Installation guide

• What is channel mapping and how does it handle 4 digit channel numbers?
Channel mapping allows the ReplayTV to "map" channel numbers from what they actually are, to a numbering system the
ReplayTV can handle, particularly with more than one source as an input.
Here's an example using a single input - Dish Network via composite input 1. Dish Network has channel numbers that go from
single numbers (for local stations) to 4 digit channel numbers. The ReplayTV will re-map channel numbers so that all the
channels are between 2 and 999. This means that for channel number 9546 on Dish Network, that channel will be re-mapped
somewhere below 999. (It's sometimes a little difficult to find where the re-mapped channels are, but they are there
somewhere.)
In the case of multiple source inputs, for example cable TV on the RF input and Dish Network on composite input 1 - the
ReplayTV will always assign the source with the most channels between 2 and 999. (This is the way ReplayTV works and there's
no way around it). We'll assume the Dish Network input has more channels than the cable on RF in, so Dish Network channels
will be re-mapped between 2 and 999. Cable TV on the RF input will be assigned channel numbers that are the actual channel
number plus 1000. So cable channel 3 will be 1003, cable channel 27 will be 1027, etc.
It can take some time to go through the channels and find where they've been re-mapped to, but once you get used to it, it
shouldn't be a problem.
• What is the clawfoot portal and what can it do?:
The clawfoot portal allows for the entry of some "special" commands that are otherwise not available via an empty box at the
lower part of the screen accessed by pressing 243-zones from live TV. Those commands include "enable disk spindown", which
on early ReplayTV models allowed the hard drive to spin down when the ReplayTV was not in use. However many believe there
is less wear and tear on a drive that remains spinning 24/7 and disk spindown is not functional in 5XXX series ReplayTVs. (On
early ReplayTVs with disk spindown enabled, the drive would spin up once an hour when the ReplayTV would check for any
upcoming recordings.) There's a fairly complete list of available clawfoot portal commands at the Replay FAQs site.
• Where can you get an image? - Which image do you use?
Be sure you choose the correct image file for your ReplayTV.*
(ShowStoppers were sold under 3 different model names, all of which are hardware equivalent to the 3000 series ReplayTVs.)
ReplayTV 20XX Series: replay20XXvs3.02.zip (48 MB)
ReplayTV 30XX and ShowStoppers**: Showstopper&replay30xximage3.02.zip*** (39 MB)
ReplayTV 40XX/45XX: Aug2-4000-4.3.zip (77 MB)
ReplayTV 50XX/55XX (current software): 530511440_factory_reset.zip (75 MB)
ReplayTV 50XX/55XX (older/stable and/or to retain CA/IVS in 55XX):
rtv_5K_FactoryReset_140.zip (302 MB) or 5040_530510190.zip (71 MB)****
(The actual image files contained within the above .zip files are between 300+ MB and 500+ MB in size.)
*While the possibility is remote, under certain conditions using the wrong image can corrupt the ReplayTV motherboard
firmware and leave you with a dead ReplayTV. (The possibility of firmware corruption mainly exists in early series 2000
ReplayTVs booted with 3000/ShowStopper series software and 3000/ShowStopper series ReplayTVs booted with 2000 series
ReplayTV software).
**Panasonic also manufactured a 27" TV/ShowStopper combo unit. These run version 2 of the ReplayTV software and cannot
be upgraded to version 3. The version 2 software image for the Panasonic TV/ShowStopper combo unit is here: PanSS-
2710comboV2.0.zip (41 MB)
ReplayTV naming convention:
20XX includes 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
ShowStopper includes PV-HS1000, PV-HS2000 and PV-HS3000
30XX includes 3020, 3030 and 3060 (ReplayTV 30XX series and ShowStoppers are internally (hardware) identical)
40XX includes 4040, 4080, 4160 and 4320
45XX includes 4504, 4508, 4516 and 4532