# DIRECTV and Intel Bring Connectivity to TV, PC



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

*DIRECTV and Intel Bring Connectivity to TV, PC*

Intel, DIRECTV Customers Can Now Play Music and View Pictures on Their TVs from Their Intel® Viiv™ Technology-Based PCs Via Their DIRECTV Plus® HD DVRs

2007 International CES

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite television service provider, announces that the DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR has been verified with Intel® Viiv™ technology. With this certification, DIRECTV becomes largest supplier of Viiv-verified digital media adapters (DMAs).

DIRECTV customers who have a DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR can now access and enjoy their pictures and music on their TVs directly from Intel Viiv technology-based PCs. The DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR is the world's first digital set-top box with integrated DMA functionality verified to work with Intel Viiv technology.

"We announced our alliance with Intel at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show and we are happy to be here today, one year later, to show you the fruits of our labor," said Romulo Pontual, executive vice president and CTO, DIRECTV, Inc. "The way people consume media is rapidly evolving and connectivity between digital devices is becoming an essential part of the home ecosystem. DIRECTV understands this evolution and is delivering innovative solutions to make sure our customers stay connected."

"Today's announcement marries the millions of Intel Viiv technology-based PC owners with DIRECTV's high-definition TV viewers in a way that has never been done before," said Kevin Corbett, vice president, Intel's Digital Home Group and general manager of its Content Services Group. "DIRECTV's product exemplifies what a digital or connected home is all about where PCs, TVs and CE devices all work in concert together and consumers enjoy their entertainment on a variety of screens and devices when and where they want to."

Photos and music are just the beginning. The Viiv functionality is already available as a public beta trial to all DIRECTV Plus HD DVR customers. Later this year, DIRECTV plans to enhance the photo and music experience, as well as provide the ability to stream video from Intel Viiv technology-based PCs via DIRECTV Plus HD DVRs.

Delivering the ability to record and view 200 hours of standard definition content or 50 hours of MPEG 4 high-definition programming, the DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR receiver verified with Intel Viiv technology enables consumers to access and enjoy new experiences that combine the best of the TV with the best of the PC.

DIRECTV has established a dedicated location on the DIRECTV Web site to help customers understand the new connectivity options available to them. For more information and support customers can visit www.directv.com/viiv.


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## jimmyt (Mar 9, 2005)

so.. the rest of us with out viiv - which is probably 99.9%  - are left out cold.. so I hope that this works for 3 people out there that have viiv and an hr20


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## Rockywwf (Aug 21, 2006)

jimmyt said:


> so.. the rest of us with out viiv - which is probably 99.9%  - are left out cold.. so I hope that this works for 3 people out there that have viiv and an hr20


Exactly what I was thinking!


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

Just as long as D* gets the HR20 UPnP/DLNA compliant we should all be OK, including we Mac addicts. That's all that needs to be said


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## brewer4 (Aug 19, 2006)

Most folks have been able to get it working through other methods on non-Viiv machines. I have Vista on a 64 bit AMD and it works. Not well, but works. Better off with PC and an extender like Xbox 360.


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## fpd917 (Aug 16, 2006)

There is never any love for the Apple owners.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Seems like a solution in search of a problem.

I'm over 40 and still don't understand why somebody would watch TV on their computer or listen to music in this fashion.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Kinda hints at what a non-event the Viiv initiative has been. It seems that among those who have managed to get it to work, more than a handful of them are using non-Viiv platforms.

It is notable that full Viiv support involves interactive gaming which may be of significantly more interest for the WebTV types.


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## SDizzle (Jan 1, 2007)

jimmyt said:


> so.. the rest of us with out viiv - which is probably 99.9%  - are left out cold.. so I hope that this works for 3 people out there that have viiv and an hr20


This just goes to show that though the majority of the HR20 users do not have a need or avenue for ViiV (I'm using the members here as my platform for this statement), D* just pushed the ViiV connectivity in the software upgrade recently just so they could "Brag" at CES :goodjob: Why not give the HR20 users (whom have this to use as a DVR, not a source for pics and music) what they really want........like....oh......dual buffered tuners  Yes, that would be nice for a start


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## mitchelljd (Aug 16, 2006)

fpd917 said:


> There is never any love for the Apple owners.


you never know, Apple could have some VIIV stuff up it's sleeves because of their alliances with Intel.

however, i think apple has created much better solutions that intel's Viiv. No one even knows what it is.

