CES-2011 PR: DIRECTV and Samsung Showcase Multi-room DVR Technology On Samsung Smart TVs

[Ilya]

January 06, 2011 08:12 PM Eastern Time

Samsung and DIRECTV Partner to Deliver World’s First RVU-Compatible Production Television

DIRECTV and Samsung Showcase Multi-room DVR Technology On Samsung Smart TVs

2011 International CES
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today at the International Consumer Electronics Show, DIRECTV and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced they have partnered to present the world’s first RVU-compatible production televisions, which will provide more than 19.1 million DIRECTV subscribers with the ability to watch live broadcast and stored content from their DVR on Samsung smart TVs, without the need for additional set-top boxes. As founding members of the RVU Alliance, Samsung and DIRECTV are committed to providing a more seamless entertainment experience for consumers across multiple rooms and a variety of screens, through the use of standardized Remote User Interface (RUI) technology.

The RVU protocol will be supported on Samsung’s LED D6000, LED D6400 and LED 6420 TV products that reflect the company’s commitment to delivering consumers high-quality, visually enhanced and connected entertainment experiences in their home. A RUI technology based on industry standards such as DLNA and UPnP, RVU allows a set-top box server to provide a multi-room, complete viewing experience that includes DVR services, without the need for additional set-top boxes in homes that have more than one connected TV.

“We are very happy to be working with an esteemed satellite provider like DIRECTV and provide the world first RVU service to consumers with Samsung TV,” said Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung’s Visual Display Business. “Products developed on RVU standards, one of the major RUI standards, will help accelerate the development of features and applications that can provide our customers with a truly customizable, immersive entertainment experience that can be enjoyed from the comfort of the home.”

“The CES demonstration of the first RVU compliant television is exciting news for the industry and consumers who want a consistent, superior user experience throughout the home,” said Romulo Pontual, CTO of DIRECTV. “Making DIRECTV features and content available to Samsung’s televisions through the RVU server allows consumers to enjoy our innovative service without the need for additional set-top boxes. We are pleased to see our successful partnership with Samsung expand to include support for RVU in their 2011 model range.”

Capable of supporting multiple connected televisions, DIRECTV’s RVU server enables the UI and features to be displayed directly on those connected TVs. Under this partnership, Samsung will embed support for RVU in their smart TVs and provide its customers with the full DIRECTV experience, including DVR services, live pause abilities on all screens in the home, 200 hours worth of shared storage, picture-in-picture capabilities and the power to record up to five shows at once. Samsung’s RVU-compatible TVs will be available in March 2011.

More information on Samsung’s Smart TV strategy and Samsung’s new partnerships were announced during Mr. Boo-Keun Yoon’s keynote address, which can now be viewed at www.samsungces2011.com.

The Samsung RVU-compatible production TV will be on display at Booth #12006 in the Central Hall at the International Consumer Electronics Show, at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), January 6-9, 2011.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of US$116.8 billion. Employing approximately 174,000 people in 193 offices across 66 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. Samsung is also the HDTV market leader in the U.S. Please visit http://www.samsung.com for more information.

About DIRECTV

DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is the world's most popular video service delivering state-of-the-art technology, unmatched programming, the most comprehensive sports packages available and industry leading customer service to its more than 27.6 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America. In the U.S., DIRECTV offers its 19.1 million customers access to 160 HD channels and Dolby-Digital(R) 5.1 theater-quality sound (when available), access to exclusive sports programming such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM), award winning technology like its DIRECTV(R) DVR Scheduler and higher customer satisfaction than the leading cable companies for 10 years running. DIRECTV Latin America, through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries, leads the pay-TV category in technology, programming and service, delivering an unrivaled digital television experience to 8.5 million customers. DIRECTV sports and entertainment properties include three Regional Sports Networks (Northwest, Rocky Mountain and Pittsburgh) as well as a 65 percent interest in Game Show Network. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please call 1-800-DIRECTV or visit DIRECTV.com.

 

[harshness]

Kinda odd that they say that RVU is available to all DIRECTV subscribers when a minority of the subscribers have a suitable HD DVR and only a tiny fraction of those have them suitably networked.

The "live broadcast" part is certainly welcome news.

 

[stonecold]

Kinda odd that they say that RVU is available to all DIRECTV subscribers when a minority of the subscribers have a suitable HD DVR and only a tiny fraction of those have them suitably networked.

The "live broadcast" part is certainly welcome news.

Your not speaking marketing speak. In marketing terms it is available to all DTV customers as no one is denied a hddvr if they want to pay for it. So there no one who does not have access to rvu tech . If you can afford a new samsun then you can afford to get and hddvr.

 

[mwgiii]

That is cool tech.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

We just done having a meeting with Entropic and this technology is VERY COOL.

