23/04/2013 - DirecTV adding voice search to its iOS and Android phone apps, beta coming this summer
Now that it's finally got an Android tablet app to speak of, DirecTV is returning its attention to phones: the company announced today that both its iOS and Android applications will be receiving voice search starting this summer. As the company describes it, the app is meant to address the age-old problem of there being "nothing on TV." (And also, the fact that searching for things on your television is damn tedious.) In particular, you can use the app to search by person, title, channel show time or genre, using commands such as "find comedy movies," etc. Like other voice-control services, too, you can give follow-up instructions like, "with Bill Hader" and it'll know to narrow down your results instead of starting a new search. Considering DirecTV whipped up its own search algorithm from scratch, it seems to work intuitively. Still, the fact that the landing page is filled with sample queries suggests there's very much a right and wrong way to ask for what you want.
If you're using the app away from home, you can set your DVR to record different shows. When you're on your home network, though, you can have the search results show up on your television, at which point your phone transforms into a remote you can use to scroll through menus and the like. With the TV, too, you can wade through various programs, as well as search for sports content or ask the app to switch to a certain channel (saying either the channel name or number will work). You can even tell the app to go back through menus, but you can't use your voice to access features like the settings menu. No word on when the beta will roll out, except that it'll happen sometime this summer.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD
29/12/2012 - DirecTV Genie whole-home DVR review
We're very happy that 2012 ended up being the year of whole-home DVRs. We reviewed Dish Network's Hopper earlier this year and now we've spent some quality time with DirecTV's Genie -- can't say we expected the cute names. Capable of serving up to eight rooms in your house (but only four at once), the Genie system works with a variety of setups, including being built into some newer Samsung TVs. Only available as part of DirecTV service, the Genie can be had for free by some new DirecTV customers who are willing to sign a term agreement and select the right package, and available to existing customers as an upgrade for $300 depending on the circumstances. If DirecTV didn't already have you at five tuners, 1TB and up to eight rooms, then click through for a full rundown on the latest the original direct satellite broadcast TV provider has to offer.
Continue reading DirecTV Genie whole-home DVR review
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
28/12/2012 - DirecTV 'price adjustment' will raise rates about 4.5 percent in February
DirecTV announced today that it will raise its prices effected February 7, 2013, with the average customer's bill going up about 4.5 percent. The card shown above displays the new rates (hit the source link to see them all) which it claims are up less than cable competitor's price hikes, and are pushed by programming costs that have gone up eight percent. The last time we noted an increase in prices, DirecTV had just added a slew of HD channels. This time, it comes after a year that's seen a number of DVR upgrades, more new channels, a lower price for Sunday Ticket, the launch DirecTV Everywhere features and, of course, a battle over programming costs with Viacom. We predicted that last bit would be reflected sooner or later in a pricing adjustment and it appears the time has come. So tell us DirecTV customers, are the new features, and keeping all those channels worth an increase to you, or are you thinking of moving on?
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: DirecTV
31/08/2012 - DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket returns to PS3 in time for the upcoming football season
With this year's National Football League season almost ready to kick off (not taking pre-season games into consideration, of course), DirecTV's properly preparing itself on all entertainment cylinders. The satellite provider announced earlier today that the well-known Sunday Ticket package will be returning to the PlayStation 3 on September 4th via a PS Store update, allowing current subscribers to stream full-HD games directly to Sony's renowned console. As for those without any current attachments to DirecTV, however, there is an option out there -- one which costs a familiar $300 per NFL season. We've still got a few days until the madness gets started, which should be plenty of time to get approval from your better half to snag the action-packed ticket.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket returns to PS3 in time for the upcoming football season originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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17/07/2012 - With DirecTV and Viacom at Odds, Apple HDTV Suffers
The continuing litigation between Viacom and DirecTV reached new levels this week, as Viacom pulled all of its stations from DirecTV’s more than twenty million subscribers. With the two media giants battling over internet rights and increased pricing, owners of Apple’s forthcoming HDTV service may find themselves losing out.20/04/2012 - DirecTV drops NFL Sunday Ticket price for current subscribers
After raising the price of its NFL Sunday Ticket package last season, this year DirecTV is dropping it back down for current subscribers, to just $199. Of course, most of the impetus for the price drop is probably because so many current subs are people who signed up for the service last season with Sunday Ticket as a freebie, but we're sure regular customers will gladly keep the cash in their pockets. Another change for the 2012 season is the NFL Sunday Ticket Max package, which includes all the extras of SuperFan and To-Go (RedZone Channel, streaming to iOS and Android mobile devices, Short Cuts, VOD highlights, etc.) extras as a part of the bundle for an extra $100 to existing customers, or for $299.95. There's no word on any additional game consoles or internet only packages yet, but at least with the lockout a distant memory, football fans have all offseason to decide if they want to shell out for it.
