--Also Announces Long-Term Alliance with Microsoft
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, satellite TV provider, DirecTV, unveiled a number of new products and services that it plans to roll out over the course of this year:
- DirecTV 2Go, a service that will allow DirecTV subscribers to transfer recorded programming from the company's new DirecTV Plus DVR (note: the latter is powered by the XTV technology of DirecTV's News Corp.-stablemate, NDS) to what the company promises will be a "wide variety" of portable media players. (Note: rival satellite TV provider, EchoStar, already offers a range of portable media players, dubbed "PocketDish," that allow content to be transferred from its DVR's.) The service, which will use proprietary audio and video formats, will enable the connection of DirecTV-compatible portable media players directly to DirecTV receivers. The portable media players will display DirecTV content in a separate menu area with a DirecTV-branded user interface. DirecTV has not stated when in 2006 the new service will be launched. At CES, French electronics giant, Thomson, unveiled a DirecTV 2Go-compatible portable device, the RCA-branded LYRA X3000 Personal Multimedia Recorder (note: DirecTV 2Go-compatibility is enabled via a free software download). According to the company, the $399 device weighs under eight ounces, is 3/4 of an inch thick, incorporates a 20GB hard drive, includes a "Docking Base" for connectivity to DirecTV set-tops and other home theater devices, is powered by a replaceable lithium ion battery that provides at least four hours of constant video playback on a single charge, and can record video from multiple sources without using a computer.
- DirecTV Pro, a home theater system, which DirecTV says will combine HD and DVR technologies and mount in the 19-inch racks commonly used in the home theater custom installation market. Other features include front-panel HD LCD display, front-panel transport controls, and additional control ports on the front and back. The product is scheduled to launch at the end of the year.
- The DirecTV Plus HD DVR, a version of the company's new DVR that will incorporate an HD receiver. The new box will feature dual tuners, the ability to pause and rewind live TV up to 90 minutes, and the ability to record over 30 hours of HD programming in MPEG-2, up to 50 hours of HD programming in MPEG-4, and up to 200 hours of standard-definition programming. It will also be the first DirecTV HD receiver with interactive capabilities. It is scheduled to launch in retail in mid-2006.
- A series of 10-, 22- and 32-inch LCD TV screens that will be integrated with a DirecTV receiver.
DirecTV also announced that it has formed a long-term alliance with Microsoft to "develop new ways to expand the reach of digital music, television and movies throughout the home and to portable devices." The agreement between the companies calls for them to work together to enable the exchange of digital content, via Microsoft's Windows Media platform technologies, between DirecTV set-top boxes, Windows-based PC's, PlaysForSure-compatible devices and the Xbox 360. The companies say that connectivity between DirecTV's set-tops and Microsoft-powered devices will, among other things, make it possible to transfer DirecTV content to a Windows-based PC or to a PlaysForSure-compatible device; allow DirecTV subscribers to use their set-top box to access music, video and pictures stored on a Windows-based PC; and enable viewing of DirecTV content on an Xbox 360. In addition, the companies say they plan to work together to enable DirecTV customers to use a Windows Media Center-based PC as a DirecTV receiver that will support both standard- and high-definition services. "This agreement is a significant milestone for consumers and content owners, since it will greatly extend the reach and flexibility of digital entertainment in the home," Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, said in a prepared statement. "By integrating our Windows Media platform technologies with the DirecTV service, we have created a pipeline for an incredible variety of premium digital entertainment to move seamlessly and securely throughout the home to anywhere a DirecTV customer wants to enjoy it."
In other DirecTV news: at a Citigroup investors' event in Phoenix, Arizona last week, News Corp.-chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, revealed that the satellite TV provider is mulling offering a wireless broadband service. "We are looking at various alternatives," he said, "including partnerships and going it alone. You'll be hearing from us, within probably two months, a very clear plan of what will happen."
(Note: this article was published in the January 18th issue of the InteractiveTV Today [itvt] email newsletter.)
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