Ultimate TV..Who's got one?? (1 Viewer)

[Alf S]

This seemed like a really cool new Directv receiver. I liked that you could use a splitter and record two different shows at the same time (or watch live tv and record another show).
It includes DD5.1 output and plenty of other nice features, BUT the one thing that dropped it down a notch or two is the fact that you STILL can't record OTA shows on it!!
Also the guy at their customer service center said they don't offer a lifetime flat fee membership, so you're forced to spend a minimum of $9.95 a month for their service.

I wish they would create an all-in-on receiver so I can finally retire my VCR. Considering the speed at which things change in the electronics market, I'm sure such a receiver is just around the corner.
I'd like to hear the thoughts of those who own one of these units.
Alfer
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[Michael K]

I can live without BSODs[*] during my season finales, thankyewverymuch.

[*] Blue Screen of Death
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[Danny R]

Tivo also has two tuners built in, but until now has only used one. Now that Ultimate TV is on the market, I would guess they will hurry up and send the software upgrade turning the second tuner on.

 

[John Morris]

Danny: I don't think that either of my Tivo's had two tuners. Are you talking about the DirectTV/Tivo unit?
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Take Care,
merc
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DFAST, 5C, DVI, HDCP and Lewinski!!!

 

[Mike Lang]

The DirecTiVo's have dual tuners installed, the standalones do not.
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[Scott Stevens]

My bet is that since DirecTv subsudizes all these receivers and they want you to buy the locals from them you'll never see one that will record cable as well as DirecTv.

 

[David_LM]

Doesn't the two tuner receivers for both UTV and DirecTivo require a dual LNB dish to be able to record two separate programs at the same time? This appears to be a big year for Microsoft with UTV and XBox rolling out. I would think with Microsoft bring out the heavy marketing and with Microsoft considering investing in DirecTV that TiVo is shaking in their boots.

 

[John Kirkham]

I bought a UTV last weekend. This is my first PVR/DVR so I do not have anything to compare it with, but I am quite impressed thus far. Installation was simple and within 20 min of getting it hooked up I had my account registered and was up and running. I had wanted DD5.1 on a receiver to replace my 3 year old DTV receiver. Since I only had a single LNB I couldn’t use the two tuners at first. I had to keep my OTA hookup to keep me sane. Wed I hooked up the dual LNB and life is much better. I can record my normal shows while I use the live buffer to get replays on the NCAA games. The DD5.1 works great on the one PPV I recorded. My only complaint so far is the fact that the remote doesn’t control the volume on my Sony 50ES amp. I am still learning about the UTV capabilities and PVRs in general.
-JohnK

 

[JoelW]

The Ultimate TV software looks very similar to the DishPlayer software (also built by Microsoft). I like the DishPlayer for the most part, but it is buggy as hell. I had to use a factory option code yesterday (basically blasting all personal options and going back to factory default settings) just to get it to work again.
The UTV looks good, and the two tuners is definitely cool, but I would go for the DirectTivo and wait for their software to be upgraded to use their second tuner.
I have a stand alone TiVo unit that I like a lot. It does a better job of the PTV recording than the DishPlayer.
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Joel White
Editor CheapHomeTheater.com

 

[Danny R]

The DirecTiVo's have dual tuners installed, the standalones do not.
Yup, exactly right. Put another way, Tivo has 1 more tuner than the corresponding (and non-existent) UltimateTV standalone model.

 

[John Kirkham]

After my first week and a half my UTV has worked without a hitch. No BSDs. I am new to PVR/DVRs so I can't compare, but it seems that a standalone unit working with DTV couldn't possibly compete in picture quality. Just think you take a digital stream convert it to analog to input it to the SA convert it back to digital to record it and finally convert it back to analog to display it. The only UTV picture quality problem is that caused by DTV with their varying compression rates depending on the sports events and PPVs showing. PPVs get good detail and with the UTV (and DirectTiVO) recording the DD5.1 they can (almost)replace DVD rentals.
-JohnK