DISH has a LOT of catching up to do!

 

[Ramy]

Yes very cool stuff coming from Directv.

 

[LonghornXP]

Is it just me for does this type of technology seem to be the main focus at CES this year. With FIOS, Comcast, TWC and DirecTV all announcing some type of hardware partner to support TV services over some form of IP technology it just seems like this is big. I for one think this is major news because many companies could start offering IP support to affordable bluray players that can support live TV channels, VOD and recorded DVR content from your subscription. This just seems like one heck of a major jump in evolution. Yes I would love to have a Tivo support VOD etc but this new stuff is just extremly close to what I want to shed off the crappy and expensive HD DVR boxes BHN provides. The next company to offer a four tuner HD DVR (as in cable/satellite company) with at least a 500GB drive (with the ability to add more storage space) that supports a decent selection of alternative set-top boxes such as bluray players will get my business without a doubt. For now though I wouldn't mind having to get two HD DVRs though. I like the prospect of being able to record from all my DVR boxes and still use a bluray player to watch another live TV show via IP.

I'm really excited to see exactly how far this technology will move.

 

[dfergie]

The meeting with the Entropic people was very interesting...

 

[harshness]

This just seems like one heck of a major jump in evolution. Yes I would love to have a Tivo support VOD etc but this new stuff is just extremly close to what I want to shed off the crappy and expensive HD DVR boxes BHN provides.

Think of BHN as being in the dark ages. Multi-TV DVRs have been around for a while. Uverse has been a full IP offering from the git-go.

BHN is not taking full advantage of the fact that they are a terrestrial service with the ability to route content to those who want it. If you load up your VOD offerings with current TV series, you can easily cut your customer storage requirements by over half.

Of course BHN can also put a dagger in the heart of the excitement if they establish some tight caps on bandwidth...

 

[uncrules]

Is it just me for does this type of technology seem to be the main focus at CES this year. With FIOS, Comcast, TWC and DirecTV all announcing some type of hardware partner to support TV services over some form of IP technology it just seems like this is big. I for one think this is major news because many companies could start offering IP support to affordable bluray players that can support live TV channels, VOD and recorded DVR content from your subscription. This just seems like one heck of a major jump in evolution. Yes I would love to have a Tivo support VOD etc but this new stuff is just extremly close to what I want to shed off the crappy and expensive HD DVR boxes BHN provides. The next company to offer a four tuner HD DVR (as in cable/satellite company) with at least a 500GB drive (with the ability to add more storage space) that supports a decent selection of alternative set-top boxes such as bluray players will get my business without a doubt. For now though I wouldn't mind having to get two HD DVRs though. I like the prospect of being able to record from all my DVR boxes and still use a bluray player to watch another live TV show via IP.

I'm really excited to see exactly how far this technology will move.

XP, read this information that Jason Crandall posted in the D* forum that he got from dbstalk. It sounds like what you're looking for.

Here’s what I learned about the HMC30 (which I played with hands-on) at CES today from questioning a DirecTV product manager (not a clueless show temp but someone involved in the development). I was just a walk-up and there was no suggestion any of this was confidential – I wouldn’t post it if they had said it was. I think most of this is known (it certainly is by those beta testing but they have been under NDA) or has been speculated on already…

* 5 tuners
* Integrated PIP functionality – you’ll be able to watch two shows on the screen at the same time
* 1 terabyte drive included
* Software at launch will still limit season passes to 50 but they have plans to expand that in a later release – they only plan to expand it for the HMC30, not any of the existing HR2x boxes. He said it takes up a lot of background processing so it only makes sense for this box which has a faster processor.
* At launch software will, like current boxes, treat external HD’s as a replacement for the internal drive rather than an extension. However, for the HMC30 only they plan a software revision that will handle external HD’s as an expansion drive that doesn’t override the internal drive. This will be a big improvement.
* It is compatible with MRV so even though the theory is it acts as a “server” for multiple rooms you can still pair it with other DVR’s if you want.
* RVU-compatible, so it can work remotely with box-free TV's that have RVU, which is currently only a subset of the 2011 Samsung LED line. For everyone else they have small boxes that work with the HMC30 to use remotely with your TV’s.
* Remote is unchanged. UI is unchanged. Look of the receiver is similar to current HR24, but not exactly (it seemed thicker but I didn't study it closely or measure -- I did take a pick on my phone).
* Launching “first half” of this year.

(In another note, the PM said there definitely is no plans to add undelete/delete recovery feature like on the TiVo and some other brands. He said it has been internally debated a few times and settled as a no at least for the time being.)

I am only passing on what I was told (or saw). I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the info, though it was clearly a knowledgeable DirecTV employee.