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The Weather Channel's HD feed gets interactive on DirecTV

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 6th 2009 at 10:51PM

A year after launching on The Weather Channel SD and receiving "nearly a billion impressions" there, DirecTV has added interactive Local on Demand and Local on the 8s widgets to The Weather Channel HD. Same as always, this lets viewers dial up weather alerts, the most recent updates for their area, or other weather info while still watching the main channel. While some may prefer the tried and true method of "looking out the window" to find out what the current weather conditions are, we're always glad to have options.

Latest DirecTV sale rumors point to Verizon

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 28th 2009 at 3:08PM

The constant dance card shuffling with DirecTV's ownership and AT&T's satellite dealings fueled rumors of a sale earlier this year, now rekindled with Verizon and its FiOS TV unit listed as a potential partner. The idea, as described by the Wall Street Journal, is that Verizon's desire to expand its video business would manifest by buying a satellite company (DirecTV over DISH based on its performance and current restructuring by Liberty Media) and overnight going from number 8 to number 2 among cable and satellite operators. Whether the two telephone companies will actually battle it out over satellite remains to be seen, we're just wondering if this could give U-Verse or FiOS subs a crack at NFL Sunday Ticket.

[Via Barrons]

DirecTV adds an app store, but compelling reasons to visit remain elusive

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 3:08PM

Confirming the theory that "everything must have an app store" DirecTV has followed the lead of Verizon and launched a central, online-accessible location for subscribers to choose TV Apps which are then downloaded onto their set-top boxes. Currently holding apps including ScoreGuide, weather forecast, Starz On Demand Feature and more the only question remaining -- judging by the cool reaction to the technology so far -- is why? Our friend Dave Zatz points to a subscriber's YouTube video demoing the Flickr browsing experience that has the same performance problems we observed while reviewing Samsung's latest HDTV. From here you can hit the read link to check out what's available, queue up downloads plus view demos from DirecTV or check the user video after the break. While there is surely an effective way to combine TV and the internet, it looks like this implementation isn't it, yet.

[Via Dave Zatz, thanks Longhairbilly]

Continue reading DirecTV adds an app store, but compelling reasons to visit remain elusive

Engadget HD Podcast 155 - 09.15.2009

by Trent Wolbe posted Sep 15th 2009 at 1:12PM

Engadget logo CEDIA is over so there no better time to wrap up the news than with the Engadget HD Podcast. If you love Media Center, you'll love this episode as we dedicate more than half the show to the topic. We talk new tuners, cost of admission, as well as what might still be announced between now and the official launch of Windows 7. Next up we hit our second favorite topic with Blu-ray's Managed Copy and other Blu-ray player hardware like thee 400 disc Blu-ray changer. We round out the show with a quick chat about HDMI over IP (not just CAT5), the Panasonic 3D demo, the NFL Redzone channel and finally we talk up our reader meetup plus a few reader questions.

Get the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). p
[RSS - AAC] Enhanced feed, subscribe to this with iTunes.
[RSS - MP3] Add the Engadget HD Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[Zune]Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).

Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh, Steven Kim, Richard Lawler

Producer: Trent Wolbe

Program
00:01:15 - Comments from Engadget HD Podcast 154
00:03:25 - Video: Dish Network Media Center tuner in action
00:08:36 - Ceton is set to take over the CableCARD PC tuner market
00:33:32 - Poll: What's the most you'd pay for a quad HDTV tuner with CableCARD?
00:35:00 - Windows 7 to get a better version of Netflix than Vista
00:38:55 - Hauppauge to expand its offerings to include a CableCARD tuner
00:41:44 - DirecTV's CEDIA booth was all about multi-room viewing
00:51:14 - Video: First working Blu-ray Managed Copy demo
00:55:45 - Video: Sony 400 disc Blu-ray changer with Gracenote in action
00:58:45 - Video: Vudu on the LG BD390 Blu-ray player
01:01:08 - Panasonic including DivX Plus HD (MKV) support into next gen Blu-ray players, TVs
01:02:10 - Apple TV junkies left out of new iTunes Extra special features
01:05:45 - Panasonic Full HD 3D experience eyes-on
01:13:07 - Just Add Power introduces Projector Connector HDMI-over-IP solution
01:16:23 - It's game day, who's got the NFL RedZone Channel?
01:19:14 - Thanks to Atlanta for the great reader meetup

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)

