UltimateTV - everything you need, and nothing you don't
Written: Aug 16 '01
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Pros: Two tuner capability, recording up to 35 hours of TV, no loss of video quality
Cons: No ability to archive shows permanently (yet), interface is a bit sluggish at times
The Bottom Line: Simply the best DVR on the market, records two shows at once, no loss of video quality due to compression, and a nice simple interface.
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| dtoombs's Full Review: RCA DWD490RE DIRECTV with UltimateTV |
It's a shame that epinions has buried the UltimateTV receivers in with all the other Satellite receivers, because this is truly a unique item. I purchased mine as soon as it was available, and I couldn't be happier! (I returned my Tivo within a week of purchasing it)
Let's start by taking a look at some of the capabilities of the unit - it is a digital video recorder that can record up to 35 hours of programming onto a hard drive stored inside the unit. It only works on the DirecTV network (no cable option), so you're locked into their service. That's a bit of a drawback - I don't like being locked into anything - but it's acceptable.
The UltimateTV allows you to automatically record any and all the shows that you want off of the satellite, and they will be conveniently organized for you in a menu that you pull up by pressing "My Shows" on the remote. There is no support for "suggestions" like some of the other DVR's available, which is fine by me - I don't want my hard drive cluttered with all of that stuff.
Specifically, UltimateTV allows you to do the following:
- Pause and rewind live TV. Got an incoming phone call? Hit pause, and pick up your show later.
- Record shows on two separate channels at the same time, or record one show while watching another. No other DVR available (right now) offers this feature.
- Watch Picture-in-Picture, even if your TV doesn't support it (mine is greater than 10 years old, but I've got PIP now!)
- Store and replay up to 35 hours of programming, including weekly recurring shows. Want to catch the Soprano's every week? Let UltimateTV do it for you, and you don't have to make sure you're at home on Sunday evenings.
Obviously, if you're considering a Digital Video Recorder, you've already learned about a lot of these things. Many of the DVRs available share a common set of features, so let's focus on what makes UltimateTV different from the rest (both the good and the bad) so that you can make the most informed buying decision.
The Good: Two Tuners!
UltimateTV is the only DVR on the market (right now) that supports two separate satellite feeds. What this means is that it can record two shows at the same time, or let you record one show while watching another. When I bought my first Tivo, I wasn't impressed with the fact that I had to watch whatever it was recording when it was recording it. For example, let's say that I want to watch Friends, but I really don't want to watch it at 8pm. With the Tivo, I had no choice - in order to record it, it had to tune in that channel. Not so with UltimateTV - it can record something in the background with its second tuner, so that I can truly watch the shows I want when I want to watch them.
Oh, and this was a HUGE benefit when Survivor and Friends were competing for the same time slot. Guess who got to see both shows? All of us UltimateTV owners, that's who!
In addition to recording two shows at once, UltimateTV gives you Picture-In-Picture capabilities, in case your TV doesn't already have it.
The Good: Integrated DVR and Satellite!
One of the other things that I didn't like about the Tivo was that it had to use IR to control my satellite dish. So, for example, I would change to channel "970" on the Tivo - and the Tivo would then send the IR signals to my satellite dish to channel "970". More than a few times, either Tivo messed up or my satellite reciever didn't see all the IR commands correctly, and tuned me to a different channel. Annoying.
Your initial setup time is much less with UltimateTV than with other DVRs. All the DVRs I've seen need to download about two weeks worth of TV guide information. When you have 200+ channels, 14 days worth of program guide information is a lot of data! Other DVRs retrieve this data via the phone line, but UltimateTV gets it directly from the satellite feed which makes it lightning fast.
Since these devices are integrated, you are allowed to record Pay-Per-View movies on your unit (assuming you paid for them). I know that when I had my Tivo, it couldn't get the "program guide" information for the Pay-Per-View channels, so I wasn't able to record them. In UltimateTV, you can record any and all channels that you have a subscription for.
The other thing about having these devices integrated is that your picture and audio quality increases dramatically. For example, a standard DVR simply records video as it sees it, and it needs to compress it down so that it can store more on the hard drive. Any time you compress something, you lose quality. Well, the UltimateTV doesn't need to do that! The video feed coming down from DirecTV is already compressed - the UltimateTV simply stores the pre-compressed signal to disk. The end result is no loss of video or audio quality during playback. As a matter of fact, the UltimateTV receiver will even record the full Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track (if your program has it) so that you can listen to it later in full surround sound. WOW! I recorded U-571 off of Starz, with full Dolby Digital surround sound. It was just like I was watching it on a DVD!
The Good: Simple Interface
I really like the UltimateTV interface - it is simple and straightforward. You have a guide, like most any satellite receiver, and simply navigate through that. See something you want to record? Hit the record button and a little red circle appears next to the show. See something you want to record every time it comes on (either on a daily or weekly basis)? Hit the record button again, and you'll see two overlapping red circles next to the show. That's it - UltimateTV will get the show for you every time it comes on, even if it hasn't been on for the past few weeks!
UltimateTV is not cluttered with a lot of other extras and doodads that you don't need (well, except for WebTV which - in my opinion - is a waste of time). There's no "recommended" shows to take up your hard drive space, just all your shows and nothing else.
To be honest, I was hesitant to trust Microsoft in this market, but they really have done a decent job with this unit. I'm totally happy. But, there are a couple drawbacks which you should consider before purchasing. Let's take a look at those...
The Bad: Can't keep shows (yet)
Although reportedly this is first on the "feature upgrades" list for the next update, there is currently no way to keep a show indefinitely, other than to dump it to a VCR. That's a bit of a hassle - and simple enough for MS to fix. So I expect that this won't be a problem for long.
The Bad: Sluggish Interface
I don't know how MS could have gotten everything else right, but flubbed up on this part, but the interface is a bit sluggish. And when I say "a bit", I mean that the time between when you press the "Guide" button and you actually see the guide button can be anywhere from 2-5 seconds. Probably a design oversight, but it is a bit of an annoyance (albeit, a minor one).
The Bad: Locked into DirecTV
I like devices where I can use them with any type of service that I want. For example, a TV is a service-independent device. You can use it with rabbit ears to get signals over the air, you can use it with Cable, or you can use it with Satellite. I guess our economy is moving away from that - towards bundling hardware and service together (and you can't use one without the other). If you spend the money on UltimateTV, plan on sticking with it for the next 2-3 years so that you get your money's worth.
The fee for UltimateTV service (which is an add on to a standard DirecTV package) is $9.99 per month. They do not offer a "lifetime" subscription option like other DVRs, but as we're seeing now the other DVR manufacturers are trying to move away from this model.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
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Epinions.com ID:
dtoombs
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Location: Washington, DC
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Technology consultant and part-time author.
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