How Is The Warranty From The Manufacturer? Tivo an Replay TV have a 3 month Parts and Labor warranty from the manufacture...We offer a 6 month parts and labor warranty on all PVR's sold. 1-2 Years on the drives from the manufacture that we offer a swap after 6 months for a small fee
Can I Use The Tivo Series 2 as a Recorder Only Without The TIVO SERVICE?
The Toshiba SD-H400 Combination Progressive-Scan DVD Player already has the basic service so no activation is required.. Only the series 1 (Phillips or Sony)our Recorder Only version will let you PAUSE LIVE TV and record shows on Satellite, Cable or AIR channels. Call for this upgrade for NO SERVICE REQUIRED.. Call for more details as this is a modification we preform here.
Can I Transfer my Lifetime Service?
Your Subscription to the Tivo Service is only transferable to the exact same model as the one with lifetime.., You can not transfer lifetime from a Series 1 to a Series 2. Please call 888-666-9306 or log on to live chat before sending units.
What's the Difference between the different brands of TiVo.
Most Tivos are the same. The only major difference is the Tivo2 and the Direc tv Satellite Tivo. The Direct TV Satellite Tivo’s only work with direct and nothing else and Standalone Tivo2 works with Cable , AIR , Or Satellite. The other is Humax with the built in DVD -R Recorder is just a tivo with a DVD Burner so you can transfer your recorded shows to DVD-R. Most Tivos are the same except the Case Design. We service ALL tivo's and ReplayTV PVR's. For example All series 1 tivos (Phillips or Sony) were made by Amtek but the brands, faceplate and remote are the only difference, same software, same features.
I Already Have 2 Drives In My Tivo, Can I Upgrade?
Yes, we can replace 1 or both drives to any combination of drives you choose. Remember their is no benefit to having (2) drives in your Tivo, the 2nd drive is only for more storage of your shows. Two drives in a Tivo act as one and they can’t be separated, so if you have (2) drives (Lets say 30+30 for 60GB drives)you can replace them with 1 big 120GB drive for 140 Hours.
Does the Tivo Upgrade Void My 90 Day Warranty With TiVo?
Yes, We do offer a (6) month warranty on the upgrade and have our own service center. If your Tivo fails we can repair or replace the main components including Main board, Power supply, IR Controller Card , and Drive Systems all under Warranty.. and we guarantee your lifetime subscription will always stay intact.. Call for prices on all of our replacement parts anytime..
How Long Does It Take To Do The Upgrade?
We Guarantee 1 Day Service, If we don't perform the DRIVE upgrade within 48 hours then the service is Free!. other repairs will take no longer than 10 days.
Can The Memory In The Tivo Be Upgraded?
YES. both Sony and Phillips series 1 Tivos have 16MB ram and can be upgraded with another 16MB for 32MB total. The larger the Tivo's stored Database the more you need more memory, remember the Tivo is just like a computer, the more memory you have the less time the operating system is accessing the drive. Only the Series One Tivos can upgrade memory.
What Brand Of Drives Do You Use?
We use Segate and Maxtor QuickView because they have a 2 year warranty, We choose the best drives on the market for your PVR. Things we look for are Longest Warranty, Quiet Operation and cool running.
What if I have a Tivo That Has 2 Drives Already? Can It Be Upgraded?
We can upgrade any tivo. If your current tivo has (2) drives, lets say (2) 14 hr drives in a 30 hr tivo, you keep the first drive, then add a second or we can replace both drives to give you as much as 575 Hours. (2) 250GB drives.
Will the new 4.0 Upgrade Affect My Tivo?
The New upgrade from Tivo is packed full of features and will not affect your upgrade. Version 4.0 has the Network Option, this will allow you to connect your Series 2 tivo to a Broadband or Ethernet connection for faster guide data downloads and other new features coming soon from Tivo.
Can I Do The Upgrade Myself?
