My two Panasonic Showstoppers may have been the best consumer electronics bargains EVER!! Both chugged along for 10+ years, through ReplayTV, Sonic Blue, the Ch. 11, sale to DirecTV, last summer's drama over the cutoff that never came, etc. etc. and I marvelled at how that dial up network kept working. Like a ghost ship with a candle illuminating one porthole.
I had been using digital cable on one unit since 2001, so when my cable company dropped analog I only had to disconnect the unit that was still running only on coax. But that spurred a purchase of an HD set for our family room, then months of deliberation over Moxi, TiVo, the cable co DVR (YUK!) or going OTA. I settled for Tivo, even though it will never be as good as ReplayTV, but at least it works and supports HD.
I kept my unused unit plugged into a phone jack and UPS, so it could at least maintain connection to the mothership, for, I dunno, sentimental reasons?
And when the program guide stopped updating this winter on my remaining Showstopper I browsed over to this forum. I waited a few weeks, tried every hack that users proposed, and finally decided I was investing too much time on trying to revive a dream. Plus, even with my "lifetime" subscription I still had to pay for the SD cable box. For a couple bucks more I could have settled for the cable co. DVR.
But no way I'd do that.
So I moved on to another Tivo, after the typical cablecard dance with the local MSO, and now the Showstoppers are at rest on a basement shelf with the Laserdisc player and Sony Betamax.
Best wishes for everyone still working to use ReplayTV. I understand the passion.
I had been using digital cable on one unit since 2001, so when my cable company dropped analog I only had to disconnect the unit that was still running only on coax. But that spurred a purchase of an HD set for our family room, then months of deliberation over Moxi, TiVo, the cable co DVR (YUK!) or going OTA. I settled for Tivo, even though it will never be as good as ReplayTV, but at least it works and supports HD.
I kept my unused unit plugged into a phone jack and UPS, so it could at least maintain connection to the mothership, for, I dunno, sentimental reasons?
And when the program guide stopped updating this winter on my remaining Showstopper I browsed over to this forum. I waited a few weeks, tried every hack that users proposed, and finally decided I was investing too much time on trying to revive a dream. Plus, even with my "lifetime" subscription I still had to pay for the SD cable box. For a couple bucks more I could have settled for the cable co. DVR.
But no way I'd do that.
So I moved on to another Tivo, after the typical cablecard dance with the local MSO, and now the Showstoppers are at rest on a basement shelf with the Laserdisc player and Sony Betamax.
Best wishes for everyone still working to use ReplayTV. I understand the passion.