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- UltimateTV History -
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UltimateTV at a Glance
Stock quote: MSFT $28.01 (+0.29)
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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90210
CW
8:00 pm ET
Silver (Jessica Stroup) recalls her childhood parties when Jackie and Teddy (guest stars Ann Gillespie and Trevor Donovan) surprise her with a "half-birthday" celebration. Navid (Michael Steger) confronts Jasper (guest star Zach Sherman) after seeing him sell drugs to Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes). Debbie and Harry (Lori Loughlin, Rob Estes) are forced to tell Dixon (Tristan Wilds) that Sasha lied about being pregnant in "A Trip to the Moon."
The Biggest Loser
NBC
8:00 pm ET
The contestants head to Colorado to train at an Olympic training facility, where they are welcomed by paralympic athlete Allison Jones and learn the game is going from teams to singles. Olympic skiers Julia Mancuso and Jeret "Speedy" Peterson help train the contestants. After a biathlon challenge, two more players are sent home. Skaters J.R. Celski and Rockne Brubaker also appear.
Independent Lens
PBS
10:00 pm ET
Child stars don't have it easy, as anyone who reads the tabloids can tell you. So can Priscilla, who at 9 is pursuing her dream of being a rap star. She and her single dad and mentor, Jesse, are starting to reap the rewards of her ambition and talent -- moving to a four-bedroom apartment and playing at sold-out clubs. But she's starting to realize that staying a little girl is going to take some effort in the new documentary "P-Star Rising."
Ninotchka
TCM
8:00 pm ET
East meets West in this 1939 comedic tale of culture shock. Three Soviet emissaries are sent to Paris to sell the family jewels of the exiled Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire), but all does not go as planned. The three start to see the value of a capitalistic society, prompting by-the-books comrade Nina Yakushova (Greta Garbo) -- otherwise known as Ninotchka -- to take over the mission. Garbo's next-to-last film was acclaimed as one of her best.
The Eye
TMC
8:00 pm ET
Jessica Alba challenges herself by playing both sightless and musically skilled in this Tom Cruise-produced remake of a Hong Kong thriller. Her character is a concert violinist who gets her vision back through a double cornea transplant, but her new eyes give her terrifying visions that send her on a search for their original owner. Parker Posey and Alessandro Nivola lend Alba good acting support, but you'll still be tempted to poke your own eyes out.
Valentino: The Last Emperor
SHO
8:00 pm ET
No, not Rudolph. The Valentino at the center of this 2008 documentary is fashion designer Valentino Garavani -- better known by his first name and his reputation as the creator of gorgeous dresses for some of the world's most gorgeous women, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The film crew follows Valentino at work and at home as he prepares for a 45th anniversary celebration of his work.
Melrose Place
CW
9:00 pm ET
The police search for Auggie (Colin Egglesfield) after discovering his blood was on the murder weapon. An incident at work forces Jonah (Michael Rady) to pretend he is engaged to Ella (Katie Cassidy), who really gets into her role. David (Shaun Sipos) arranges a secret play date with his little brother (guest star Cameron Castaneda). Ashlee Simpson-Wentz also stars in "Ocean."
Explorer
NGC
10:00 pm ET
You may find yourself involuntarily lifting your feet from the floor while watching "Python Wars," an unsettling new episode that chronicles how Burmese pythons -- some of the largest and most powerful snakes in the world -- are poised to spread throughout the U.S. from their current home in Florida's Everglades. Scientists plot a counteroffensive designed to avoid upsetting the ecological balance in the Everglades.
Fool's Gold
MAX
10:00 pm ET
Reteamed from "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey have lesser effect together in this comedy-adventure as spouses bordering on divorce. The background settings are more attractive than they are, as the characters end up involved in a treasure hunt at sea, using the yacht on which the wife works as their base. Donald Sutherland plays the boat's owner, and Ray Winstone ("Beowulf") and Alexis Dziena also are in the cast.
Stalag 17
TCM
10:00 pm ET
The unofficial inspiration for television's "Hogan's Heroes," director Billy Wilder's 1953 comedy-drama remains one of the screen's most memorable war stories. William Holden earned an Oscar as a POW who can bargain with his German captors -- but his wits take him only so far when he's suspected of overt action against the enemy. Filmmaker Otto Preminger proves to be a great actor as the commandant. Don Taylor and Peter Graves co-star.
The Good Wife
CBS
10:00 pm ET
As Alicia (Julianna Margulies) defends a husband accused of murdering a baby sitter, she and her family prepare for the outcome of Peter's (Chris Noth) appeal and his potential homecoming in the new episode "Hi." Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Archie Panjabi and Matt Czuchry also star; James McDaniel ("NYPD Blue") guest stars.
The Millionaire Matchmaker
BRAVO
10:00 pm ET
Patti tries to help Smike Wallen, a smart and sensitive gay man whose traveling has prevented his setting down roots, including any kind of meaningful long-term relationship, as well as high-maintenance client Rupert Wainwright, a 48-year-old director and Rhodes Scholar from England who insists that any romantic prospects be under 30 years old.
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