DirecTV is set to launch its Home Media Center in October, and today it was confirmed that the television provider selected Pace’s HR34 as the new service’s server hub. Pace said this product will be the first fully interconnected DVR experience for the satellite TV industry, enabling customers to pause live video, bookmark programs, set recordings and choose which recorded or paused programming they want to watch from any connected device in their household. In addition to connected TVs, this could include things like PCs, laptops, tablet computers and Blu-ray players.
Pace’s HR34 makes this level of integration and control possible, and it includes a terabyte of central storage space rather than requiring each device to have its own hard drive. Pace said this meant consumers could move content and interact with entertainment in line with how they move around their homes.
“The Home Media Center is another industry first for DirecTV,” said Romulo Pontual, executive vice president and chief technology officer for DirecTV. “With Pace, we can now offer unique capabilities that consistently optimize the TV viewing experience. Innovation and reliability are critical to us in this incredibly fast-paced market, and Pace is the long-term technology leader.”
The HR34 incorporates multiple tuners to deliver up to five simultaneous high definition streams. For those who like looking under the hood, HR34 uses the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) standard to share content over coaxial cable or Ethernet networks. It’s fully compliant with the RVU specification, ensuring that the viewing and utilization experience remains consistent throughout the network, and it implements UPnP and DLNA technologies.
“There is a strong and growing demand for interconnected capabilities in the home,” says Mike Pulli, president of Pace Americas. “The HR34 is a game changing technology that demonstrates our strategic vision of the interconnected home-networking evolution. This is the future of home media centers in the pay-TV industry.”
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Photo by flickr user Brian Cantoni, used under Creative Commons license
This new receiver and their Nomad set up isn’t really as good as I thought it was going to be. Working for DISH Network I decided to compare it side by side with the Sling Adapter from DISH, and it’s clear to see that the Nomad can’t really compete. Not only is it a lot more expensive, it doesn’t have the same amount of features. Mostly, you can only store up to 20 hours of recording time on the Nomad, and they all have to be transferred over from the receiver, that takes forever. Not to mention that you’re not allowed to stream live TV and there is a restriction on the mobile devices this works on.
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