Ultraplus 700HDMI How does it rate?

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727 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438362 11-Feb-2011 17:24

dipkiwi:
3.5" 1 TB WD Elements Model

Like I say... a powered external hard drive is different to a USB powered storage device.

I run a Verbatim USB 500GB hard drive with no issues whatsoever.

http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/computers/storage/verbatim/500gb-portable-hard-drive-sku-21721/

The WD Elements drive IS a powered external hard drive, and the problem I experienced trying to use it on a 980HD may not occur with drives of other makes (since some are said to work) or on other PVRs.

dipkiwi

51 posts

Master Geek

#438369 11-Feb-2011 17:41

The WD Elements drive IS a powered external hard drive,

Which is what you don't want. You want a 2.5" USB powered device only. (that is a drive that gets its power through the USB cable and doesn't have it's own power supply)

xarqi

727 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438417 11-Feb-2011 19:12

dipkiwi:
The WD Elements drive IS a powered external hard drive,

Which is what you don't want. You want a 2.5" USB powered device only. (that is a drive that gets its power through the USB cable and doesn't have it's own power supply)

Very good. That's something those who find themselves in that position can try.
Having dumped the 980HD, I don't have those issues. My Vu+ Duo is happy with a 1TB internal Samsung SATA2 drive, and if I do need to expand it, I'll put an eSATA drive on. As it is though I just have it retrieve stuff across the LAN via SMB (another thing the 980HD couldn't do for me reliably out of the box). Just added another 2 TB WD drive for $160ish.

semigeek

1606 posts

Uber Geek

#438456 11-Feb-2011 22:00

dipkiwi:
The WD Elements drive IS a powered external hard drive,

Which is what you don't want. You want a 2.5" USB powered device only. (that is a drive that gets its power through the USB cable and doesn't have it's own power supply)

I bought a 500GB drive today, 2.5 inch USB powered. Plugged it in, formatted with the decoders inbuilt formatting software. Recognises the drive fine, but when I go to record an hour long programme, it says its only going to record for 33-41 mins. Why would it say that?

Forget the above, I just clicked. When pressing record without using the EPG, its only recording to the end of the programme, hence the time being shorter.

Jaxson

8041 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#443350 25-Feb-2011 11:30

Photos if anyone is interested.

This thing is tiny, like the Satlink 2800 type models.

Skimped on some things but overall the package build quality etc looks good.

No rear power switch so any resets are back at the wall switch/plug.
No digital coax out for sound.

Scart plug only for external video connections. -No biggy thought as it has hdmi out.

No rear USB connection, means an untidy look if connecting to a big external drive.
But also easy to remove if you want to move the drive elsewhere, thinking thumb drive might work well for this if you don't need lots of capacity.

Box has pictures of a happy family, even a baby on this one.

Good quality remote control, not a generic cheap option.

First impressions are good really. I think best option I've seen for hdmi enabled output.

Lack of any attempt at upscalling was apparent when I first turned it on, probably having come from the Ultraplus 980HD in the past which did have HD menus.
However every station I'm interested in is SD so in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter. In fact only some of the upscalled output resolutions began to improve things for me last time, the bulk just introducing noise in the picture.

A really quick check of the USB drive showed it picked up my 40GB ex PS3 Seagate in an enclosure no problems. Recorded a bit to it ok too. You can book off the EPG, in fact it's pretty standard Ultraplus EPG/controls etc. I find the multi channel view EPG too chunky / not enough info shown as it's SD resolution and it doesn't have a lot of room to show stuff. However it does work and you can switch to single channel view and it's all then detailed very clearly then.

I do think the official MHEG5 EPG is very clear for most on satellite so for a paid install I'd probably still be offering an approved unit that auto scans, auto updates channels, doesn't find 5 TV1 channels etc and has a very clear guide for simplicity.

If you're after one for yourself though, this gives you recording, hdmi output and is cheaper than most approved units. That's why I got one this time around. I use terrestrial for freeview so I need a box for doing non standard things with connected to the 1.8m dish out the back.

