2 5040 units remote controlling them both, not good.

I'm not sure about the 5000 series, but there are two solutions for a 3000 series.

Method 1: Power switch
Manually press the power button on one Replay so one is on, one is off. Then the remote's power button will flip them, keeping only one "active".

Method 2: Sub-Unit numbers
You'll need a remote that supports JP1 hacks. Configure 2 device buttons and use a different Sub-Unit setting for each device.

When a ReplayTV boots, if it sees a sub-unit number in the first IR signal it sees, it only follows that sub-unit number's signals.

So, boot one unit and then send it a command via one device code.
Next, boot the other and send it a command via the other device code.
Now, both units should only respond to their device code... at least until they reboot.

I've used Method 2 for years and since the 3k seldom reboot it's worked great. IIRC the later models reboot weekly.

Search the forum for info on JP1 remote hacking and how to set a sub-unit number.

Robert

With the later (networked) Replays, you can control them over the network. This can be a lot less useful because of the double 'select' bug.

With the later models (4K/5K, this code setting is remembered, so no need to worry.

You said "closet", so you may have more issues here. Otherwise, the actual replay remote has JP1 capability - not for the faint of heart, and you have to purchase/make an interface, but it is a great thing to be able to not worry about the whole "toggle" method.

I did use the JP1 stuff, and there is a l of of good info here and over on the yahoo group. BUT, having said that, the toggle method can be used...Or, you can do what I eventually did...

My solution was to just split the units to have one on another TV. For the few things that you need to do "locally" on the machine (like cleaning out old recording channels), it was just simpler to go to the other room. Most everything else can be done by telling the one replay to schedule a recording on the other unit, etc.

The other advantage is you can watch recorded shows in either place!

Good Luck, and if you need any of the JP1 stuff, I think I archived it all on my server here, so PM me!

"Method 1: Power switch
Manually press the power button on one Replay so one is on, one is off. Then the remote's power button will flip them, keeping only one "active"."

This method works fantastically well and requires no modifications. 5000s never turn off, the blue light indicates the deck is listening to the remote, no blue light means the deck is not listening. As Reden said, manually light up one deck with the "power" button on the front of the unit, have the other one dark. Then a simple push of the remote's replayTV power button toggles you back and forth between the two decks.

We've always kep ours in a bedroom closet with an IR repeater to control them. Also if you search this forum you will find simple mods to slow/quiet the fan and dim the blue led.

It can be a problem keeping them synchronized. I have 5 replays (all 5xxx, the original 3 and 2 more I got on eBay recently) next to each other. I play everything from one Replay. All automatic recordings are controlled by WiRNS (with JIT, which works well with multiple Replays) and are played through the network connection on my first Replay. I very seldom need to use any other directly.

We use one 5xx0 hooked up to the TV as a head unit and six more are down in the cool basement controlled over Ethernet. Setup works very well; every three or four months I have to go down to the basement to manually delete old show listings.