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- UltimateTV History -
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UltimateTV at a Glance
Stock quote: MSFT $29.59 (0.00)
Headquarters: Mountain View, California
Unit Founded: 2000
Product lines: Ultimatetv, Microsoft
Monthly subscription cost:$9.95
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Introduction
UltimateTV is a personal video recorder service from
Microsoft for the Directv digital satellite service. Similar to
DirecTivo units, UltimateTV give Directv customers the ability to
record their Directv programming service. UltimateTV offers a
detailed and interactive program guide, including that of most
major cable and satellite providers, live TV pause/recording that
allows you to pause and resume live television broadcasts,
including slow motion and instant replay, record 2 shows at the
same time, program searching by keywords, interest or genre and
more.
Early History
Microsoft entered the personal video recorder market in June 2000,
nearly a year and a half after Tivo and ReplayTV had launched their services.
The UltimateTV platform was an extention of the Microsoft WebTV unit. The WebTV unit
was not as successful as Microsoft had hoped and the idea was to try and tap into the
millions of Directv satellite customers and offer them a personal recorder system that would utilize the WebTV software.
The UltimateTV system was to compete head to head with the already popular Directv with Tivo system.
Tivo was already a well established market leader with a strong brand recognition from their stand alone Tivo models.
The UltimateTV monthly service fee was also more costly at $9.95 per month, compared to the
$5.95 per month that Directv charged their Tivo customers. The UltimateTV system offered users up to 30 hours of digital recording from the favorite Directv stations.
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Microsoft once hoped that the Ultimatetv would energize their struggling Webtv division. They exited the personal video recorder market in 2002, before re-entering using Windows XP Media Center Edition in 2004.
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Recent History
Microsoft has hoped that their dominance in the computer industry would had aided them to establish a strong following. However, it was not to be. The cost differences between Tivo and UltimateTV in addition to Tivo better marketing and following caused Microsoft to exit the PVR market in 2002. Microsoft would re-enter the market in 2004 utilizing their flagship Windows XP operating system with Windows XP Media Center Edition. More recently in June of 2007, Microsoft unveiled Microsoft Mediaroom, an Internet Protocol Television service (IPTV) intended to help cablevision companies deliver recordable streaming television technology.
While production of new UltimateTV receivers has discontinued, existing boxes continue to be supported by Microsoft and Directv. Consumers are still able to purchase used UltimateTV receivers and have them activated. A good place to find used UltimateTV receivers would be EBAY. The 3 models of Directv
receivers with UltimateTV capability are the RCA DWD490RE, RCA DWD495RE and the Sony SAT-W60.
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08/04/2008 11:20 AM
In order to give the website a better focus, we are phasing out the less popular areas of the site, including the high definition and digital video recorder areas and forums. This will leave the site focused on digital satellite television and satellite radio.
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Dancing With the Stars
ABC
8:00 pm ET
Host Tom Bergeron and judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba return as 11 new teams trip (sometimes literally) the light fantastic. Among the stars: astronaut Buzz Aldrin; actresses Pamela Anderson, Shannen Doherty and Niecy Nash; sports reporter Erin Andrews; Olympic gold medal figure skater Evan Lysacek; reality star Kate Gosselin; former TV "Bachelor" Jake Pavelka; and soap actor Aiden Turner ("All My Children").
How I Met Your Mother
CBS
8:00 pm ET
Lily (Alyson Hannigan) is so upset when Ted (Josh Radnor) brings a date to her birthday dinner that she goes to extreme lengths to keep the interloper out of the traditional photo she takes each year of "the gang." Laura Prepon ("That '70s Show") reprises her guest role as Karen, Ted's ex-girlfriend; Anne Dudek ("House," "Mad Men") also guest stars. Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel co-star in the new episode "Say Cheese."
Nurse Jackie
SHO
10:00 pm ET
Edie Falco is back for a second season playing a New York nurse who struggles to balance her demanding job with a family and long-hidden secrets that could cost her both. The season premiere, "Comfort Food," finds Jackie rejecting Eddie (Paul Schulze) and trying to recommit to her family, but a formal complaint lodged against her by Coop (Peter Facinelli), a narcotics shortage and Eddie's overdose threaten to drive her over the edge.
MLB Preseason Baseball
ESPN
1:00 pm ET
There's nothing quite like the crack of the bat against the backdrop of swaying palms to get the blood pumping and reassure the baseball fan that spring -- and the MLB regular season -- is indeed around the corner. Today, ESPN broadcasts the first of eight preseason games, this one from Clearwater, Fla., where Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees get ready for the season against the team they beat in the World Series last fall, Ryan Howard's Philadelphia Phillies.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
MAX
6:45 pm ET
Didn't moviemakers learn anything from "Exorcist: The Beginning"? This prequel to the campy classic is more of the usual: Young people run for their lives. Yay. Jordana Brewster, Diora Baird, Taylor Handley and Matt Bomer star as the potential victims, with R. Lee Ermey as -- what else? -- the sheriff. The man's got to audition for different characters ... .
