Oh no - don't get me started... I'll try to keep this short...
First off, I'll say that all three - Replay, UltimateTV and Tivo are all good PVRs... They all recorded the programs I wanted, when I wanted. You might call me a "basic PVR" user, as all I ever want my PVR to do is record the series and shows I watch - maybe with a few options for number to save or first run/repeat...
So all the "extra" features like Wishlists (Tivo), Web access (UTV), Remote viewing (Replay) are cool and all - but I found I never use them. My TV's there to watch, and my PVR makes my time in front of it more efficient and enjoyable. That's all I need it to do...
Anyway, in comparing them (or really any electronic gadget comparison), I have one basic thing I do:
- I try very hard to disregard the "Its different, so its bad" bias. Everyone, when comparing something familiar with something new and unfamiliar will have some bias towards what they're used to. I try to disregard this impulse as best I can.
Along those lines, one of my main criterias is "ease of use" - compared completely in a "new eyes" manner for each box. How many clicks to do something? How inherent or clear is it what I want to do? Could I get my mother to use this easily?
The UTV wins in a several areas. The big one - speed and UI access. Never once did I have a "please wait" sign appear - much less force me to wait _minutes_ for me to gain access to my box, like the Tivo does.
Many things were also easier and more logical to do. Say you wanted to record a show that night... You'd find it in the guide (like you'd do before you owned a PVR), and hit the record button. "Bing" it was going to be recorded, and a red dot would appear immediately. What about recording the series? Hit record again, and "bing" three red dots appear next to it, meaning the series is being recorded...
This is something simple and logical to grasp - something I could show my mom and she'd pick up immediately. Sure, the Tivo isn't much harder to set up a recording, but it requires navigation through a separate page, and then through the dreaded "please wait".
What else was big... oh automatic soft padding.. The UTV would automatically record two minutes before and two minutes after the hour, if a tuner was available. This was great, as that it caught 90% of the network timing problems that Tivo just leaves you with a cut-off end of program. "But Tivo has forced padding", you might say (UTV had it too)... I tried it on the Tivo, but then I had conflicts with other programs in the next hour that I had to clear up, erase other programs that weren't as important... Remember, my PVR is supposed to make my TV watching more efficient - not take more time. I don't have time to bother with that...
Finally - some minor but nice improvements the UTV had:
300X Fast forward. A simple way to get to a part of the program. Tivo has its "jump to click" feature, but that requires a finding a diffferent button on the remote, and then you still end up fast forwarding (slowly) to where you want to really be. Again - my ease of use criteria goes to UTV with its one button, self-evident solution.
Picture in guide (and menu). I know its anathema to "Real PVR users" to think you might actually want to peruse the guide while watching TV, but I found it very nice to have the program still playing in the corner, when, from time to time, I might want to check out the guide or play around in the menus (to check my conflicts, for example)
Anway, I've already typed too much. But I do want to end with a clear statement: I like my Tivo very much. As I started this message: Its a good PVR. I just believe the UTV was a better PVR overall. I don't want to revive the old vitriolic arguments of "Tivo vs UTV" of Y2K. Its really a moot point anyway, as UTVs only live in a handful of households that fortunately still have working tuners.
