RCA DS4290RE DIRECTV/UltimateTV Satellite System with Built-In 35-Hour Digital Video Recorder and Free Pro-Installation (*see Terms and Conditions)

by RCA

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 25 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00005ABEO
• Item model number: DS4290RE
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,687 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

This is absolutely the best DIRECTV satellite receiver we have ever reviewed. Although it has minor flaws, overall the RCA DS4290RE deserves to be at the top of your shopping list if you are looking to upgrade or buy your first system.

Using this satellite receiver, you can record two shows simultaneously or watch one while recording another. Since it has a built-in 35-hour digital video recorder (DVR), recording is effortless because all the controls are nicely integrated. Designers get our cheers for the clean onscreen layout and intuitive operation using the supplied remote or optional wireless keyboard. The newly designed onscreen guide offers up to 14 days of programming; less expensive DIRECTV receivers go only as far out as 3 days. You simply highlight a show, go through two confirming steps and you're set to record.

Like the TiVo system, UltimateTV lets you control live TV. Since the hard drive is always recording, you can stop a show simply by hitting Pause on the remote or keyboard. You can do whatever errands called you away, then continue viewing (the pause is guaranteed for 30 minutes). During playback, you can fast-forward (up to 300x) through the commercials--a true gift from the gods. Slow motion and reverse are also available. We found the fast-forward and slow-motion quality to be superb, in contrast with those features on even the best VCRs. And the recording features of the DS4290RE proved to be quite handy, though we do have one caveat; while you can record a current show or one scheduled for later, previously broadcast shows cannot be retrieved.

Since the receiver has two tuners, you can also watch two shows at once. One show is full screen while the second is in a smaller picture-in-picture (PIP) window. Unfortunately, you cannot move this window from its lower right position, something high-quality TVs with two-tuner PIP have offered for years.

The DS4290RE also offers the WebTV service, so you can surf the Net and watch a DIRECTV show in the smaller PIP window. WebTV has e-mail and chat (no instant messaging yet) and parental blocks for screening objectionable sites. The built-in dial-up modem is 56K, making it a bit slow for someone used to broadband (cable modem) connections.

The receiver is a hefty 16.2 pounds and much larger (17 by 3 by 11 inches, WHD) than current DIRECTV receivers. Unlike other DIRECTV receivers, it has two smart card slots on the front panel; one is supplied and is your DIRECTV/UltimateTV security card. The second slot is for future uses such as gift cards, but we've yet to be given information as to when they might arrive.

Like all satellite receivers, connections are straightforward. We're veterans at this, but we checked the well-designed and illustrated setup and user guides just to be sure. It has a Dolby Digital output for hookup to a Dolby Digital audio-vide receiver to enjoy the cinema soundtracks found on some pay-per-view and premium movies. The DS4290RE has a parallel printer port on the back but it's not enabled. There are two USB ports but they function only with keyboards, not other devices. Software downloads will eventually be delivered to enhance these "ports to nowhere"; no timetables were given.

Once the DIRECTV and UltimateTV services were turned on via a toll-free call, it was time to enjoy all the DS4290RE had to offer, which is plenty. In our view, as a video device for a home entertainment system, the RCA DS4290RE DIRECTV System with UltimateTV Service is without equal. As an Internet access device, with a poky 56K modem, it leaves something to be desired. --David Elrich

Pros:

• A combo DIRECTV receiver/digital video recorder with Web access
• Two built-in DIRECTV tuners
• Excellent onscreen program guide (up to 14 days)
• Effortless recording up to 35 hours
• Dual-LNB satellite antenna dish included

Cons:

• Web service is slow (56 Kbps maximum)
• Picture-in-picture window cannot be moved
• Printer port not enabled
• USB ports work only with keyboards

From the manufacturer

RCA's DS4290RE DIRECTV System with UltimateTV service equips you to enjoy not only DIRECTV programming, but UltimateTV service from Microsoft as well as digital video recording, live TV controls, interactive TV, and Internet access--all in one tidy package.

UltimateTV is available exclusively on the DIRECTV Receiver with UltimateTV service, and another powerful feature of it is its dual satellite tuners, which let you record two live shows simultaneously or watch one live show while recording another. This version includes a dual-LNB satellite antenna dish; click here if you only need the receiver and remote control.

One finger is all you need to digitally record and store up to 35 hours of TV programs--without videotape. Use the DIRECTV Advanced Program Guide to find out what's on and when, up to 14 days in advance. Search for your favorite actor or type of movie, and it instantly finds the programs you love.

The phone's ringing, or nature calls--no problem. Just pause the action with UltimateTV and you can pick up right where you left off. Want to relive a TV scene? Simply hit the Instant Replay button whenever you want. And now that you control the throttle, you can slow things down to slow motion or rewind or fast-forward through your recorded programs at up to 300 times the original speed.