Chuck
NBC
8:00 pm ET
Sarah and Shaw (Yvonne Strahovski, Brandon Routh) observe Chuck's (Zachary Levi) every move as he takes a final test to see if he is ready to be a spy. The pressure is truly on, since Chuck knows he'll be forced to return to his humdrum former life if he fails in the new episode "Chuck Versus the Final Exam." Adam Baldwin also stars.
Life Unexpected
CW
8:00 pm ET
Lux's (Britt Robertson) social worker meets with Cate and Baze (Shiri Appleby, Kristoffer Polaha) after Bug (Rafi Gavron) and Lux are picked up by the police for violating curfew. In an effort to be supportive, Cate tries to find Bug a job at the radio station but only winds up disappointing Lux again. Austin Basis also stars in the new episode "Family Therapized."
Wild Hogs
FXEAST
8:00 pm ET
File this desperate 2007 comedy under "senior abuse." Several familiar yet aging faces star as motorcycle enthusiasts who share a road trip that yields surprises. John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy play the amateur bikers from Cincinnati who head for the West Coast, facing down their individual crises and running into trouble with a veteran cycle gang leader (Ray Liotta) en route. A certain legend from a classic biker movie has a fairly amusing cameo.
Rules of Engagement
CBS
8:30 pm ET
Jeff and Audrey (Patrick Warburton, Megyn Price) get into a spirited argument when she discovers he does not believe her claim that she saw her grandmother's ghost. Russell (David Spade) tries to persuade Timmy (Adhir Kalyan) not to go through with his arranged marriage. Oliver Hudson and Bianca Kajlich also star in the new episode "Ghost Story."
Gossip Girl
CW
9:00 pm ET
Damien (guest star Kevin Zegers) pressures Jenny (Taylor Momsen) to sleep with him. Lily (Kelly Rutherford) shares her secret with Rufus (Matthew Settle). Chuck (Ed Westwick) has to make a difficult decision about his hotel. Vanessa and Dan (Jessica Szohr, Penn Badgley) explore a new stage in their relationship. Blake Lively also stars in the new episode "The Sixteen Year Old Virgin."
Trauma
NBC
9:00 pm ET
A traumatic event from Rabbit's (Cliff Curtis) past is revealed when he has a breakthrough in therapy. A patient is put at risk when Nancy and Diana and (Anastasia Griffith, guest star Scottie Thompson) have different opinions. Glenn (Taylor Kinney) reaches a milestone, while Tyler and Boone (Kevin Rankin, Derek Luke) weigh their options for the future in the new episode "13."
The Big Bang Theory
CBS
9:31 pm ET
Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and his friends try to come to Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) rescue when the latter's crippling case of stage fright stands between him and a coveted award. Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar also star in the new episode "The Pants Alernative."
CSI: Miami
CBS
10:00 pm ET
There's little joy in the offing when Kyle (guest star Evan Ellingson), Horatio's (David Caruso) son, returns from combat and promptly turns to his father for help in solving a murder in the new episode "Dishonored." Emily Procter, Eddie Cibrian, Adam Rodriguez and Jonathan Togo also star.
Law & Order
NBC
10:00 pm ET
Detectives Lupo and Bernard (Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson) investigate when four police officers are shot, a case that is complicated by the fact that, despite a roomful of witnesses, they have a description of the shooter but little else. After they discover the victims may have known the shooter, their investigation takes them to drug dealers, a jealous husband and a judge who is racked with remorse in the new episode "Four Cops Shot."
Castle
ABC
10:02 pm ET
Things didn't end too well for Dana Delany and Nathan Fillion when they played spouses on "Desperate Housewives," so let's hope things go more smoothly as Delany guest stars in a two-part story (concluding next Monday) as Jordan Shaw, an accomplished and insightful federal investigator who helps Castle and Beckett (Fillion, Stana Katic) track down a killer. Susan Sullivan and Molly Quinn also star in the new episode "Tick, Tick, Tick... ."
United States of Tara
SHO
10:30 pm ET
Golden Globe winner Toni Collette stars as a suburban wife and mother who struggles to handle the pressures of everyday suburban life while dealing with multiple personalities that humiliate her family regularly. In tonight's second-season premiere, a shocking event in the Gregsons' neighborhood changes their lives and opens their door on Tara's family secrets.
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