The new Apple TV device. essentially a set top box/media center without a full computer needed, will provide a much better solution than ViiV. and there is an intel chip in it. so who knows, it may integrate and provide a much better solution.

but to be honest, the day Apple integrated with a bug infested piece of Hardware like the HR20 is kinda like seeing pigs fly. 
I don't think that will happen, but some ViiV interoperability would be nice from apple.

Besides, dont worry, Apple will have a great solution soon enough i bet.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

mitchelljd said:


> you never know, Apple could have some VIIV stuff up it's sleeves because of their alliances with Intel.
> 
> however, i think apple has created much better solutions that intel's Viiv. No one even knows what it is.
> 
> ...


Call me when Apple creates a SAT based receiver... for either system.
Or one that supports Cable-Cards for those that want to go that route.

So I don't have to have yet another device in my media center..

Again... as I have pointed out now dozens of times.
The HR20 simply looks to talk to a Media Server... period... end of story.

It asks the Media Server for the list of what is available... then it asks for the binary stream of that item when selected. That's it.

So one of these days... a Media Server will get tweaked enough for the Blessed Apple OS platform... and all will be well.

iMac
iPod
iTunes
iPhone
iTV

How about.... iNeedANewMarketingIdea...

What is with the moon this week...

Either every topic some how gets to Apple issues, DirecTV is out to get us, or re-hashing old topics....
Maybe it is just me... and I need a break.


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## magellanmtb (Nov 19, 2006)

fpd917 said:


> There is never any love for the Apple owners.


unless you were smart enough to buy the stock a year and half ago. Then everyone loves you


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## monetnj (Sep 28, 2004)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Call me when Apple creates a SAT based receiver... for either system.
> Or one that supports Cable-Cards for those that want to go that route.
> 
> So I don't have to have yet another device in my media center..
> ...


Pretty easy to explain really. Macworld is going on in San Francisco right now so the mac platform is foremost in the mind of owners.

FYI, it is called appleTV not iTV. They also decided to rename the company Apple Inc. from Apple Computer Inc. to emphasize that they have become a consumer electronics company more like Sony than just a computer company.


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## heaphus (Oct 30, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> How about.... iNeedANewMarketingIdea...


!rolling


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

monetnj said:


> FYI, it is called appleTV not iTV.


I know that... but it's original name, when it was first "talked" about was iTV


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Call me when Apple creates a SAT based receiver... for either system.
> Or one that supports Cable-Cards for those that want to go that route.
> 
> So I don't have to have yet another device in my media center..
> ...


Earl, I am a loyal Mac addict and always will be. I don't think the world is out to get us. It is not just Mac users that are having issues. *nix, AMD, and IBM/Freescale(PPC) based machines are also having issues.

Once D* gets the HR20 UPnP/DLNA certified this will all be a moot point. With all the UPnP media server software that is out there for all non Intel based machines we should all find something that works once the standards have been met. ViiV is just the first step, I hope. 
It would be nice to hear that D* is aware of the issue and will be working on a fix. From the response at tibber's Q&A is that we do not need any help. 
"Mac users with the HR20
Currently it is felt that MACs are supported thru the same tools that we at dbstalk have identified. "

Of the 182 HR20 user responses to my poll, 35% own a mac and 17% own both
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=75056
All we ask is a "yes, we know"


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## monetnj (Sep 28, 2004)

Earl Bonovich said:


> I know that... but it's original name, when it was first "talked" about was iTV


Yes, but at that time, Steve Jobs said that would not be its final name, only a working internal name. It doesn't seem quite fair to make fun of apple by including a pre-release product name and then defend D* by saying the product isn't finished yet.

I greatly respect you Earl and the balanced, well reasoned and informed by inside information type of posts you have come to be known for here and on other boards. However, I felt including that list of Apple products and then making fun of the names was not up to your usual level. No doubt brought on by frustration with the mac users complaining on this thread, but still, a bit harsh.

