So I receive the monthly Truevision Mag in the mail and there is a DVR (or PVR) advertisment covering the front page completely. I thought "finally we get some technology for our otherwise lacking cable...technology that other areas have used for years". The front page referenced pages 7-8 for full and complete details. I was excited as it appeared that we were finally getting in Thailand a DVR like we've used in the States for several years. Those ballgames and such could now be watched at normal times upon returning from work. Maybe not the same as before, but better.

At this point, I felt it was time to go visit a Truevision store to verify that pricing wasn't going to be through the roof. To my surprise, the people at the various FOUR DIFFERENT Truevision and/or UBC stores knew nothing about the DVR when I showed them the magazine (not only was it their front page advertisement, but I'm sure the circulation has to be well over a million). Each person read the magazine details (cover and pages 7-8 with earnest like it was something from the future).

The last Truevision/UBC store visited said someone (presumably somebody in the know from the main office) would visit the house with more info. Yesterday came and went with nothing...not even a phone call.

Maybe it all makes sense. These were the same people that told me at Impact that they would have HDTV in Thailand this year (as early as this Spring). They even had the box to prove it, but knew little else.

I am also waiting with baited breath for this service. I am hoping some other companies enter the market so I can cancel my subscription to True!!

They are doing the Beta test on the PVR in Thailand right now. That means that several people in Thailand (see the True Visions website) have these machines in their houses now and are testing them out. True Visions will then ask these people questions as to what they liked about it and didn't like before they decide how much to charge for it in Thailand and how best to market it. I don't think we are more than one or two months away from them offering the boxes to all subscribers. The issue, of course, is how much will they charge per month.

You must be new to UBC because you seem to be expecting a level of organisation and service that simply has never existed. In time you get used to it because there's very little alternative.

Only problem I see with it. Everything is already repeated every nearly everyday so the system has built in pvr already

The only reason I would get it is not for the PVR but the component out ports for Plasma/LCD viewing.

I am anxious to see what price it is offered at. To me, that is the make or break. Even though True repeats shows often, that only helps if you are sitting at home all day or are up in the middle of the night. The alternative to the PVR (which I haven't done yet), is a DVD Recorder which also allows you to record a show at anytime and also has the timeslip feature. The trade off is that the DVD Recorder is money down now, and if it needs service that is a hassle. The PVR would be on a per month basis, and service from True is pretty good. It is going to be a price issue.

I mentioned it to the engineer who came to fix my system (second time in a fortnight)..

He said info is coming soon but that he thought it had about a 15k equipment price.. Plus an extra per month simply to access the EPG over a week instead of the 1 day EPG.

Hardly the deal of the decade..

Also of note the second time he came he swapped out the older crappy box for a new humax box.. Much better menu's.. display info.. Also has EPG for a whole day (my others were 1 - 2 hours in front, more info display on programs, etc.. I wondered if this was part of the new EPG.

For those that want an EPG now you can use a PC, a Sat grab card, bladerunner EPG, and hard disc recording and pausing of live TV etc.. Its complex but for geeks its all there.

I look at it this way. Truevisions PVR has a 160 GB hard disk. A Pioneer DVD Recorder at Powerbuy with a 160 GB hard disk costs just under THB 20,000. If the Truevisions PVR costs THB 15,000 then it would depend on the monthly fee which would in essence be a service contract. The EPG has little value since they send you a printed program guide for the month, and you can record on the PVR on a manual basis for future programs. Hence, it comes down to the monthly fee.

I too think that PVR is going to be too expensive to justify, although i do think if it does all they say it will, it will be a good system and has some notable advantages over DVD recorders. For one, it will allow you to watch one channel whilst you record another - that's a feature i could certainly make use of.

LivingLOS - regarding your comments about having your box replaced for a better model. I'm wondering if one has to wait until theirs breaks before they'll give you the better one, or whether one can request (maybe i should refer myself back to my own comment about UBC's level of service for the answer to that!)?

I forgot about watching one channel and recording another and that does add to its value. Also, the PVR has data on live soccer games, stats, league standings etc. For soccer fans, this might also add to its value, but at the end of the day if the upfront is THB 15,000 then it all comes down to how much the monthly fee is.

Last year, when they added all those channels, my box couldn't receive their signals properly so they changed it to a new one. With the new box the signal kept freezing and I continually had to re-boot. I then requested another box and they came right out and changed it to one that is much better. Hence, if you give them a reason for wanting a different box, my experience is that they will oblige.

I had the same problem just like Old Man River. 50% of the neighbors sufferred the same problem so I guess it was True Visions that really screwed things up with the update. The first update though was the real problem (that they push all those channel to number 120 ..)

