[recroom]

After waiting almost 18 months, I discovered today that MTS Ultimate TV is FINALLY available in our area. We have been using a Pioneer DVR for the past couple of years to record and play back programs.

Will subscribing to Ultimate TV render our current DVR useless? If so, a few people in this household will not be happy and it'll be difficult to convince them of the value of switching to HD.

Your expert advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Mozza]

Uh... why not use the PVR MTS supplies? It's probably much better than what you have now...

 

[Macman]

I would say that it's not going to be useless, in the sense that it can still record, but if you have analog cable service (which MTS doesn't offer) then setting up recordings with a digital service like MTS will be more complicated.

But the new MTS Ultimate TV service is so seamless, I'd say pack the DVR away. You get the ability to record and playback TV at any tv in your home, and you have the choice of HD channels, which you pay accordingly for. (Note: some people have claimed the sales rep told them they were getting "all the HD channels" for the first X number of months, but I have never seen anyone get ALL the channels for a promo, so just a heads up)

If you have a chance, you can see the system in action at an MTS connect store. I think you'll be impressed. I don't think it'll be a problem to convince them of the value of switching. Whole Home PVR is awesome! Plus, I think it is nice that you don't have to buy the receiver(s), instead paying a small rental fee of $3/mo per box.

It is a very well designed system (a la Microsoft Mediaroom) so I say give it a shot. You'll enjoy the simplicity compared to your DVR (not badmouthing your unit, it's probably decent).

HTH

 

[CoryB]

One thing to keep in mind is that you will still be able to watch the saved recordings from the Pioneer unit and if it is the prefered unit for recording you will still be able to record the same channels, the only thing you may not be able to do is record HD channels but that would be the same restriction as any other service you have had.

 

[dschell_2000]

When MTS Ultimate became available, I was not satisfied with the size of the hard drive on their PVR, so I rent their PVR plus a second set top box. The second box feeds my TiVo. I don't know how the Pioneer DVR works, but my TiVo changes channels on the MTS box with it's IR blaster. I use the MTS PVR to record High Definition shows, and the TiVo to record Standard Definition shows.

Dave S.

 

[Dr.Dave]

@recroom, I've looked at your previous posts and it seems you're using MTS Classic and you're probably using the MTS box to schedule your recordings and using the IR blaster to start and stop recording on your Pioneer DVR.

Ultimate TV doesn't have any feature to control an external recorder or to auto-tune a channel according to a schedule. You will only be able to record the channel that your MTS STB is tuned to. This may be adequate if you want to record 1 program and you turn on your STB before you go out and set the timer on your DVR. You won't be able to record 2 different channels while you are away.

The Ultimate PVR will allow you to do things you can't do now, such as record 3 channels at once and record in HD. The PVR is so smoothly integrated into Ultimate TV that I never watch live TV anymore. I record everything as a series recording and watch it at my convenience and skip the commercials.

 

[Macman]

Dr. Dave, that's an excellent idea, and good advice on the other stuff. I agree that this system is very well developed. I always tell people how seamless it is compared to using a standalone DVR or VCR (ugh!). The menu's are so easy to use, and for the most part, it seems to work trouble free (crashing, hanging, etc).

I'm still bothered that I can't get it. I've even tried buying a used EyeTV 250 Plus tuner for my Mac and trying to network my Mac to my new WD TV Live (with no luck), but it just isn't the same. So many settings to mess around with compared to MTS.

 

[recroom]

Upcoming Ultimate TV install & existing DVR

I am about to make an appointment with MTS to have Ultimate TV installed. For the past couple of years, we have been recording programs using a Phillips DVR. As part of the Ultimate TV install, will the MTS technician be able to connect our existing DVR so that we can continue to access its 160 GB hard drive?

Thanks!

 

[Dr.Dave]

Hi recroom. I've moved your post into this existing thread.

If you plan to use the MTS PVR service and want to watch your existing programs on the DVR, then it's just a matter of of connecting your Phillips DVR to a different input on your TV (assuming your TV has more than 1 input). Then you just change the TV inputs to watch MTS live/recorded programs or the DVR.

 

[dm_4u]

recroom...you mention both a Pioneer and Phillips DVR.

You should not consider getting rid of these are they will not be useless although instead of using them for playback of your television...you will be able to use them for different things like archiving shows recorded on MTS.

Anything you want to keep...simply burn it and then you can erase it from the MTS HD.

 

[recroom]

dm_4u: Sorry, we really only have one DVR, and it's a Pioneer, not a Phillips. I was getting mixed up in my brand names. But we will hang on to it for archival purposes.

At any rate, I am personally looking forward -- not sure about the rest of the family, but I hope they will come around and see the advantages -- to Monday's Ultimate TV install. I hope HD will make a real difference in the video and audio quality of the programs currently offered by MTS.

 

[mtsguy]

it will definitely make a difference, ever since getting HD it is so hard to watch standard def, i can tell the difference immediately