I think at this price point you'd be hard pressed to find anything else close. No ones saying it's more than it is, DVB-S only etc, no S2 or HD etc. So far (after only half an hours initial use!) I think it will do all I need very well.

dipkiwi

51 posts

Master Geek

#443360 25-Feb-2011 11:51

However every station I'm interested in is SD so in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter. In fact only some of the upscalled output resolutions began to improve things for me last time, the bulk just introducing noise in the picture.

That's right. Your TV can do the upscaling anyhow, and it will probably do the job better than most other units anyway. If you are using another unit to upscale - then it better be decent quality otherwise you may be stuck with an inferior image. That's why I don't like the look of those cheap HDMI decoders on trademe that offer upscaling. I would rather not have upscaling on something cheap.

Just feed your TV the cleanest, least messed around with image possible. This is where HDMI offers an advantage over composite or component.

Username01

142 posts

Master Geek

#443679 26-Feb-2011 16:56

Hi guys!
FYI, sat noobie here
Can you play the recorded content back via the usb socket? It seems to say this plays mp3 & jpegs.

If you can playback video, can you playback whilst recording?

As I said .... sat noobie here.....

Cheers!

Equinox IT

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semigeek

1606 posts

Uber Geek

#443697 26-Feb-2011 19:14

Yep, you can playback while recording. Just tried it out now and its working fine like that.

You can record on to USB drive or external hard drive and play back from the USB socket, if thats what you mean.

Username01

142 posts

Master Geek

#443738 26-Feb-2011 21:54

I'm warming to this. Don't have to make a decision till my SKY $$runs$$ out in about three weeks, but at <$140 it looks like the one. You getting SBS?

Does it handle NTFS, or just FAT32?

semigeek

1606 posts

Uber Geek

#443747 26-Feb-2011 22:23

I'm getting SBS on it, I got mine through Freeview shop and it came pretuned for it.
I ended up buying a 500GB self powered USB drive, it didn't recognise it at first, but I used its inbuilt formatter and its working well now.

Jaxson

8041 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#444022 28-Feb-2011 09:38

Also this unit does do blind scanning very well too which is a bonus.

I took mine to my parents house this weekend and their Samsung LCD (a fairly early but nice version 3 I think it is) did not accept the hdmi signal. I checked when I got back home and my panasonic TV shows this as 576i. That's pretty standard but just worth noting that for whatever reason the Samsung did not like it.

The rear SCART socket is not very solid either, flexes a bit, but hopefully no one is ever using it. Component video leads didn't work on the unit either, so I'm not sure if the SCART plug is configured for component or for composite video out only.

I haven't tried a non FAT drive in the unit yet. Haven't got that far yet.

Video etc wise it played back mp3's fine for me but non of the AVI movie files I had on the drive so I don't really think you'd be buying this for the media playing properties.

UltraPower

40 posts

Geek

#444219 28-Feb-2011 19:39

Hi, please be informed that the UltraPlus 700HDMI is working with video component as well (very special request for NZ market unlike the Aussie version which only works RCA) however, you need to swap the color of the lead green and red. By the way, the scart adaptor is a bonus (free) and is not even mentioned in the manual so please, no complains about quality of the scart adaptor if it is for free. If you have any questions regarding this receiver or the UltraPlus980HD which turns out to be the best single tuner HD receiver in the market today and is exactly like the Octagon model 1008 and is a big success in Europe please, contact us and we will try to solve any issue regarding those products. Cheers

xarqi

727 posts

Ultimate Geek

#444271 28-Feb-2011 21:56

UltraPower: ...or the UltraPlus980HD which turns out to be the best single tuner HD receiver in the market today...

Prove it.

SATECH

25 posts

Geek

#444278 28-Feb-2011 22:11

You prove its not !

toyonut

1508 posts

Uber Geek

#444286 28-Feb-2011 22:52

can this unit record one channel and watch another at the same time or is it limited to watching what is recording. The instructions seem to show that it can record and do live pause at the same time, so that seems to point to the record one watch one scenario, but would be good to get a confirmation either way.

Try Vultr using this link and get us both some credit:

http://www.vultr.com/?ref=7033587-3B

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