Now you can use your TV in new and fun ways, too--like sending e-mail from the comfort of your couch, or actually participating with your favorite shows. With easy access to the Internet, you can surf the Net in your living room, shop online, check e-mail, or hit a chat room, all right from your TV. And, with over 700 hours of interactive TV programming a week, you can play along with a game show, check stats while the game's on, or get more info on the latest newsflash.

To take full advantage of DIRECTV programming, digital video recording, live TV controls, interactive programming, and Internet access you will need:

• A DIRECTV Receiver with UltimateTV capability (included)
• A dual-output-LNB DIRECTV satellite antenna (included)
• UltimateTV service subscription
• DIRECTV programming subscription
• Remote control (included)
• Wireless keyboard (optional)
• Any model of set
• Phone line (not cellular)

An UltimateTV service subscription requires a monthly subscription to the UltimateTV service and is subject to your acceptance of the terms of service upon registration. UltimateTV services are available as a local call in most areas. In some areas long-distance telephone toll charges may apply; please see our accompanying FAQ and/or call 1-800-GOWEBTV (1-800-469-3288) for more information.

If you're already a DIRECTV customer, in order to enjoy the UltimateTV service you will need this new DIRECTV Receiver as well as the UltimateTV service. Additionally, you will also need a dual-output-LNB DIRECTV satellite antenna (included with this model) to get full UltimateTV functionality; click here if you do not need the dish). You can use your existing DIRECTV receiver for another room, but you will need to purchase an accessory called a multiswitch to provide feeds to all boxes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate TV Receivers vs TIVO, May 12, 2002

By 

Bob Feeser "MillCrafters.com" (Springfield, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: RCA DS4290RE DIRECTV/UltimateTV Satellite System with Built-In 35-Hour Digital Video Recorder and Free Pro-Installation (*see Terms and Conditions) (Electronics)

Let me start by saying that I too did a lot of research before buying. I did buy a Sony Ultimate TV receiver instead of the RCA. I do have an RCA Direct TV receiver as well. Since buying a receiver is tied to buying a service along with it, I think a few comments relevant to Ultimate TV vs. TIVO is relevant to Amazon customers.
If you surf the web, and type in Ultimate TV vs. TIVO into a major search engine, like Google.com or Yahoo, you will be lead to sites with very elaborate, feature-by-feature comparisons of the two. You will notice that the older they are, the more they favor TIVO. The newer they are, the more they become balanced between the two. I will tell you up front, that Microsoft is behind Ultimate TV. The receivers are built for the future of viewing, with built in twin USB ports, and a LPT1 printer port. They are hardly functional at the moment, but the future is only a little bit around the corner. The TIVO receivers I have seen don't have any of that, so the future of viewing is not even in the running. I don't plan on having to upgrade hardware anytime soon, since hardware upgrades are simple add ons with the USB-Universal Serial Bus system.
If Netscape Navigator was any lesson, we learned that when Microsoft gets into a competition, the investing world bails out of backing the competitor. I see that happening here also. The hardware is futuristic, the software is something that they download, free of charge, on a regular basis. I read many comments about the search features of Ultimate TV being a little less than desirable. I didn't have the unit more than 2 days, and lo and behold, I woke up the second morning, turned on the unit, and had an upgrade from Ultimate TV with over 30 enhancements to the search functions loaded on the machine.
When Internet Explorer first came out, it was free, but not as good as Netscape Navigator. Then an upgraded version came out, and it was superior to Netscape's Navigator. That is truly what I believe will happen with the TIVO-Ultimate TV wars.
These receivers are bought with more than just a few weeks use in mind. My RCA Direct TV receiver has been in use for over a year. I did experience a failure of my first one, after only 6 months. On the other hand, I have a Sony Direct TV receiver, which is about 2 years old, and that unit has given me zero problems. I had read the reviews pertaining to reliability, and that drove me to choose the Sony Ultimate TV receiver.

