Back to Dick's Gadget Warehouse - for my very first DVR!

In 1999 Real Player made a huge impact at CES with their first Real Player. Imagine, hearing that you could pause ‘live TV’. That was unheard of back then. The line around the booth to see the Real Player unit in action was long and I went back many times before I could get a demo of this new technology. The demo was impressive, but it was also wildly expensive. A Real Player DVR with 6 hours of recording time was almost $1,000! About a year later Panasonic released the ShowStopper. That’s what I found in the gadget warehouse. It could record up 30 hours of programming on the PV-HS1000's high-capacity hard disk drive. The Panasonic ShowStopper's universal remote control could pause and rewind live television just as Real Player, who I assume was making the Panasonic unit. Every night while you slept, the ShowStopper – which had to be connected to your phone line – would update seven days' worth of program listings from the Replay TV service. The street price of the Showstopper was about $600, far less than the $1000 for the first Real Player unit. But I never could get my Showstopper unit to work correctly. I believe it was because Time Warner Cable wouldn’t share their program info with Real Player! I’ve heard of people who still use their original Real Player or ShowStopper DVR’s, because lifetime programming was included in the price. That was assuming you didn’t have Time Warner Cable. 

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Your home made Videos -- two to three minutes along - in the any of the following categories:

I bought a piece of crap! Did you buy something you ended up hating? We won't get you a refund, but we might be able to give a platform to vent your disappointment. Remember, "family friendly" language applies.

I Invented This! Do you invent something? (Or did a friend or relative invent something.) We can't market it for you, but we can help get the word out. Show us what it is, and how it works. Even if it's a prototype, you can get our (and the audience) reactions. 

My Gadget Warehouse! Okay, so you don't have a warehouse. It doesn't matter. Just tell us about your favorite old gadget. When and where you bought it, and why you're still hanging on to it. 

Post them on YouTube and send our prodoucer, Jason, the link! We'll do the rest. (Or possibly nothing, but that's unlikely.) Remember, videos should be just 2 to 3 minutes long. Low production value is fine. Even welcomed, so our stuff doesn't look too bad by comparison. We've set the bar low. Don't trip over it.

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