YES, We can send you a drive Kit for you to do the upgrade. Our Self Install upgrades are easy to do. We do all the formatting for you all you need to do is plug in and you are ready. It's really that easy. We offer Toll Free Phone Support, Written Instructions with photos and we also have our flash tutorials for the following upgrade kits 1.CLICK HERE for ADDING a drive to your Series 2 Tivo tutorial OR 2.CLICK HERE for ADDING a drive to your Hughes HR10-250 Satellite Tivo Tutorial plus our Live Help Online to guide you. If you have any hesitation on doing it yourself, you can send it in for us to do for $65.00. We guarantee next day turnaround on drive upgrades.
How will the upgrade affect the Lifetime Subscription?
Consider this when buying the Lifetime Service for Tivo, (1) It takes over 2 years at 12.95 to get a payback. (2) Your Tivo is only under the factory warrantee for 90 days, after that you must pay from 100.00 to 200.00 for a exchange. ** Please be aware that this lifetime service subscription is tied to the serial number of the recorder, not to your name -- in other words, it is for the lifetime of this specific recorder, not your lifetime. If you choose to sell or give this recorder to someone else, the subscription will remain with this recorder. The lifetime subscription can't be transferred to another recorder of a different make, model, or manufacturer -- each recorder purchased requires its own subscription. But, don't worry: If you repair, replace or upgrade the storage capacity of this recorder through sonyslim.com the lifetime subscription will still be active.
Can I add The RAM Myself?
The RAM is 50 PIN D-Ram no bigger than 1 inch long that is surface mounted to the board. This is done using a machine that heats all the contact points at once and never touches the RAM or board.
What is the warranty on the Hard Drives?
That’s the great part of your upgraded Tivo. The drive carry a separate warranty for up to 2 years, if your drive fails within the warranty period, send us the Tivo or drives and we will replace for a small format fee.
Will the Series 2 combo include dual tuners?
No, Only the Direct Tv Tivos have dual tuners, the drawback is the will only work with Direct TV and nothing else, If you want to use any cable you need a Standalone Tivo, this will work with Satellite, Cable or Air channels.. If you have cable you can split the signal, one to the TV and one to the Tivo, then you can watch 1 show and record another.
What makes the Series 2 hardware better than current units?
To start with, there is faster processing power and a better graphics engine. This means the Series 2 should be faster than current models. The Series 2 units also contain 2 USB 2.0 ports that allow for broadband connectivity and transferring your digital photos for slide show presentations.
I thought the older 5000 were not available anymore, are your 5000 New or Used?? All our Replay’s are brand new Unless otherwise stated.. Is the 5500 newer than the 50000… technically YES but really what is the difference NONE, except you don’t get the Commercial Advance and Show Sharing features.. We purchased the remaining stock of Replays 5000 because we know this feature will be sought after and very popular.
What is ReplayTV ?
ReplayTV 4000/4500 and 5000 is the first and only networked Digital Video Recorder (DVR). With a DVR, you can record your favorite television programs onto a hard disk automatically, every time they're on. So now, you watch your shows when you're ready, not when the network executives decide to air them. You can also pause, instant replay, rewind and slo-mo live television. There's no videotape to bother with, and no chance you'll ever miss your favorite shows again. The ReplayTV 4000 does all of this, charges no monthly fee, and adds broadband connectivity and a huge array of high-powered features you won't find anywhere else. You used to be able to fast forward through commercials, or use QuickSkip™ to jump right over them, but with the new ReplayTV 4000s you can use Commercial Advance® to simply playback your recorded shows without commercials. There's also a new feature for storing and viewing digital photos on your television. You can show whole slide shows to your family and friends in the living room, right from your ReplayTV. And with ReplayTV's new high-speed Ethernet connection, you can even share programs between multiple ReplayTV's in your home or send programs to your friends who also have ReplayTV 4000s.
How does ReplayTV use my Ethernet connection?
