Sony SAT-T60 DirecTV Receiver With TiVo

By Grant Clauser
A short time ago, when hard disk recorders first hit the market, users were thrilled with the newfound power they had over TV viewing. However, the early hard disk recorders proved bulky to fit into a crowded entertainment center and sometimes time-consuming and difficult to connect and set up. Thankfully, new combination products have appeared to make life a little easier for TV addicts.

For folks who haven't been paying attention to the evolution in hard disk recorders, also called digital video recorders, a brief description is in order. Like VCRs, digital video recorders are devices designed for recording and playing back TV programs. But unlike VCRs, digital video recorders, such as products bearing the TiVo or Replay brand names, record programs digitally onto hard disk drives. Depending on the size of the hard disk and the compression level or video quality of the recording, they can store from just a few hours up to 60 hours of programs. Instead of programming recordings by entering start and stop times, the user selects shows from the on-screen program guide or searches for programs through saved program indexes and search features built into the unit. A very popular feature is the ability to stop live TV with the press of a button, much like pausing a DVD or VCR.

Previously, most digital video recorders needed to be hooked up to some signal source, such as a cable or satellite box, or directly to an antenna. The exception was the original Echostar DishPlayer, which combined a small hard drive with a DishNetwork satellite receiver. The DishPlayer was a good first attempt but poorly implemented.

Recently TiVo digital video recorders have been fused to DirecTV receivers by two companies, Sony and Philips (which introduced the first TiVo). A similar product, called UltimateTV, will also be available this year. For this review, we looked at the Sony SAT-T60 combination TiVo and DirecTV box.

The T60 has a more refined look and feel to it, in both design and function, than TiVo-only products of the recent past. Being a satellite receiver, it features more buttons on the front than plain TiVos, but there's nothing surprising there. The back panel, however, does sport a surprise or two. The first is the inclusion of a Dolby Digital output jack. This is the first time I've seen a Dolby Digital output on a TiVo, and it's a welcome inclusion. With stand-alone TiVos, owners of Dolby Digital satellite receivers were forced to revert back to their old stereo jacks if they wanted to record surround sound with their video. Part of the problem with the earlier products, I think, was the fact that they digitally compressed everything that came into them, and adding 5.1 audio tracks made tight compression difficult. Also, the fact that there were three quality or compression settings complicated matters. The T60 circumvents that problem by not compressing anything in the box. Rather, it records all audio and video signals at the compression rate at which DirecTV sends it. What that does for video and audio recording is maintain the quality of the program from dish to TV with no compromises.

Another interesting discovery on the back of the unit is the inclusion of a second satellite input indicating the presence of two tuners. Unfortunately, the second satellite jack was covered by a plastic plug making it inaccessible. A Sony representative told me that there is indeed a second tuner inside the product but that it is not active at the time. Presumably, a software update some time in the future will wake up the second tuner so users can plug in another cable, making it possible to record one program while watching another. One of the strengths of UltimateTV is its two-tuner function, but since that product is not yet available, the comparison is moot.

Besides the satellite jack(s), there's another coaxial input for adding an antenna or cable line, but not both. The box outputs either composite video or S-Video and includes a second set of composite outputs for hooking up a VCR. An infrared output jack connects to Sony VCRs via an IR blaster so users can easily back up programs to a VCR. It is still possible to back up programs to non-Sony VCRs, but the unit makes it infinitely easier with Sony products.

Running the unit through its setup routine was significantly easier with this TiVo than with other stand-alone TiVo products I've used. Several steps are avoided because it's not necessary to tell the box that the TV signal comes from DirecTV, as is required with stand-alone boxes. It's also not necessary to go through the process of selecting program packages and identifying the local channels because the satellite receiver portion of the box has got that already covered.

Setting up a stand-alone TiVo can take several hours, most of which is taken up by the indexing process once the program data has been downloaded through the phone line. The T60 gets its program data off the satellite, over a period of two days, so while all the data isn't accessible the day the unit is installed, it can be used almost immediately without the three hours of indexing required with stand-alone TiVos.

If for some reason a user decides not to activate the TiVo service, the hard drive still functions for pausing and replaying live TV. A program can be paused for up to an hour without an active TiVo account, but recording entire programs for later viewing or setting the unit to record future programs is not possible without the TiVo account.

One of the things I liked best about this combination box is that it lets the user choose between the traditional TiVo program guide or a Sony DirecTV program guide. I use a TiVo in my home and have gotten accustomed to the guide style, but I prefer the grid style guide of Hughes and RCA DirecTV receivers. The option to choose the DirecTV grid is nice, but unfortunately, the Sony grid is not as user friendly as either the Hughes style or the RCA. The Sony grid displays eight channels but only an hour's worth of programming at a time. The TiVo guide displays the currently playing program for eight channels plus 12 hours of shows on one highlighted channel. Both include a highlighted program description window. The DirecTV guide (which is the default guide) is better for channel surfing, while the TiVo guide is better for programming recordings.

Another new feature, and one that will be available to all TiVo users via a software download, is the Search By WishList feature. Using WishList is a little like surfing for programs with a Web browser. It searches by key words rather than by program name or channel. For instance, when given the word "sting," TiVo may come up with a movie staring Sting, a documentary on scorpions or the movie The Sting. Specific WishLists can be created to search by actor, director or by categories, such as science-fiction movies. Once a WishList is created, it will compile corresponding program lists that the user can access anytime.

As both a TiVo and DirecTV user myself, I can see the wisdom in combining these

products into one. Sony's SAT-T60 receiver is a marvelous product in nearly every way. Implementing the second satellite tuner strikes me as a necessity if it is to compete effectively with the coming UltimateTV product, which happens to be backed by Microsoft, Sony and RCA. But even without the second tuner, it's currently one of the best DirecTV receiver options available. DirecTV users should go get one now. II

Sony SAT-T60

$399 plus TiVo service charge

of $10/ month or $199 for a

lifetime subscription

• DirecTV Plus receiver

• 35-hour recording time

• Dolby Digital output

• Choice of program guides

• IR link to Sony VCRs

Pros

Easier setup than stand-alone TiVo. Easy program searching and recording. Records without extra compression.

Cons

Only one tuner activated.

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