For those unfamiliar with the concept of television servers, the ShowStopper records programs digitally and stores the information on a hard disk drive, so you can watch them at your convenience.

Panasonic offers four choices for recording quality, enabling you to manage storage space more efficiently. The lowest setting, extended, rivals VHS in terms of picture resolution, while freeing up the full 20 hours of hard disk space.

One of the coolest features on the ShowStopper is the ability to pause a live broadcast and resume watching it if you're interrupted. When you utilize this feature the hard drive acts as a buffer by storing the show in memory so you can pick up the program where you left off. A return to live button on the remote allows you to skip forward to real time, which is great if you're watching a sporting event and you wish to catch up to the live action.

There's also an instant replay button on the remote that allows you to review portions of a show or sporting event in seven- second increments, so you're not limited to reviewing only a brief segment. We loved Replay's QuickSkip feature, which allows you to instantly jump ahead 30 seconds, so you can skip through TV commercials on prerecorded programs.

Replay's onscreen guide, which is downloaded nightly while you're asleep, appears with a blue background and white characters that are very readable. We also like the Replay Zones, which make it very easy to find programs that suit your tastes by searching according to genre. Replay separates programming into a wide variety of categories, from action and romance movies to cooking and home improvement shows. Replay also offers a Search Zone that allows you to input keywords and search terms, such as "Mr. Smith," using the remote control and an onscreen keypad.

If you wish to save a particular prerecorded show, you can record it onto a VCR using the back-panel outputs. We were impressed by Panasonic's inclusion of two sets of audio-video inputs and outputs, as well an S-Video input and output. This enables users to hook up a DSS or other direct-broadcast satellite receiver to the ShowStopper, along with a VCR as an output device.

One neat feature we really like is the ability to place the ShowStopper in quiet mode simply by turning it off. This keeps the server from automatically recording shows to the hard drive, conserves power, and keeps the hard disc from spinning, thereby keeping the recorder cool and noise free. If you happen to be recording a show when you turn the PV-HS1000 off, it will continue to record, then shut down once the show is finished and stored in the hard drive.

Connecting the ShowStopper to our home theater system took less than 15 minutes. Panasonic thoughtfully provides a poster-size chart to guide users through setup without opening the manual. If you have an open phone jack, we recommend using it. Otherwise, you can use the supplied splitter to connect the recorder to an existing line. (You do not need a dedicated phone line, since Replay's programming updates take place in the early morning hours, for only a few minutes each night.)

Dialing into Replay to download the free programming guide was much easier than we expected; one major advantage to Replay is that it doesn't charge any monthly service fee for downloading the program guide.

We like the fact that Replay's service is nonintrusive. After all, the whole concept of personal TV servers is intended to liberate viewers so they can watch the programs they prefer, whenever they feel like it. Panasonic's PV-HS1000 ShowStopper is designed to make it as easy as possible for customers to find the programs they like and to record them for future enjoyment.

Pros:

• 20-hour hard drive capacity
• Easy to navigate onscreen guide
• Intuitive remote control
• Free programming guide

Cons:

• No internal fan to cool unit

Use the ShowStopper's included universal remote control to pause and rewind live television. QuickSkip gives you the opportunity to skip ahead 30 seconds in a recorded show. Plus, during either a live broadcast or a recorded show you can use the instant-replay feature to jump back seven seconds and watch those once-in-a-lifetime moments over and over again. The slow motion/single frame advance features give you amazing control over specific scenes: watch live television or recorded shows in slow motion, or skip forward a single frame at a time. Quickly return to the live TV broadcast by simply pressing the fast-forward, QuickSkip, or return-to-live keys.

The PV-HS1000 gives you up to 20 hours in extended record mode, and MPEG2 compression technology makes it possible to record programs with exceptionally high quality. Multiple record modes (extended, medium, high) give you the option to maximize disk space or maximize picture quality. VCR-style manual recording allows you to program your ShowStopper hard disk recorder in a more traditional fashion. Record any channel for any length of time all the way out to the year 2100.

The ShowStopper hard disk recorder can display the shows currently available on your TV system, thanks to convenient onscreen listings from ReplayTV. It's simple to record any of the listed shows: just aim the universal remote control, scroll down the list to the program(s) you want to save, and hit the record button. Hit it twice, and your show will be recorded every time it's on. No need to input start times, end times, or even the channel. To confirm your choices, just consult the onscreen channel guide. A single red dot will appear next to a show being recorded once, while two dots indicate that the show will be recorded every time it's on (limit of seven episodes on hard disk drive).

Don't miss the pregame interviews or overtime in your favorite sports event anymore. You can easily use the show extender feature to "pad" extra record time in one-minute increments, up to four hours before and/or after a particular show.

Every night while you sleep, the ShowStopper updates seven days' worth of program listings from the ReplayTV service. You can access these easy-to-read listings right on your TV screen. Replay Zones guide you through many types of programming: select from sitcoms, news, movies, and many other Replay Zones of your choice. Best of all, this whole channel guide costs you nothing--the ReplayTV service comes free with the ShowStopper.

Create your own personalized theme channels based on your favorite themes or specific shows. To access them, use the universal remote control to select the "keyword" that recalls your personal theme. The ReplayTV service will scan seven days worth of listings to find programming that meets your search criteria. For example, you can create theme channels for "food" or "baseball," or even some for your favorite TV show or actor.

The new ShowStopper on-creen displays look and work better than ever. New marquee-scrolling displays in the channel guide and large, easy-to-read pop-up menus make text easy to read. Plus, with new translucent channel guides, you'll see why the ShowStopper hard disk recorder is clearly the system for you.