Satellite TV

Another DirecTV 2Go Device Surfaces

DirecTV’s press conference isn’t until Thursday evening, but two manufacturers have already outted DirecTV 2Go. First was Humax with a generic looking PMC. Next up is RCA, with this sexy Lyra X3000. In addition to the DTV interface and content, these devices also handle a variety of multimedia. The Lyra is expected to hit stores this month at a competitive $399.

Details of the DTV 2Go service itself are still sketchy at this point, though it’s clear it will not be immediately available upon the Lyra’s release — a free software upgrade will be available later this year. It’s not clear what XM (XM2Go) and TiVo (TiVoToGo) have to say about their naming strategy. ;)

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DirecTV Partners With Humax For PMP, LCD TVs

Guess that LCD TV running TiVo software didn’t pan out, as Humax two-times TiVo and integrates a DirecTV tuner instead. First up, the 20″ SD model, followed later in the year by a 16:9 32″ HDTV. But wait, it gets better… DirecTV 2Go is official and will be powered by a Humax portable media player … Read more

DirecTV Goes Mobile

DirecTV is joining TiVo and Dish as a competitor in the portable media market. Next week they’ll be announcing a new partnership, possibly with a hardware vendor and NBC, as part of this mobile content initiative. No word yet regarding which DTV models, current or yet-to-come, and portable devices will be covered. There’s strength in … Read more

Town Renames Itself DISH

EchoStar found a willing recipient for their absurd DISH City Makeover promotion which launched in August. In exchange for selling out, all 125 residents of DISH, Texas (formerly Clark) will receive 10 years of DISH Network programming. While this promotion officially ended November 1, it appears EchoStar is willing to take on other cities. So … Read more

XM Arrives on DirecTV

XM on DTV

As previously reported, 72 XM stations were scheduled to debut on DirecTV today… and they did. Tim Bilbro, my man in the field, provided some pics and commentary: “The sound is crystal clear and stereo. The rating systems work with your parental controls as well. The display of whatÂ’s playing on screen is off on some channels.” Despite the sporadic song info synchronization issue, it sounds good to me as a free upgrade!

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DirecTV Sells NBC Shows For 99 Cents

How much are you willing to pay for commercial-free TV? How much would you pay to watch that content through a DVR which already let’s you bypass commercials? DirecTV and NBC think you’ll pony up 99 cents a show using their new DVR, available at Best Buy and Circuit City later this month. We’ve definitely … Read more

DirecTV and LG Embrace MPEG-4

DirecTV and LG have announced a partnership to produce set-top boxes capable of decoding MPEG-4 HD broadcasts. As with the phasing out of analog TV, the conversion to MPEG-4 will most likely take some time – your current DTV hardware is safe… for now. Additionally, these new Linux-based LG boxes will support pre-existing MPEG-2 and … Read more

PocketDISH(es) Released

Dish Network has just released their custom branded Archos portable media devices. They come in three flavors, corresponding to various LCD and hard drive sizes at different price points: $329, $499, $599. Dish, part owner of Archos, includes support for high-speed Dish DVR downloads. Dish Network says: With the choice of a crystal-clear 2.2-inch, 4-inch … Read more