Continue reading DirecTV drops NFL Sunday Ticket price for current subscribers
DirecTV drops NFL Sunday Ticket price for current subscribers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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02/12/2011 - DirecTV's new five tuner HR34 Home Media Center DVR ready to launch December 8th?
DirecTV's new five tuner HR34 Home Media Center DVR ready to launch December 8th? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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03/11/2011 - DirecTV adds more subscribers than ever, will push live streaming, HD UI, and multiroom DVRs
DirecTV adds more subscribers than ever, will push live streaming, HD UI, and multiroom DVRs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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22/10/2011 - DirecTV shows off its new HD UI with a website and trailer, still no release date
[Thanks, Stuart & cypherstream]
DirecTV shows off its new HD UI with a website and trailer, still no release date originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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29/08/2011 - More DirecTV Nomad info uncovered, but details are still fuzzy
More DirecTV Nomad info uncovered, but details are still fuzzy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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17/08/2011 - DirecTV brings NFL Sunday Ticket to Android tablets and the PS3 this fall
Update: Looking for the online only package for PCs and mobile devices from last year? It will become available September 1st, for the same $350 price as in 2010.
Continue reading DirecTV brings NFL Sunday Ticket to Android tablets and the PS3 this fall
DirecTV brings NFL Sunday Ticket to Android tablets and the PS3 this fall originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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05/08/2011 - DirecTV's US subscriber growth slows, but it still cracks 30 million customers worldwide
Apparently if the question is "who needs more HD channels" then the answer is... not DirecTV. Despite a list of frustrations that includes its lack of AMC, BBC America and other oft-requested HD feeds and the eternally coming soon DirecTiVo, the satellite company just cracked 30 million customers in total. Growth is slowing however, as it only added 26,000 customers, compared to 100,000 in the same quarter last year. While there's no word on whether it will be broadcasting Mad Men in HD next year, CEO Michael White made a passing comment about "the Hulu software" having nice aspects to it that could relate to making its programming available everywhere. Comcast filed a lawsuit against DirecTV advertising "free NFL Sunday Ticket" for new subscribers, claiming the ads don't mention a two year subscription is required for it.DirecTV's US subscriber growth slows, but it still cracks 30 million customers worldwide originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments05/08/2011 - DirecTV's US subscriber growth slows, but it still cracks 30 million customers worldwide
Apparently if the question is "who needs more HD channels" then the answer is... not DirecTV. Despite a list of frustrations that includes its lack of AMC, BBC America and other oft-requested HD feeds and the eternally coming soon DirecTiVo, the satellite company just cracked 30 million customers in total. Growth is slowing however, as it only added 26,000 customers, compared to 100,000 in the same quarter last year. While there's no word on whether it will be broadcasting Mad Men in HD next year, CEO Michael White made a passing comment about "the Hulu software" having nice aspects to it that could relate to making its programming available everywhere. Comcast filed a lawsuit against DirecTV advertising "free NFL Sunday Ticket" for new subscribers, claiming the ads don't mention a two year subscription is required for it.Update: Still looking for word on the DirecTiVo? Checking the transcripts of the investor call (via Gizmo Lovers) there was a comment on a "high definition UI" coming in the fourth quarter, with Pandora. We'd express optimism that this was actually about the TiVo box, but we know better than that by now.
DirecTV's US subscriber growth slows, but it still cracks 30 million customers worldwide originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments21/07/2011 - DirecTV's latest HD add is Telefutura in Miami, but who needs more channels anyway?
In a surprisingly rare occurrence these days, DirecTV has a new HD channel to announce, now that it's carrying WAMI / Telefutura in the Miami area. Unfortunately, if you're a primarily English speaking customer there's not much to report, and according to a recent interview with Multichannel News, DirecTV thinks that's just fine. Executive VP Derek Chang told the site that after cracking 100 channels it became "more about the overall experience" (unless that experience is a new DirecTiVo) and that everyone has most of the important stuff in HD. Of course, we know from some of our readers comments that missing AMC, BBC America and more is leaving some of "the important stuff" out. That sounds like poll time to us, so whether you're DirecTV subscriber or not, pick one of the options below and let us know how you feel about their channel lineup.[Thanks, cypherstream]
Continue reading DirecTV's latest HD add is Telefutura in Miami, but who needs more channels anyway?
