Martin O'Donnell pointed out this Associated Press article that retells the story of the fiasco that ensued when ReplayTV promoted a $149 price for their 40-hour recorder with three years of programming service included, only to reneg on the deal after many units were sold by Amazon.com and Circuit City. There are a couple of reasons why this deal never appeared on Operation Gadget:

1. It sounded too good to be true. I thought that this might be a despiration move by a company that was running a distant fourth or fifth behind TiVo and several cable providers whose DVRs aren't even out yet. Anyone who fully understood what a Digital Video Recorder is and bought one of these units assuming that ReplayTV could honor a three year service commitment at a give-away price ought to stay away from places like the Brooklyn Bridge for a while.

2. Operation Gadget loves TiVo. This company, through all its trials and tribulations, has earned my respect. All they have done is delivered an outstanding service that has performed as advertised, with few if any surprises. I'm happier paying for my TiVo subscription than I am paying my cable bill.
   

I am not in a gloating mood over this. Whether ReplayTV actually used bait-and-switch tactics is for others to decide. But, their behavior in this case introduces more uncertainty into an area of the consumer electronics market that needs clear choices and consistent manufacturer behavior.

Operation Gadget reiterates its advice to gadget fans in the United States. If you are interested in owning a DVR, the best products on the market today come with the TiVo service mark on them.