ReplayTV uses the high-speed Ethernet connection to connect to your home network. This means that your ReplayTV is now connected to your PC and to the Internet. If you have more than one ReplayTV, they'll be connected to each other, too. This means, you can now share recorded programming between multiple ReplayTV's within your home and even share your recordings with friends who also own ReplayTV 4000s. The Ethernet connection can also be used to transfer digital photos from your PC to your ReplayTV and once on your ReplayTV, you can watch digital slide shows on your television.
How can I watch a program in the bedroom that was recorded on my ReplayTV in the living room?
First you'll need to have (2) ReplayTV'S 4500 or 5000 hooked up to each TV. They can't be mixed, so either all 4500 or all 5000 series. These ReplayTV's will be networked through the Ethernet connections, so you'll be able to use the ReplayTV remote control to scroll back and forth between "bedroom" Replay guide and your "living room" Replay guide. Choose whatever show you want to watch. It doesn't matter on which hard drive that show has actually been recorded, because the ReplayTVs are connected through your home network. only same seires Replay's can be linked in this manner and not 4500 to 5000 and Ect.
I don't have a home network. Will I need to get one?
NO. ReplayTV's are enabled by an Ethernet connection or standard phone line. The most common use is to get your guide data 10 times faster than with a standard phone line. You can also us a popular shareware program called dvAarchive, it allows you to connect your Replay to your PC for editing, viewing and transfer of all your videos.
What is the difference between the 4500 and 5000 series
The 4500/5000 are basically the same, the only difference is the 4000/4500 have a VGA output to connect to a PC or HDTV for 480 Lines of resolution for a better picture, but you can get the same thing using the 5000 component output. The other difference it the remote and the physically size a the 4500 are bit bigger. The 4500 can go up to 500 ours using (2) 250gb drives an is designed for 2 drives, But the 5000 series needs a special bracket for the 2nd drive. Also they are not compatible with each other, so a 5000 can't talk to a 4500 using the Ethernet connection.
What is the difference between the new 5500 series and the 5000 older model
The new 5500 series has new features and improvements over the older 5000 for scheduling shows and automatic recordings. Because of the lawsuit between the movie industry and the Old Sonic Blue the new owners of Replay tv have decided not to include the most popular feature, "Commercial Skip" also taken out of the 5500 is the ability to do show sharing over the internet, allowing you to send shows to another ReplayTV across the country or across the globe. Even though the Automatic Commercial Advance is gone, the neat 30 second advance button is still a great feature, press 3 times and you instantly at the start of the show again.
Can I record on channel and watch another?
Yes and No, If you have Cable or a Cable Box you simply split the cable connections our of the wall or cable box, one connection goes to the Replay TV and the other connection straight to the TV, when you want to pause and use the feature of the Replay you view from that source and when you want to watch a live show without Replay TV the switch to that source, remember you have a built in tuner in the Relay TV and in the TV., Most PVR owners have little need to record one show and watch another because watching LIVE TV means you must suffer through the commercials and you cant pause TV. If you have cable with or without a cable box you can hook up your cable to the TV and the other goes to the Replay, If you choose to watch something live, say like the news, then just view cable on the other source like the built in cable tuner that’s in your TV, the other connection goes to the replay TV so it can continue to record your favorite shows
Are your Replay TV's New Used or Refurbished?
All our Replay TV are NEW unless otherwise stated in BOLD PRINT. We take brand new Replay TV's, remove the small hard drive and install either one or two new bigger hard drives that carry a 1-2 year warranty. If your drive fails within the warranty period we will send you out a replacement, or you can send your unit in and we will do it for you for a small fee.
What's the difference between the NEW Replay TV 5500 series and the older 5000 an 4500 series?
The Main difference is that you get less with the 5500 .. How can this be? Well Sonic Blue is the old owners of Replay TV and they got sued by the Movie and TV industry for the great features of Commercial Advance and Show Sharing,, The movie industry felt that automatically skipping commercials with out pressing the FF key on the remote deprived the industry of revenue, So the new owners decided not to include these features and avoid a fight, what that means is if you can get you hands on the 5000 or 4500 then you get commercial advance and show sharing and pay less. That’s It so you see if you buy the 5500 you get less and not more.