DirecTV's latest HD add is Telefutura in Miami, but who needs more channels anyway? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments20/06/2011 - ReplayTV guide data comes to an end July 31st
ReplayTV guide data comes to an end July 31st originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments25/03/2011 - DirecTV to add a few HD channels from HBO next week
If you've been waiting for new HD channels from DirecTV, and not just 3D, congratulations, as forum posts on DBSTalk reveal Cinemax HD, HBO Signature HD and HBO Family HD are headed to the service on the 30th. Of course, if you're not signed up for the HBO pack of channels it won't do much for you, but at least the rumored delay of the next season of Mad Men gives the satellite company a little more time to get AMC HD up and running.[Thanks, Joe]
DirecTV to add a few HD channels from HBO next week originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 23:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments19/03/2011 - DirecTV's H25 satellite receivers enter the wild
[Thanks, DirecTV Tech]
DirecTV's H25 satellite receivers enter the wild originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments05/03/2011 - Theaters threaten boycott over DirecTV's proposed premium VOD
Theaters threaten boycott over DirecTV's proposed premium VOD originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments18/02/2011 - DirecTV adds YouTube video streaming to its DVRs
[Thanks, cypherstream]
DirecTV adds YouTube video streaming to its DVRs originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments11/10/2010 - DirecTV's Nomad might satisfy our thirst for content on the go
We're always looking for ways to get one step closer to the content dream we just have to believe we are destined for -- anything, anywhere, anytime -- and a recent DirecTV survey about mobile viewing habits might be one of those things. To add to the clues, DirecTV recently trademarked the name mentioned in the survey, DirecTV Nomad, and has even gotten it UL certified with the model number MDR1R0-01. If you believe everything in the survey, you'll believe that Nomad will let you consume DirecTV on your portable device while you travel from place to place. What isn't clear is if this a streaming device like a Slingbox, or if you can copy the content onto your device and consume it on planes and trains, but with rumors just now surfacing, more than likely it'll be months before we know for sure.DirecTV's Nomad might satisfy our thirst for content on the go originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments25/09/2010 - Follow the money; the real reason why your AVR doesn't support DirecTV's 3D
Follow this industry and you learn to accept that manufacturers are only motivated to add new features to new products, but when we first heard that DirecTV's 3D signal wouldn't let you pass frame compatible 3D through older AV receivers, we were scratching our heads. Sure the receiver never claimed to be 3D compatible, but the entire point of using frame compatible 3D instead of doubling the HD signal for 3D like Blu-ray is so the signal can be transmitted via existing HD equipment. So while DirecTV gets away with making minimal changes to its infrastructure, you have to replace just about everything you own. What was a mystery, is now crystal clear and of course its always about money, it isn't necessarily about DirecTV's money, this time. You see RealD owns the patent on frame compatible 3D formats like side by side, and if a display or receiver manufacturer wants its EDID on the list of supported devices, they have to pay for that right. So it isn't that DirecTV wants to prevent you from using your old receiver as much as it is about preventing those who don't license RealD's patents from being able to display 3D. Nice huh, but no one ever said it was about the customer.Follow the money; the real reason why your AVR doesn't support DirecTV's 3D originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments12/09/2010 - Poll: How does NFL RedZone compare to DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket?
Continue reading Poll: How does NFL RedZone compare to DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket?
Poll: How does NFL RedZone compare to DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments10/08/2010 - DirecTV launches Fox Soccer Channel HD tomorrow
Continue reading DirecTV launches Fox Soccer Channel HD tomorrow
DirecTV launches Fox Soccer Channel HD tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments02/08/2010 - DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket adds SuperFan (HD games, Red Zone) for all, streaming is extra
With football season ready to kick off yet again there's still no good news for those who want Sunday Ticket without DirecTV, but if you do have the right satellite hookup then there are a few new wrinkles in 2010. First the bad news, at five payments of $59.99 the price has risen yet again to $299.95, but this year features that used to require the $99 SuperFan add-on -- every game in high definition, Game Mix Channel, Red Zone Channel, Short Cuts -- are included, so if that's what you wanted then the price has actually gone down. One SuperFan feature that's still extra is access to streaming games, now broken out on its own at NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go, it brings 14 Sunday ticket games every week, Red Zone Channel, highlights, stats and more via the internet (PC, Mac, Android, iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, webOS, Windows Mobile) for an additional five payments of $9.95. Check the press release after the break for all the details, but we're pretty sure this is the kind of decision that makes itself for most NFL fans.DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket adds SuperFan (HD games, Red Zone) for all, streaming is extra originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments27/07/2010 - Fox Soccer Channel HD coming to DirecTV in time for Premiere League play
Fox Soccer Channel HD coming to DirecTV in time for Premiere League play originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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