Intel to Launch Public Beta of Viiv DV-R Service with DirecTV
January 10, 2007, 4:44 PM
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: In an official connection of the proverbial dots between satellite TV service and home computers, Intel announced at CES today it will begin public trials later this year of a streaming media service to customers of DirecTV HD Plus DVR service. Apparently, the aim is to enable streaming of content captured by DirecTV-branded DVRs throughout the household, by means of Viiv PCs.
In prior years, TiVo had been the supplier of choice for DirecTV DVRs, though that partnership was severed last year. This year at CES, Comcast took DirecTV's place, making TiVo the preferred supplier of DV-Rs for the US' largest CATV provider. The Intel alliance for DirecTV, announced last year at CES, will give it the opportunity to produce Viiv components that take over the set-top box role, while at the same time act as home media servers for DirecTV content.
Kevin Corbett, Vice President, Intel Digital Home Group: [from prepared statement] 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. 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."
Scott Fulton: Today's statement verifies that high-definition signals will be involved in the trial. Earlier at CES, DirecTV announced its pending rollout of a 100-channel HD lineup in full resolution, scheduled for Q3 2007. Many of the channels in DirecTV's HD lineup are in 720p resolution, though ESPN has been experimenting off and on with 1080p.
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