How does the 721 compare with a ReplayTV ?

[bunkers]

I know they are very different -- but does anyone here have both or know about both enough to state why I would want to go one way or the other. I am aware the the PQ on the 721 would likely be better and its 2 tuners instead of 1 -- but I am interested in being able to record VCR tapes onto the PVR for the kids, and 721 could not do that. I also like the idea of a PVR which is more capable of handling shows which vary in duration and timeslot -- and it seems that replay is a little better in that regard. I also want to stay with DISH and don't like TIVO(s).

ANy advise or comments appreciated.

IF I got a replay I would probably use it with my existing 301.

I would eventually upgrade my 501 to a 522 either way.

[dbronstein]

I used ReplayTV for 2 years (a showstopper 2000) before getting a 721 a few months ago. IMO, the software on the Replay was much better than on the 721. The 721 does time-based recordings so it can't do anything with shows changing durations or timeslots. The menus on the Replay were easier to use than the 721. I really liked the grid layout for the recorded shows.

Having said that, I'm glad I went to the 721 for the following reasons:

1. Two tuners - it's great to be able to watch one channel and record another, or record two things at the same time.

2. No IR blaster - it wasn't very often, but it happened enough to be annoying where the IR Blaster with the Replay would drop a digit and tune to the wrong channel.

It's a matter of deciding what's most important to you. If recording videos to the hard drive and having show-based recording are more important than the two tuners, go with Replay. If the two tuners are more important, get the 721.

Dennis

[Halfsek]

Picture quality is a big deal too. I assume the Replay is similar to a stand alone Tivo in how it compresses the video. The SA Tivo picture quality was quite bad when compared with the 721. Since the Replay isn't integrated with the satellite box, I would think that you'd have the same problem.

The 721 picture playback is excellent.

After seeing the difference, I kind of feel like it defeats the purpose of getting satellite if you're going to use a non-integrated PVR.

[dbronstein]

I really didn't notice a difference in the picture quality with the Replay. But maybe that was just me.

Dennis

[Bill D]

Originally posted by bunkers
-- but I am interested in being able to record VCR tapes onto the PVR for the kids, and 721 could not do that.

Unless you are talking about movies, I would think most shows that are on tapes for kids are Nick or disney as well. My kids used to have a ton of tapes, some just comp reels of their favorite shows with multiple shows on one tape. Now the VCR remains never gets used, they have all their shows on PVR

[bunkers]

Well, I would agree that as my kids get older, that most of what they would want would be stored on the PVR

But I was thinking about the abilty to record shows from VCR tapes I get from the library onto the Replay. It would be nice to retain them a little longer, and bringing them up "on demand", without all the tape rewinding, delays, etc would be nice.

I could also use the Replay to record shows (or sections of shows -- low tech editing?) stored on my DISH PVR which I want to keep around longer for one reason or another.

IS this an ill concieved idea I have here?

I am torn between the desire to have two tuners and the desire for more options (I am a techie), beyond the simple PVR capabilities offered by a dish PVR.

[Bill D]

Well if you count the 501 and 301 as another tuner, you kind of have two tuners. One for the high quality dish stuff. One for all the other VHS type of stuff you want. Sounds o.k. to me if that's what you need it for..

[TomCat]

I agree with all of dbronstein's points, and also that the PQ is significantly better on the 721.

The significant difference other than that is that the 721 (and 50x) is a timeslot recorder, while the Replay (like Tivo) records based on program titles, so if you set a theme recording for a program or if it gets resheduled within an hour of its original time (for example, "Friends" gets moved a half-hour later for whatever reason) you will still get what you aimed for with Replay, while the 721 will record whatever's in the original timeslot.

And of course a 90-hour 721 will record about 80 hours of programs, while an 80-hour Replay will record 80 hours of programming at worst quality and only a third of that at its best quality, which is still not comparable to 721 quality. The Replay also has commercial advance and the ability to share programs over a network or over the internet (but at a really slow rate). The 721 gets all updates over the sat every few hours of so, while the Replay makes a single nightly call over a phone line or broadband connection.

[Jacob S]

It is just a matter of time until there will be that ideal receiver that will do everything that everyone wants it to do instead of one having so many advantages over the other one. This is still just the beginning for this type of technology.

I wonder what advancements would be made during the next 2-5 years? There are things that are being done I never thought they would do, and I think there will be things that we never thought they would do in which would be implemented the next several more years.

[James_F]

The one thing that Replay and TiVo can do that Dish and DirecTV PVRs can't is record OTH locals. That might be a big deal if you don't get them through the satellite.

[bunkers]

And for me, with 2 toddlers at home, they watch a lof of "goofy" shows we get from the library -- which are on VCR tapes.

I just think it might be useful to record some of their favorites onto the replay and then bring them up in a faster and easier way than finding the right tape, rewinding, etc --

I think I'm still leaning towards the 721 overall, because the dual tuners, higher PQ and slowly improving software seems like a hard combination to beat.

Also, as mentioned before, I would need to get a Replay 5160 to get 55 hours of "high quality" recording -- and that unit + lifetime costs a lot more than the 721 would.

[bunkers]

I will admit we have missed a few shows in the past, but now my wife seems to have gotten very good at checking the guide in advance (to verify the show is recorded and record for correct duration) on all shows she really wants to most. So we really haven't missed anything in the last few months with the timeslot based DISH PVR, because were getting better at low tech ways of verification.