Is All Your Shipping FREE?
All On Line Orders are shipped $FREE UPS Ground. Next Day is $60.00 and Fed Ex 2-Day is $40.00 on over 15Lb Orders. SHIPPING IS NOT REFUNDABLE ON RETURNS. Repairs are shipped back to you FREE if the repair total is 90.00 or more, UPS Ground is covered.
Who Pays The Return Shipping on Repairs
We do on repairs over 90.00 UPS Ground is Free. Orders under 90.00 a 1.40 per Lb. fee will apply or a flat 25.00 whichever is greater.
Warranty Claims and Questions you Should Ask 1. Does my purchase come with a Warranty?..( Yes , We Double the manufactures Warranty from 3 months Parts and Labor to 6 Months) 2. If so is the warranty work done by you...(YES.. we are a full service repair facility and perform repairs on all brands of PVR’s). 3. Do you also offer repair services for recorders not purchased from you. (Yes All PVR’s) . if not how do you make good on the warranty claim? Is the whole recorder under warranty or just the drives.( The entire PVR is covered and on Tivo and Replay TV we warranty the drives for 2 Years) . 4. If just the drives will you service the drives (Replace then from your stock) or expect me to remove them and send to the drive manufacture. (No we replace the drives formatted for your tivo from our stock.) If my recorder arrives and will not work, will you ship me another in advance of my return (ADVANCE REPLACE)No advance replacement is not available) who pays to ship the defective unit back. (We DO for repairs only, we will send you a return shipping lable for the repair of the defective return prepaid by us. If returning for refund the customer is responsible for return shipping charges) What if my modem stops calling and I have a Lifetime Subscription, will you repair the modem and if not replace the main board, (YES repair the modem or replace the Mainboard, either one) do you stock parts and if not where do you send my recorder for repair? Remember to ask all these important questions before you order from anywhere else.
How Long Is The Warranty From The Manufacture?
ALL Tivo's and Replay TV come standard with a 3 months Parts and Labor. We double that to 6 months if you purchase from us, plus the drives are warranted for up to 5 years on ALL Tivo Drives larger than 120GB on all models.
Do you repair REPLAY TV ?
YES. About 25% of our business is the repair of Replay TV. We are the experts! Remember, you will never loose your lifetime service on any repair! We can transfer the Lifetime Service on both Tivo and Replay TV.
Do you charge for Return Shipping?
Repairs that total more than $90.00 are Free UPS Ground Shipping, if less than 90.00 Shipping is 1.40 per lb Return Ground. For Fed-Ex 2 day $40.00 and $60.00 for Next Day Service.
If you will be shipping to us by common carrier please be sure your item is packaged with extreme care. Also please print the Shipping and Repair Form found here: Click HERE for Shipping and Repair Form We do not require a return authorization number, but if you call ahead and give us information on the unit, we will issue one to help us track that information. We receive Daily Pickups from both Fed EX and UPS ad well as US Mail. [Back to top]
Is My Tivo or Replay TV Worth Repairing?
If you have a Lifetime Subscription or own a Replay unit then Yes, otherwise we suggest you always compare the repair cost to the replacement cost for new. You may get a close estimate over the phone by calling 1-605-284-2800 Remember that all of our part prices include installation.
What is the Minimum Repair Charge?
We will not charge for any repairs unless your permission is given first. The standard diagnosis fee is $40.00 The average repair usually will not exceed $100.00 and includes return shipping and the maximum repair is never more than $200.00 excluding drives.
What about the NEW Tivos with the DVD burners?