DirecTV's CEDIA booth was all about multi-room viewing

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 14th 2009 at 1:36PM


When we were walking around CEDIA this past week we noticed a thing or two that we would've missed if we just focused on reader press releases. One of those things was the emphasis DirecTV put on multi-room viewing. This is good news to us, because we think that MRV is one of the next big things in the world of HD and DVRs. Most consumers just want to be able to watch whatever they want, wherever they want, so having the exact same experience on every TV in the house is key. Specifically DirecTV was showing its vision of the future including how the next generation of DirecTV HD DVR would work. What's interesting is that although DirecTV does allow customers to download beta software for the current HD DVR that enables MRV features, that isn't what these pictures are of. The current technology also isn't using the new RVU Alliance's technology, of which DirecTV promised to deploy next year. Overall we'll be keeping a close eye on the progress, but we were disappointed to hear the booth representatives describe the system without mentioning the full experience on the thin clients.

Universal Electronics intros the new Nevo C2 and C3 remotes

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 13th 2009 at 1:52PM


These two are the latest addition to the Nevo remote family. First up is the one of the left, which is the C3 and sells for $299. What's really cool here is that it not only works with an optional RF base ($99) but it will also directly control 3rd party RF hardware like the DirecTV DVR. What's also a welcomed addition beyond what the competition offers is that not only can program with a nice web GUI, but you can also program it directly -- so without a computer. The IR only C2 looks much like the C3, but is only $229, the 2.2 inch color screen isn't touch sensitive and it uses standard batteries rather than the rechargeable type included in the C3.

There's more to starting a cable company than just pirating DirecTV

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Sep 4th 2009 at 12:51PM


Blame it on the economy, lack of common sense, or lowered aspirations, but it seems like an awful lot of you guys think it's a good idea to re-sell DirecTV "on the sly," as they say in the business. Hell, this morning alone no less than two items have come across our desk to this effect -- and you know as well as we do that if both John Metzler, the owner and operator of Phoenix Communications and Pine River Cable in Michigan, is reselling premium digital channels, and if four unnamed Haysi, Virginia residents have also thought if it, then it's a growing concern. Our advice? Just don't do it. You don't want to be like OJ, do you? Didn't think so.

Read - DirecTV Sues Virginia Residents for Unauthorized Distribution of DIRECTV Programming
Read - DirecTV sues Michigan man for redistributing its content

TiVo projects larger than expected losses, still taking the patent fight to AT&T and Verizon

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 26th 2009 at 8:13PM

We'll let the analysts make sense of TiVo's new projection that it will lose $8 to $10 million in the third quarter, larger than Wall Street expectations while projected revenues are lower -- we're too busy adding Verizon and AT&T to the patent battlemap. Today it filed complaints against both for violating three of its DVR-related patents -- Nos. 6,233,389 B1 ("Multimedia Time Warping System"), 7,529,465 B2 ("System for Time Shifting Multimedia Content Streams"), and 7,493,015 B1 ("Automatic Playback Overshoot Correction System") if you must know -- seeking damages for past infringement and a permanent injunction. We'd assumed it would wait until settling things with DISH to push forward against other companies, but it looks like we're not the only ones getting impatient. Beyond the legal slapfight there's a few nuggets for the bleep bloop faithful, with the Comcast TiVo on-line scheduler beginning to roll out in Boston plus further expansions on the way and the due-in-2010 DirecTV HD TiVo still on track -- we'll need a few seasons of Law & Order queued up before this mess ever gets resolved.

Read - TiVo Swings to Loss, Files Infringement Suits
Read - TiVo Reports Results for the Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2010 Ended July 31, 2009
Read - TiVo Files Complaints for Patent Infringement Against AT&T and Verizon Communications in United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas; Seeking Damages and Injunction

DirecTV adds "dual live buffers" to its HD DVR

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Aug 26th 2009 at 10:27AM

DirecTV HR21
The feature we all know and love as dual live buffers has finally comes to DirecTV's HR21/HR20 with the snazzy name of Doubleplay. Not a moment too soon either as there's no better time to be able to pause and rewind live TV on two different channels at once than when watching football -- never did understand why all the NFL games were on at the same time. The other sports related feature, called Live Extension, to make it out of beta this week gives users the ability to easily extend a recording. The default is an extra 30 minutes, which is usually enough to grab a game that goes a little long, but if the game goes into overtime you can extend it up to three hours.