Frankly, I wouldn't care if D* decided to call my R15 the "HeyThisDVRTotallyRules.TakeThatE*ver1.5" if it worked half as well as my "i" Apple products did on Day 1, let alone almost a year after release. It's not about the name, but about the user experience.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

monetnj said:


> Yes, but at that time, Steve Jobs said that would not be its final name, only a working internal name. It doesn't seem quite fair to make fun of apple by including a pre-release product name and then defend D* by saying the product isn't finished yet.


Okay... fair enough.

Replace iTV

With iSight, iChat, or iLife

It was a joke.


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## monetnj (Sep 28, 2004)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Okay... fair enough.
> 
> Replace iTV
> 
> ...


Ok. But as you can see from the mac users on this thread, we tend to take this stuff seriously and we all know how intentions are often not tranlated very well in text. Believe me, having been on mac boards and having seen journalists eviscerated for daring to criticize the holy mac, the postings here are very tame.


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## machavez00 (Nov 2, 2006)

Once again, if D* can make the HR20 UPnP/DLNA compliant it will be a moot point. It will not matter what is on the other end, unless you are still running a Commodore 64 or a TRS-80! Whether or not D* has plans to is another question, maybe some at CES can ask them that.
:bang


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## redfiver (Nov 18, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> How about.... iNeedANewMarketingIdea...


With the loyalty they've built around these products, not to mention the uptick in the stock price, getting a new marketing idea would be just dumb. They've built an excellent brand, so they are milking it for everything it's worth. Oh, and they build some pretty cool products along the way. As a shareholder, I hope they keep milking the iLikeToRaiseTheStockPriceMarketingIdea as long as they can!


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

redfiver said:


> I hope they keep milking the iLikeToRaiseTheStockPriceMarketingIdea as long as they can!


Kinda back firing right now with iPhone though...
Blantantly using another companies trademarked/copywrited (wich ever it was)... name..... that you had started to have negotating with over that name.

On the flip side... it is also a deterent.
I know I was looking at the Viewsonic project that came out... and pretty much stopped when it had an iPod doc on it...

It is all good and dandy that they found something that worked...
But there does reach a point of saturation, and a turning point when it starts to back fire...

There is a reason why almost all companies change their slogans and their hooks... McDonalds, Nike, Sony, Microsoft, ect... they all have to change it up a bit.

Hence why iTV is now AppleTV

Now you all go tme doing it....

:backtotop


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## monetnj (Sep 28, 2004)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Kinda back firing right now with iPhone though...
> Blantantly using another companies trademarked/copywrited (wich ever it was)... name..... that you had started to have negotating with over that name.
> 
> On the flip side... it is also a deterent.
> ...


The iPhone issue will just take money to make it go away. Just like the Creative lawsuit over the iPod interface. Money is something Apple has a lot of as it seems you are in the minority when it comes to the naming scheme being a deterrent. Didn't I also once see you post in another thread that you were considering buying a Mac? Can't be that much of a deterrent!

Apple's slogan is actually "Think Different." The naming scheme for their consumer level products have the "i" in them, not their pro products. Thus Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Final Cut Pro etc. I don't see where they will have to stop this any time soon, no more than BMW changes the name of their products much from the 3xxi, 5xxi, 7xxi scheme or D* has plans to change the Rxx and HRxx formula for their receivers. The difference, I suppose, is that the "i" naming scheme has become immensely popular, and sometimes people don't like that.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

monetnj said:


> I don't see where they will have to stop this any time soon, no more than BMW changes the name of their products much from the 3xxi, 5xxi, 7xxi scheme or D* has plans to change the Rxx and HRxx formula for their receivers. The difference, I suppose, is that the "i" naming scheme has become immensely popular, and sometimes people don't like that.


When Apple starts putting fuel injection on their professional class equipment, they might suffix their names with an "i" too.


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## Milominderbinder2 (Oct 8, 2006)

jimmyt said:


> so.. the rest of us with out viiv - which is probably 99.9%  - are left out cold.. so I hope that this works for 3 people out there that have viiv and an hr20


No! They are not saying that the HR20 does not work with non-Viiv!

