You have your choice of the TIVO starting at $299 or the Replay units starting at $499. They both work pretty well, but the Replay doesnt have a fan which makes it quieter. Additionally, the replay unit is constantly recording and allows you to rewind a show that you werent actually instructing it to record. The difference in the price between the two units is actually nonexistent because you need to pay either a monthly subscription rate on the TIVO ($9.95/mo) or a lifetime rate of $199.99. The Replay is prepaid for the lifetime rate, which makes it $200 more. The majority of those selling the equipment, who I deal with, prefer the Replay as it is a much more versatile unit. You should look out for the rebates which are constantly being offered on both unit, normally between $50 - $100 depending on if you have a DSS system or not. Also, if you are in the market for DSS systems, there currently are versions that incorporate your DSS receiver with Tivos and there is another system that is on the way, although I cant release that information yet. However a little teaser to it is that it has to do with Ultimate TV, yet another division of Microsoft.
Oh, the hell with it, the other device, which I am not supposed to talk about until its official world premiere is the Ultimate TV box. It incorporates Web TV service, DVR (digital video recorder), and DSS (Direct TV). It has picture in picture capability, and you can record one thing while watching another. The box is about the same size as a regular TIVO unit and has optical as well as digitial coaxial outputs. The training on the piece was interesing, but at the same time, I would never use the Web Tv and you must pay a monthly subscription rate to Ultimate TV which includes 4 hours of web time. Tenative pricing is going to run you about $50 for basic direct tv and unlimited web surfing.
Fortunately for me, no one knows who I am.
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