DirecTV, Cisco and Samsung have whole house DVR plans with RVU alliance

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Aug 19th 2009 at 12:00PM

RVU alliance topology
One of our dreams is to have a true whole home DVR that allows us to watch any show we want, on any TV we want; but so far the perfect solution has eluded us. TiVo was really the first to try with its Multi-Room Viewing, but missed the mark by not giving us a single Now Playing list for the whole house or even any automatic conflict resolution between units. The FiOS HD DVR was the next disappointment because it limits us to two tuners and 160GB for the whole house -- seriously is that enough for anyone? Currently Windows Media Center offers the best solution, but it's expensive after you pay $300 a pop for a CableCARD tuner, not to mention it requires more maintenance because it is based on a PC. Needless to say we continue to look for the perfect solution, and we think that the RVU (R-vue) alliance might be just what we ordered. In addition to DirecTV, Cisco and Samsung, the chip maker Broadcom is also one of the founding members of the alliance, but it is their goals that get us excited. So excited, that we'd actually be shocked if they were actually achieved, but you'll have to click through to learn why.

Continue reading DirecTV, Cisco and Samsung have whole house DVR plans with RVU alliance

Windows 7 Media Center review

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Jul 27th 2009 at 11:00AM



We've been waiting a long time for this and it's finally here, the latest version of Windows Media Center. Well, we really stopped waiting a few months ago when the release candidate hit, but waited on composing our thoughts until after we had a chance to play with the RTM copy. For the most part, as you'd expect the RTM build is identical to the RC, sans the bugs, but there are plenty of upgrades over Vista Media Center. Many of these new features were also in the TV Pack, but in our book that doesn't count. For starters it was OEM only, and thus you could only get it (legitimately) by buying a new PC, but the real reason is because it was so buggy, it was beyond usable. In fact we still stand by the theory that the TV Pack was nothing more than an early preview for OEMs of the new guts of Windows 7 Media Center. Gladly that is all behind us now, so keep reading to find out what gets us excited about Windows 7 Media Center.

Continue reading Windows 7 Media Center review

TiVo coming to Time Warner Cable, potentially lots of other providers

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 22nd 2009 at 2:12PM


It's been a long, messy road, but now that TiVo's beaten a victory out of EchoStar in that seemingly-endless DVR patent lawsuit it sounds like the company is trying to exert some muscle -- it's already in talks to bring its service to Time Warner Cable, and sources have told Bloomberg the ultimate plan is to eventually collect royalties from every pay-TV provider in the US. That might sound bullying and even a little trollish, but keep in mind these patents have withstood pretty much every legal challenge EchoStar could throw at them, so TiVo's operating from a position of some certainty here -- especially since it's got license agreements with huge players like Comcast and DirecTV to use as leverage in negotiations as well. Of course, none of this solves any of TiVo's actual problems with its products, and the company's topsy-turvy balance sheet has some analysts thinking its ripe for a buyout by one of the bigs, so things could change dramatically at any minute, but for right now it sounds like your chances of getting the TiVo interface on your cable or satellite company DVR just went up, and that's almost certainly a good thing.

DirecTV's HD Mix extended to cover the entire U.S. Open weekend

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 17th 2009 at 3:34PM


The U.S. Open gets started tomorrow from Bethpage State Park, and beyond the ESPN & NBC coverage, DirecTV is extending its HD Mix channel for all four days for the first time. That should help keep an eye on the leaderboard, main broadcast and whatever combination of specific areas of the course, interviews, or particular golfers one wants to follow, all available in high definition of course. After the Mediate/Woods showdown last year, we hope they're not locked in to doing only four days of broadcasts.

DirecTV CEO resigning effective July 1

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 3rd 2009 at 9:51PM

Turns out the rumors were correct, DirecTV has officially announced CEO Chase Carey is resigning as of July 1, and a search for a successor is "under way." Of course, there's no word if the subsequent speculation that the company's next move after its spinoff/merger is a sale to AT&T is at all accurate, but we're sure there will be plenty of viewpoints on the subject in the weeks and months to come.

DirecTV CEO rumored heading back to News Corp

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 1st 2009 at 8:56PM

According to an Associated Press source, DirecTV CEO Chase Carey is in talks to return to News Corp. as Rupert Murdoch's second in command, which at least one analyst believes could be an indication the company will be sold outright soon, possibly to AT&T. Check out the read links for the business details, we're just wondering how a more permanent marriage of the satellite company and U-verse would work.

Read - AP source: DirecTV CEO in talks to join News Corp
Read - Analyst: Carey Departure = DirecTV Sale




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