Was Better than Tivo, Not So Today
Written: Nov 12 '02 (Updated Oct 21 '03)
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Pros: Great picture - even recorded!
Cons: Buggy, can't disable sounds
The Bottom Line: If you are sold on DirecTV - get Ultimate TV on top of it!
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| wytman's Full Review: RCA DWD490RE DIRECTV with UltimateTV |
OK - at least the Tivo I have seen. I recently purchased my first home (yeah!!!) and the previous owner already had DirecTV. I was pretty fed up with digital cable - both the cost and the quality - which I found to be lacking. So, I knew I was heading for satellite TV, it was only a question of how far I would go. A good friend of mine has a 1st generation Tivo - and I do like the ability to search for and automatically record shows of interest so I looked at the PVR501 from Dish Network, TiVo, and the UTV/DirecTV service from Microsoft.
Purchase -
After a month of research and consideration, I narrowed it down to UTV or Tivo - mostly because I was sold on DirecTV service. For me, from a feature standpoint, neither was a favorite - so it came down to cost. Circuit City was running a local discount which allowed me as a new customer to purchase the RCA system outright for $20!!!!! The decision was made easily. It should be noted though that UTV REQUIRES that you use DirecTV. If after a year or so you want to go back to cable, the UTV will NOT WORK with your cable in anyway. So you MUST be sold on DirecTV completely to go this route.
I recommend getting an extended warranty if offered. For only $35 in my case, Circuit City will replace the unit for free if it fails. Given that the hard drive inside the unit is constantly in use and that it is unproven (reliability wise) - I was a bit worried about the longevity of the unit.
Setup -
This should have gone flawlessly - but the installer dropped the ball. He gave me the wrong code numbers to call up DirecTV with to start service and as a result - nothing worked for about a day. Worse, the DirecTV people has no clue - one told me that I probably had a "pinched cable" and that I should have the whole house rewired. About the 4th phone call, I got through to someone who helped me debug the system - and we found which code was incorrect. Once they had the proper code, everything worked perfectly.
No dish alignment was necessary (UTV is a integrated digital video recorder and DirecTV tuner) as the previous owner left his dual LNB dish aimed properly for me.
Operation -
The RCA definitely had flaws out of the box. Some of the menus were very slow. After a week or so, the unit dialed into the internet and downloaded a software update - and things have improved substantially. Secondly, the unit occasionally can't see the access card. No one seems to know why - I haven't bumped the unit. Generally, a hard reset will correct this problem. Lastly, plugging the unit back in does not always bring the unit up to power. It is almost like the connector on the back for the power line has a loose wire. Once it runs, it is perfect. I haven't had any glitches now for 7 or 8 weeks - so I personally suspect that most of the problems were tied to software updates (two were done in the first month I had the unit).
Recording -
Absolutely the most useful feature - to record anything that comes on - on any channel - matching your search criteria. The unit will manage this for you completely - all you do is set up the auto-record. So, if search for "seinfeld" for instance, you might see the show is on (in syndication) on two or three networks at various times of the day. So, I set up an "auto-record" and every instance is recorded forever. You can tell it to skip repeats - although it doesn't remember shows that it recorded once you delete one after watching. This feature is the best - it allows us to get all our favorite episodes and watch them at our leisure.
One flaw however is the lack of ability to automatically archive a recording to VCR tape. The unit can be programmed to record a show (at broadcast time) to the VCR - and will control the VCR. But, if I have a show recorded already (digitally on UTV), I can't tell it to archive it to tape automatically. That is, I would like to just push a button on screen that says "archive to tape" and have the unit control my VCR. You can always record a show to tape - but currently, you have to do it manually.
One other complaint - in typical Microsoft "Windows start menu" like fashion, the unit will play little sounds as you navigate the guide and other menus. This annoys the heck out of me - and is generally distracting. Even worse, there is no way I have found to disable the sounds. Hopefully, a future version of the software will correct this oversight.
Picture Quality and Features -
Flawless picture quality!!! I can't stress enough how good DirecTV from a properly aligned dish can look. I have not to date had a single drop out in reception - during inclement weather or any other occasion.
Even better (way better than Tivo v1) - the recorded picture is 100% the same as the broadcast signal. The reason - the DirecTV signal is a proprietary MPEG 2 encoded stream as received. When recording, the UTV just "spools" the data to the internal hard drive. This relates to Tivo differently of course as Tivo (above) has a built in MPEG encoder with adjustable quality settings (changing bit rate of MPEG video). Tivo v1 units typically had a smaller hard drive than what is in the UTV. As a result, quality would have to be set lower to get the same amount of shows to watch. As a result of the upgraded HDD space in Tivo v2 units, quality is en par with UTV.
Update ----
Another GREAT feature which Tivo does not have (that I know of) is a screen saver for the menu. This sounds like a triviality - but with projection screens especially, this makes a lot of sense. After a period of inactivity with the menu pulled up of about 5 minutes, the UTV will blank the screen and send some alternating logos flying around the screen. It's not per se "neat" like PC screensavers which are more visual than purposeful today - just nice. The same friend who has Tivo has seen his 65 Mitsubishi screen get burn in as a result of the static Tivo menu.
End Update ---
Lastly, another strong suit vs. Tivo (IMHO) is that UTV groups shows recorded together into submenus. For instance, I have an auto record set up for all instances of "Mordern Marvels" on the History Channel. One some days of the week, History will are 5 or 6 episodes - and the queue can easily fill up. On the UTV, it groups all the episodes recorded that way together whereas on Tivo it keeps each line item seperate - regardless of whether it was a single "wishlist" search that recorded all the programs.
Conclusions -
UTV is a great alternative to Tivo if you are sold on DirecTV - and it can do anything you will probably need it to do. The only other drawback for UTV is that there is no way to purchase a lifetime subscription like Tivo offers. Of course, it is a bit cheaper per month - and would it will take 25 months for the month charge to equal Tivo's lifetime subscription cost.
Recording quality is superb - and the amount of hard drive space supplied with the unit is ample. I typically can record about 20 hours of shows before the unit gets 3/4 full. It is rare that you can actually get 35 hours on it however.
Update---
Microsoft has disbanded UTV and DirecTV is now maintaining it. Recently, they have launched a integrated box with Tivo software - very similar hard drive size and the like. At this point, UTV is hard to get, and the monthly fee for the new Tivo/DirecTV is $5 less than UTV was. As such, I can not recommend this unit anymore. I will continue to use mine of course as I still love the software and DirecTV continues to support it.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 20
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Epinions.com ID:
wytman
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Member: Eric White
Location: Streamwood, IL
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 5 members
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