The HR20 works great *without* Viiv!

Click the _HR20 Networking Tips_ for setup instructions for Windows Media Player running on Windows XP.

- Craig


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## jimmyt (Mar 9, 2005)

thanks craig - I will check that out when my hr20 arrives sometime next month  - not that i need another media extender.. have a 360 and htpc hooked up.. but you can never have to many options!! The problem with the 360 is that v2.0 of media connect is a resource hog on the pc


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## tiger2005 (Sep 23, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Either every topic some how gets to Apple issues, DirecTV is out to get us, or re-hashing old topics....
> Maybe it is just me... and I need a break.


Earl,

I DEFINITELY think you need a break.


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## sorahl (Oct 24, 2002)

i just wish they would not disable the video playback!
I am running tversity and it shows video GREAT via my 360 but only music and photos via my hr20.
i'll refrain from any comments regarding Apple....


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## jimmyt (Mar 9, 2005)

sorahl - is tversity a resource hog like windows media connect? and do you need to share everything from windows media player?? 


sorry to take this off topic...


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## JerseyBoy (Sep 1, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Call me when Apple creates a SAT based receiver... for either system.
> Or one that supports Cable-Cards for those that want to go that route.
> 
> So I don't have to have yet another device in my media center..
> ...


Getting back to Directv DVR issues and features what I want is to have 2 HR20s on the LAN and be able to watch stuff recorded on either system from the one that I am currently using. Just like I have been able to do with my 2 ReplayTV boxes for the past several years. Or another solution to the same problem would be a set top box that I could have in the bedroom that would allow me to stream from either recorded material or the tuners on the HR20 in the family room.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

JerseyBoy said:


> Getting back to Directv DVR issues and features what I want is to have 2 HR20s on the LAN and be able to watch stuff recorded on either system from the one that I am currently using.


You'll get little in the way of argument from fellow viewers, but I doubt that the content producers will have anything to do with a system such as you propose.


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## sorahl (Oct 24, 2002)

Harsh,

I dont' know why they woudl object. We aren't sayign we want to copy the content from the HR20 to a pc, jsut from one HR20 to another HR20 in our house. Why would they care if we watch the program we recorded already on our screen upstairs or downstairs??

sorahl


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## mcaswell (Dec 26, 2006)

I've been MAC fanatic since 1983 and just bought a 2.6 GHZ Dual Core MacPro 2 months ago... BUT..

Right now I don't care if I can't get VIIV to work on the MacPro running parallells for WinXP...


I want to be able to switch tuners, watch content on my other DVR's, and actually be able to watch the programs that record (if they record!) instead of looking at a blank screen and wondering why I upgraded from the DTivo HD unit.

I just want the DTV HR20 DVR to work like it should.

I'm just waiting for the iDVR from Apple Inc.


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## rwmorrisonjr (Jan 10, 2007)

sorahl said:


> Harsh,
> 
> I dont' know why they woudl object. We aren't sayign we want to copy the content from the HR20 to a pc, jsut from one HR20 to another HR20 in our house. Why would they care if we watch the program we recorded already on our screen upstairs or downstairs??
> 
> sorahl


I agree, you can already do it with a networked Tivo Series 2 with the content producers' belssings, so why not with D* and the HR20? I never use the Tivo product for my computer, so I don't see a need to develop one for the D* unit. Besides, I'm sure that someone will figure out how to do it in the near future.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

sorahl said:


> I dont' know why they woudl object. We aren't sayign we want to copy the content from the HR20 to a pc, jsut from one HR20 to another HR20 in our house.


You put something on a TCP/IP network, it can be grabbed by anything connected to the network. Say your network isn't just HR20s. I think you can see where this is going.

As for why the S2 can do it and the HR20 cannot, I point you directly at the TiVo S3 and how it cannot do MRV. It is the same reason. The movie houses aren't too concerned about SD versions getting out in the wild because they are, well... the SD versions. They are terrified about HD content getting into distribution without their customary tribute.


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