Pertaining to the intuitive nature of the control functions, it did have a slight learning curve to it. The logic of how it is designed is refreshing, once you learn the simple commands. I have heard complaints of not being able to erase a recording quick enough> I think it takes me about 3 to 5 seconds to do it now. A warning screen comes up to make sure you do not erase something you want to keep. One more quick click, and your in.
Ultimate TV receivers by Sony also come with a keyboard, and three free hours of Web TV service. You can surf the web in your TV. The future of computerization will integrate your TV, Video experience, and your audio into one system. I could write a book about how excited I am about that, but it would not be serving the interests of the subject at heart.
As all others have told you, once you experience the Ultimate TV-TIvo experience, you will not ever want to go back to watching TV the old way again. An advantage of Ultimate TV over TIVO is the commercial skip feature. Commercials are 30 seconds. U-TV fast skip forward button is able to skip single whole commercials at a time. Very exacting. TIVO on the other hand only has a fast forward feature, or fast rewind. Invariably, what happens in that situation, is that you have to try and stop the fast forward at the end of the 6th commercial, or however many are running. You always over shoot it, then need to rewind, then fast forward, then reverse, and finally get to it. Not the right tool for the job. Some say that feature alone is worth it, in your decision of Ultimate TV over TIVO. This is only the beginning. I am telling you that Ultimate TV will reign supreme in the Star Wars. Regardless of my feelings of the fairness of the Microsoft stranglehold, I am a pragmatic enough to realize what the best bet in digital recorded TV-Video-Audio is. It is simply a matter of software upgrades, which are automatic, for the victory to be won, and that is Microsoft's strength.
TIVO came out in 1999 with a big head start. Ultimate TV has been out for a shorter time, so it is a matter of catch up. The advantage is that MSFT has the TIVO service as a study guide, and they have the developing teams to take it to the next level.
I know this review has not been a blow-by-blow analysis of the difference between the two. Since that very elaborate information is covered very thoroughly, on web sites accessible by the major search engines, as stated earlier, I thought the herein contained comments are something essential in your buying decision.
I have found the current functionality of Ultimate TV to be very intuitive, and easy to use. Like all other software or feature rich systems, you have to get into the objectives at hand, to understand the methods of accomplishing them. It is easy to use. Learning all the cool new things you can do takes a little while longer. That is more of a result of breaking into new ground, as compared to being a design function irregularity.
Go with Ultimate TV. I don't think TIVO is a bad system; as a matter of fact I am sure it is great. I just think that it will not be the Ultimate TV service of our future.

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but oh so slow... get a TiVo instead!, September 15, 2001

By 

sid6581 (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: RCA DS4290RE DIRECTV/UltimateTV Satellite System with Built-In 35-Hour Digital Video Recorder and Free Pro-Installation (*see Terms and Conditions) (Electronics)

I bought this because I got an open box special at a local store and had been wanting some kind of video recorder for some time. The remote control is very confusing and awkward to use... in addition, the delay between pressing a button and the machine actually doing something seems like eons. IT IS REALLY SLOW! I think the main advantage of this unit is being able to record two things at once or watch one thing while recording another. It even has picture in picture. But aside from the PiP, the new DirecTV TiVo units do this as well (mine got a software upgrade as soon as I plugged it in to the phone line). I can't complain about the recording quality or the on screen display. Both are quite nice.

I ordered a Philips DSR6000 DirecTV w/TiVo from Amazon just the other day and I must say I am infinitely thrilled with it. I would never go back to Ultimate TV.

Unless you want the WebTV stuff or interactive TV features (really just a call to WebTV too), don't bother with this thing! Get a DirecTV receiver with TiVo instead! The setup process is the same and both services go right onto your DirecTV bill with one phone call. The TiVo software is so much more robust and fun to use. UltimateTV is also seriously lacking one of the best features of TiVo: Season Pass (automatically record a show every time it is on and skips reruns). I also enjoy the optional automatic recording of TiVo suggestions based upon your own thumbs up/down ratings. Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend this or any other UltimateTV unit to anyone.

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is like politics...., June 9, 2001

By 

Rheumor (New Orelans) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: RCA DS4290RE DIRECTV/UltimateTV Satellite System with Built-In 35-Hour Digital Video Recorder and Free Pro-Installation (*see Terms and Conditions) (Electronics)

and I think some of the negative reviews are more Microsoft/Gates bashing than they are product reviews. I replaced an older RCA unit with this new combination unit and have been nothing but thrilled. My old Tivo was a disappointment because it frequently locked up and required rebooting (unplug, wait 30 secs and plug it back in). The Ultimate TV portion of this unit has thus far performed flawlessly and even brief power outages have not affected it (it, like the Tivo before it, are on small UPS units). The DirecTV functions are just fine. The menus are quite quick, based on the same processor as most other RCA units and now the industry standard at 32 bits. The picture in picture works fine, though it requires that you run 2 separate coax cables in from your dish (you cannot split it inside, and so you may need a 4:1 downblock at the dish, unless you have a dual LNB dish and are only using one side of the output). I agree the PIP is a bit limited, but it's also very simple to operate and I think it's going to be a hit during football season, especially when coupled with live-action pause (Sunday Ticket will be even better!). The DirecTV subscription adds $9.95 to your monthly bill, which enables all the Tivo-like functions; Tivo was also $9.95. As a bonus, this unit gives you direct access to the internet and as a result, an extra place to get your email or browse if you're having a hard time getting PC time at home. Lastly, the DirecPC includes very good connections for your home theater, including optical sound and SuperVideo outputs. This is a Swiss Army knife for home theater and I am very satisfied.