UltTv

The Ultimate TV Satellite Receiver/Digital Video Recorder is now impossible to find in stores but we find the owners of them to be quite happy with the product. Actually, we have never heard of an unhappy digital video recorder owner. The Ultimate TV is a good product. Fortunately, CCS Corporation offers repair service to the component part level on this product.

We see a lot of units with broken access card readers. We know of only one really good way to break yours. (Please don't test this theory)

1. Disregard the statement on the back of the Satellite Receiver that says, No User Serviceable Parts Inside.

2. Leave your access card installed in the reader while you remove the top cover.

3. Attempt to close the lid with the card still installed and we are pretty sure you will find you have made your problems worse.

Please, Please if you must look inside, remove your access card 1st.

There are a couple pictures at the bottom of the page that will take show you the internal circuitry of this satellite receiver if a picture will do to satisfy your curiosity.

Most common failures of the Ultimate TV Digital Video Recorder:

Problem: Ultimate TV Unit appears Dead, No Lights, No Output.

Cause: Power Supply may have shutdown due to a brown-out or surge on AC Line. Unplug unit for at least ten minutes then see if normal operation is restored. We have also seen that some units don't power -up well. If you plug yours in and it becomes a "blinker" unplug and replug in about 30 seconds.

Problem: One or both tuners will intermittently "cut-out" or tiling on some channels (not weather related).

Cause: Overheating, if you believe in keeping your Ultimate TV in a "glass cage" you may want to consider a fan. If the IC's have been thermally damaged they will generally get progressively worse until failure. It help us if you can identify which tuner is giving you trouble when you send it.

Problem: One or both tuners are dead or missing transponders.

Cause: Electrical surge into the receiver through the dish and LNB.

Problem: Unit powers up and and says "connecting to WebTv" but hangs or doesn't connect

Cause: Hard Drive is corrupted.

Problem: Green light on front panel blinks continuously.

Cause: Generally a tuner has failed completely, can be hard drive failure

Problem: Can't record one show and watch another, or PIP feature will show one blank screen

Cause: One tuner has failed. (The PIP feature is a great way to diagnose problems)

Additional Notes:

We generally find the modem circuit on the ultimate TV units much more robust than others.

The self test feature built into the menu does a good job of confirming correct operation of the modem.

The signal level meter is also quite useful. Check all transponders on all satellites for at least 5 seconds. Signal level should remain solid. Swap your A and B tuner cables while on this screen to confirm tuner failure.

Note that when we say a tuner or modem has failed, that we are referring to an un-separable section of a large circuit board that contains many parts. We feel it is beyond the scope of most individuals to correct these problems themselves. For this reason, we do not sell parts or kits, just our expertise. (You would not generally go into a restaurant and ask to buy a dozen raw eggs now would you?)

Pictures of the Inside: