Hi, I'm new here, so first a little history. I've been using a Showstopper upgraded to 125 hours for 2+ years now without incident. In the past month, or so, I've purchased 3 newer models of RTV.
The first was a 5504, purchased as a gift for my wife. This unit went through the setup and then would lock up every time I tried to tune to a TV station. After hours spent on the phone with different representatives from India, it was determined that it was necessary to return the unit to TX for replacement.
Then I found a good deal on 5516's, so I purchased one to replace my Showstopper and one to replace my wife's unit, figuring I'd have no trouble selling the 5504 and the Showstopper. The one I gave to my wife made it through the setup ok and worked for about 2 days before I had to reboot it because the modem would not initialize. It then got stuck on the Please Wait... screen. I used all the ideas I found in this forum with no success, so I called RTV customer service. It was determined that this unit would need to be replaced as well.
The other 5516 has been working somewhat satisfactorily for about 5 days now. There has been one show that only recorded for one minute when it was set to record for an hour and another show only recorded for 15 minutes, but it's hard to say why that might have happened. The real problem with this unit is that after every time that it connects to the RTV service the modem will not initialize until the unit is rebooted. I've managed to get the unit upgraded to software version 5.1, build 19 using techniques I found in this forum, and the unit is connected directly to the phone jack using a single phone line (no splitters). I also tried lowering the modem speed, which did not help the problem. Is there anything else I can try to fix this problem, or is this unit going to have to go back to TX as well?
I have to say that RTV customer support has been patient and pleasant to work with (especially those in TX). Also, this site has been very useful. But, considering that all 3 of my newly purchased units may have to go back for replacement, I may just hold on to my Showstopper for a while.

The first was a 5504, purchased as a gift for my wife. This unit went through the setup and then would lock up every time I tried to tune to a TV station. After hours spent on the phone with different representatives from India, it was determined that it was necessary to return the unit to TX for replacement.
Then I found a good deal on 5516's, so I purchased one to replace my Showstopper and one to replace my wife's unit, figuring I'd have no trouble selling the 5504 and the Showstopper. The one I gave to my wife made it through the setup ok and worked for about 2 days before I had to reboot it because the modem would not initialize. It then got stuck on the Please Wait... screen. I used all the ideas I found in this forum with no success, so I called RTV customer service. It was determined that this unit would need to be replaced as well.
The other 5516 has been working somewhat satisfactorily for about 5 days now. There has been one show that only recorded for one minute when it was set to record for an hour and another show only recorded for 15 minutes, but it's hard to say why that might have happened. The real problem with this unit is that after every time that it connects to the RTV service the modem will not initialize until the unit is rebooted. I've managed to get the unit upgraded to software version 5.1, build 19 using techniques I found in this forum, and the unit is connected directly to the phone jack using a single phone line (no splitters). I also tried lowering the modem speed, which did not help the problem. Is there anything else I can try to fix this problem, or is this unit going to have to go back to TX as well?
I have to say that RTV customer support has been patient and pleasant to work with (especially those in TX). Also, this site has been very useful. But, considering that all 3 of my newly purchased units may have to go back for replacement, I may just hold on to my Showstopper for a while.