I am using the PVR right now (I'm in the Beta Test). So far is so good. I'll tell you that the best part is actually the option to record one channel while you're watching another. The other good thing is that you finally get proper wide screen view (even though the content is still in 4:3, but the box adjusted it to fit properly). And at last, it's the component out that really makes things so much better. Even though the content is still pretty bad but the box actually upscaled the picture!

Would be nice if the had an English language version of the magzine....

So the box does what with widescreen ?? Auto detects when its widescreen content and then changes from letterbox to pillarbox for 4:3 content and wide content ??

I can use an autodetect function in dscaler to detect black bars and accommodate but its now a good workaround.

My missus likes the idea and called the local UBC people. They said the boxes are 6,000 baht and available now.

I told her of this thread, and asked her to check the price and assertion that the boxes are available now. She did so and told me the same as before. That's in Thonburi close to Sirirat, Bkk.

I haven't ordered one, so I cannot be sure. Her information is very often correct. Though not always...

As an aside; I missed the England rugby match for the third time this season due to incorrect info in the UBC magazine, and the paused screen of the motor racing was a bit boring over the weekend. It seems to me that the quality of broadcasting / broadcasters / networks / all in the broadcasting industry (especially in Asia, super especially UBC) is awful.

everything I have read says 15k (14999)..

I'll ask my missus to call and check again. If you can lend me 6k (or maybe 15k) I'll get one to prove the point one way or the other. The missus was adament, but she has been known to be wrong (not often in these situatons). I'll tripple check.

Is it possible that I'm in a beta test area and get a special rate?

They must have had a massive change of mind of it is 6,000 baht. When I got mine 2 weeks ago for beta testing they said I could buy it after 4 weeks for a discounted 13,300 baht. They mentioned 17,000 for full price.

As for the PVR adjusting the picture to fit the screen then your box does somthing mine doesn't Infernalman7. As far as I can see it still delivers the normal size picture. I've searched through the settings and cannot see anything to change that.

My friend is also Beta testing it, and he said one of the questions on the questionnaire he received last week was how much per month would you pay for the box. Hence, there may be an upfront cost of the hardware, with a monthly fee as well.

I can only think that the THB 6,000 boxes are the regular ones, not the ones with the 160 GB hard disks.

Already have a HDD/DVD recorder which can be used with True, so don't really understand what all the fuss and their advertising is about. You just plug the cable box into the HDD/DVD recorder and that in turn to the TV. Great for pausing the live TV you're watching if you need to, and can set the recorder for later/night games.

The bit that True seem to be missing, is the ability to show via their cable boxes what the scheduled programmes are. At the moment, with or without the HDD/DVD you can only see the current programme and the next one. Once that comes along I don't see the problem. The likely way it will work is to put the proramming schedule data thru the cable box then the cable box thru True's version of HDD/DVD. There can only be one incoming signal line per cable-HDD-TV set up. So shouldn't matter whether you have the True one or say a Panasonic, Phillips etc..

BTW I also have an older combined VCR(tape) recorder/ DVD player in another room. Cost about 3-4k a few years back. This also let's me record cable etc, but uses the old video tapes to record. Again cable-VCR/DVD-TV. Only thing it can't do is pause live TV. Given cable TV in Thailand is only really VCR quality because of True's lack of investment, there's no real quality loss. This is also a reasonable alternative for those that don't want to fork out the 10k+ for a HDD.

This post has been edited by AFKAFSinLOS: 2008-03-17 22:29:03

The box is 14,990 Baht.

The comparable price of 160 GB HDD DVD Recorders, as per another poster, is approx. THB 15,000. The question I have is with a DVD Recorder, can you record one Truevisions channel while watching another one at the same time? Perhaps not an earth shattering service, but if the prices are comparable, then why not get more for your money? That assumes, of course, that the prices are comparable.

^^ Yes you can.

Thanks.

Hence, is it correct to conclude that there is no difference at all between Truevisions' PVR with a 160 GB HDD and a major brand's DVD Recorder with a 160 GB HDD?

Sorry but gonna call bullshit here...

There is no way an external (non ubc) DVD recording box will provide a dual tuner decode from the standard UBC box.. The hardware is not commonplace.

It is possible to create a sat hacking dual tuner PC.. Or there are dual tuner sat boxes (like advanced dreamboxes the 7xxx series).. But thats outside the scope of this discussion and not what was asked or replied to.

This post has been edited by LivinLOS: 2008-03-18 22:09:34

Can one of the beta testers chime in on how the widescreen functions work and how they differ from the current letterboxing of wide content ??