After all that, I was ready to fire up the ShowStopper for the first time. The light flashes on the front of the console and the screen says “Please Wait” while the Quantum QuickView 20.4 GB Hard Drive spins up for the first time. What is the difference between a Quantum QuickView and a ‘standard' PC hard drive? The Quantum QuickView FAQ doesn't really differentiate.

Getting back to the setup, the menu screens guide you through the process of finding a local dialup number (while the TiVo service charges you $9.95 a month or $199 lifetime for the program guide and offers a toll free number for access, the Replay/ShowStopper guide is free but you do not have an 800 number to access). Luckily for me, I have one local number.

Finally everything is set up and the ShowStopper will download the program guide for the next seven days as well as shows for the day before, in case you want to go back and see what you've missed. Also at this time, the unit will check to see if there's a software upgrade for your unit.

The whole process, from setting up my unit and phone jack to dialing up for the program guide took about two hours altogether. Not as easy as a VCR, but not as long as a computer!

The unit automatically calls and downloads the program guide every night from 2:00 to 6:00 a.m. In addition to the program guide, the system will also update its software if need be and leave you messages if necessary. I have seen various messages from “new access numbers available” and “don't forget the refer a friend program” to “your system did not connect with the server last night.” The unit seems to know everything! However, if you have to make a toll call, you may receive a rather large phone bill at the end of the month so make sure you have a local number. You can check Replay's website to see if you have a local number.