pause the show. Bio break. Pause. And just pick up where you left off. And unlike TIVO, which boasts a pause time of 30 minutes, Replay TV will pause for nearly 10 HOURS!

As you've probably read in several writeups, you can find shows based on category (SCI FI, sitcom, drama, etc.) or by show title, and even actor/director. A simple Tarantino search let me know that Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown were both airing this week, and with the touch of a button, they were mine.

Going further, watching recorded programs is a dream. I was watching "High Fidelity," which I had taped (is is still called 'taped' if there's no tape???) and stopped it midway through to watch a "Seinfeld" that I had recorded. When I was finished with the "Seinfeld" I went back to "High Fidelity" and was amazed to see that it remembered exactly where I left off!

The 30 hours of programming is on the extended play, which is fine for my viewing purposes. I suppose that there might be an occasion that I would use the high level play, but I can't see how it would be worth it to use it too often, as I'd rather save the hard disk play for more programs. 30 hours is really a LOT of television. Even for me.

I'm sorry if I'm gushing, but I'm just so thrilled that I actually own one of these suckers. Obviously, I got a helluva deal. But I would easily say that this unit is worth the price that it was originally advertised. Panasonic has discontinued the Showstopper 2000 in favor of a new high end broadband 4000 unit (which runs anywhere from ($) based on the programming capacity), so it's tough to find new units in stores, but if you're fortunate enough to locate an open box buy like I did, run, don't walk to the store and buy it.

Simply put, you now own your TV...your TV no longer owns you. Best of luck all!

Without a lot of typing. This unit has changed the way I watch Tv. I dont miss a beat with this unit. In fact it is a must have.
I find my self watching it 7 days a week. This is a bad (great) unit. This will be money well spent. You can even control it over the internet.

regards,
Kelvin

I could sell a million of these baby's! My wife could not believe I was buying another "gadget" and now she is hooked. We watch our shows when we want and "zap" right through the commercials. The on screen programming makes recoding very simple. I had no problems with the set-up. Saving a show on a VCR tape is also easy. I do not understand the "carping" about the machine breaking down-I have had ours for over a year and have had no problems. This is the way tv was meant to be seen!

I love what this machine can theoretically do. To use an oft-used phrase, it has changed the way I watch TV. However, it crashes A LOT. At least once a week, I have to reset it to get it to dial in correctly (which they don't tell you how to do in the manual). In the four months that I've owned it, I've had to perform two hard resets (which they also don't tell you how to do in the manual) wiping out all stored data, including recorded shows and settings. Their customer support line closes daily at 9, which is kind of a pain. It's kind of noisy too, making a high pitched whirring sound whenever it's in use.

It cannot record while you're watching another show on live TV, which most VCRs can do but you can watch a recorded show while taping another. Pausing live TV is great, as is instant replay, and programming it to record shows is pretty easy. While I am not exactly a novice with gadgets, I had a hard time installing it, and had to get a techie friend to do it.