HUMAX has the best TiVo with the Built in Pioneer Burner using DVD -R Media for the most compatibility among most DVD Players. You can get one starting at 80 hours and go to over 600 hours.CLICK HERE
What's the deal on Replay TV and the Subscription changes? UPDATE: Replay tv is no longer making any Hardware or producing any Replay tv's .. We are service ALL Replay tv in your service department.. Replay TV was purchased about 1 year ago for 44 Million from the bankruptcy courts. Replay was called Sonic Blue and is now under the new ownership of Digital Networks.. They have had good sales so far and seem to be a viable company ready to compete with Tivo.. They had some confusion about the subscription service.. From the changes of 9.95 monthly fee and 250.00 for the lifetime they were changed to 3 Years Service for 250.00 and .99 cents per month for 12 months paid up front for 3 years.. Kind of goofy we thought and they have changes to the Tivo style of fees and now exactly match Tivo fees of 299.95 for the lifetime and 12.95 monthly.. If you purchased the 3 years they will convert it to the lifetime if you ask them.. UPDATE.. Replay TV and TiVo both offer discounts on 2nd thru 5th additional units, It's only $6.95 for a monthly activation as long as you have at least 1 lifetime subscribed unit..
When is High Definition coming to a PVR.
Available NOW is the HDTV PVR Satellite Tivo from Direct TV. It's the Hughes HR10-250 with 250GB drive for 30 hours of HDTV or 200 Hours of standard tv. We have a upgrade to double the capacity in our drive kits section, drive storage to record in HDTV quality is about 4 times greater than standard TV. It will also have 4 tuners and yes you will be able to connect Off Air HDTV. Please see our HDTV Satellite Tivos under PRODUCTS..
Is Home Media Option available on Direct TV Satellite?
YES, HMO is available as a Modification to the Satellite Tivo's, allowing you to share shows, you can see the NOW Showing List from any of the Tivos so now it's possible to pause your show in the livingroom and continue watching in your bedroom from the exact paused location. You can also transfer your favorite shows to a 600gb server tivo for long term storage.. please go to the Satellite Tivos Page.CLICK HERE for Satellite Tivos
How much space will it have?
Initially, it will have the same amount of space as present units (35 hours/40GB), but you can go over 500 Hours with (2) 250GB drives
Will they have Dual Tuners
YES, All satellite Tivo's have dual tuners, You do need to have 2 cables coming from your satellite dish, you can split 1 feed, it doesn’t work like regular cable, you must have a dual LNB also.
What Brands Are Offer for Satellite?
Right now (2) are available, the Phillips DSR 7000 and the Hughes HDVR2, and no they are not HDTV compatible, it will take 20GB of drive space to store 2 hours of a show so if the HDTV receivers hit the market you can be sure they will have 300GB drives or more.
When Will HDTV for TiVo be available?
HDTV PVR's are here Now, The problem is HDTV requires a huge amount of drive space.. It's like 30 Hours of video on a 250GBdrive.. it will record in variable rate meaning if the show is not HDTV it will use less hours. The brand will be Hughes and may have only 1 tuner. They also come with a hefty price tag for both the Units and the service as direc tv get a premium for this.. I would wait for another 6 months..
What is the Difference between Satellite Tivo and Standalone Tivo
Satellite Tivo has the satellite built in to the tivo.. This is Good and Bad.. Good because you have (2) tuner ability to record 2 shows at the same time. + Dolby Digital these are futures that standalone tivo’s can’t do.. The Bad is Satellite Tivo only works with DirecTV and nothing else.. Standalone Tivo gives you the freedom to choose Cable, AIR or Satellite. as it only records what it see coming through the input. So a standalone can record any Video signal no matter where it comes from, DVD player, VCR , Cable Box, Satellite Box ect..
Can Satellite Tivo's Play Video From Another Source?
YES, With our modified Satellite Tivo's using the Network Option for Multi Room Viewing we have added a NEW feature called Tivoserver.. You can make your computer another source for Video, Just put your .avi or .vob or mpg files in the Tivoserver subdirectory and it will transfer those videos to any other Satellite Tivo on the Network, Now you can transfer your home video to your Satellite Tivo's Now Playing List..
