# DirecTV to announce partnership for content transfer to portable devices



## rgbyhkr (Jun 6, 2001)

Check this out:

http://www.engadget.com/2005/12/28/directv-to-announce-partnership-for-mobile-content-at-ces/

Finally!!! Hopefully a much easier way to take content on the go. $100 says it's only for the R15, though.

Jeff


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## SpacemanSpiff (Jan 31, 2004)

That's a sucker bet there Jeff.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Cool....... 

Hopefully "portable devices" include laptops...


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## lee espinoza (Aug 21, 2002)

rgbyhkr said:


> Check this out:
> 
> http://www.engadget.com/2005/12/28/directv-to-announce-partnership-for-mobile-content-at-ces/
> 
> ...


I do not see were it is for the R-15 only or $100


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## youngdr (Jan 10, 2002)

lee espinoza said:


> I do not see were it is for the R-15 only or $100


He's betting, for $100, that it will only be for the R-15.


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## lee espinoza (Aug 21, 2002)

youngdr said:


> He's betting, for $100, that it will only be for the R-15.


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## jmoak (Jun 20, 2000)

How about a bet that there will be no pc support and that you can only transfer to their "Approved Partner's Portable Devices"? (ala DishPlayer)

engadget gets this from dave zatz' site and he makes no mention of pc's at all.

note the "theyll be announcing a new partnership" line. Not a feature, not an ability, but a "partnership".

God, I hope they prove me wrong. But I'm just not that confident that they "love" me as much as they claim anymore.


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## tivolocity (Aug 12, 2002)

I think its a pretty safe bet that its only for the R15, and HR20-250. It will be interesting is to see if the "TiVo or death" members will now warm up to these non-TiVo DVRs. Especially, if you can get the content onto a PC [which i think is a real stretch]. Or, if this will be seen as a useless gimmick.

Personally, mobile doesn't do much for me. However, archiving to a hard drive or DVD, is huge.


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

I can get the content from my Tivo Powered HDVR2 and DVR40 today onto any computer/portable device I own TODAY.
This announcement is a bunch of :meh to me.


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## lee espinoza (Aug 21, 2002)

Gunnyman said:


> I can get the content from my Tivo Powered HDVR2 and DVR40 today onto any computer/portable device I own TODAY.
> This announcement is a bunch of :meh to me.


but to the people who don't have there tivo hacked this may mean a lot


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## tivolocity (Aug 12, 2002)

I think Gunny just answered my question.  Also, this doesn't automatically imply that you're in the "TiVo or death" crowd Gunny.


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## lee espinoza (Aug 21, 2002)

Scott Greczkowski at Satguys is hearing that the partner is Sony and the player would be a Sony PSP.


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

good,
cuz I do own an R15 along with the Tivos.
For what does, it does it well.
I look at these units this way:
Dtivos are Tivo's 1st and Satellite receivers 2nd. The function is great! The features are solid. The interface for average joe tv watcher who likes to channel surf is :meh.
R15 is a Sat receiver 1st and a DVR 2nd. The interface is GEARED to joe channel surfer. The rest of the functions are :meh (all this is IMHO don't smack me around)


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

lee espinoza said:


> Scott Greczkowski at Satguys is hearing that the partner is Sony and the player would be a Sony PSP.


then they are shooting themselves in the foot.
The install base of iPod with Video is likely greater, or it soon will be.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Oh I hope not.... purchasing a Sony PSP just so I can watch some shows on my commute....
Why can't we all just get along and get a standard portable codec that can be played on any compatible device...


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

we have one it's called H.264


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## rgbyhkr (Jun 6, 2001)

Gunnyman said:


> then they are shooting themselves in the foot.
> The install base of iPod with Video is likely greater, or it soon will be.


I agree that if they exclude Video iPods, it's a huge mistake. However, what remains to be seen is how they handle the content transfer. If it can be offloaded to a PC first, then there are more options. DRM issues are the other key factor of course.

If that picture in the article is an official DTV promo, I take from it that they will support transfer to PCs ("...blurring the line between your TV, *computer* and mobile devices." - the mockup also includes a PC monitor ) as well as Portable Media Center devices. I'm actually going to CES so I will be sure to ask questions about the specifics. Speaking of that, if any of you have specifics you'd like me to ask about, post them in this thread and I'll check it before I go. It may be best to wait on their official announcement to see what more info it contains before asking questions. I'll be attending Saturday and Sunday so there probably will be an announcement by them before then.

Jeff


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## SpacemanSpiff (Jan 31, 2004)

Well, you could ask them if they're gonna go back to XM, enable the USB ports on stock DTiVo's and enable all the HMO stuff.


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## Lee L (Oct 1, 2003)

ebonovic said:


> Oh I hope not.... purchasing a Sony PSP just so I can watch some shows on my commute....
> Why can't we all just get along and get a standard portable codec that can be played on any compatible device...


But if that was the case, you could single handedly put Hollywood out of business by pirating all the content.    OMG, the sky is falling!!


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## SpacemanSpiff (Jan 31, 2004)

You also wouldn't have to buy all those various competing devices.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

From what I'm hearing, prepare to be underwhelmed.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Is that a bunch of bubbles I hear bursting in the background.... ?


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## jmoak (Jun 20, 2000)

with the lack of "love" we've gotten in the last year or so, I don't think we have any bubbles left to burst anymore.


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## SpacemanSpiff (Jan 31, 2004)

But somebody up there loves us!


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## SMcColl (Jul 10, 2005)

Any PSP video proprietary format is only 24 hours of college-student-coding-marathon away from a free converter to MP4 or some other portable format.

Watch for it on slashdot about 2-3 days after the announcement (before the launch of the product itself!)


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## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

ebonovic said:


> Cool.......
> 
> Hopefully "portable devices" include laptops...


Actually, laptops where not included in the original list of devices, and desktops are not included, read this as devices only and a very small number of specific devices only.

All of the information is available on the NDS site, which I reviewed just about two weeks ago, and I would agree "be prepared to be under whelmed".


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## Sparky (Dec 16, 2001)

ebonovic said:


> Cool.......
> 
> Hopefully "portable devices" include laptops...


or PSP...


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## SpankyInChicago (May 13, 2005)

lee espinoza said:


> Scott Greczkowski at Satguys is hearing that the partner is Sony and the player would be a Sony PSP.


This is terrible if this is true. But seems logical since DirecTV has been making poor choices for a lot of years now.

Dual cable card HD Tivo when it comes out from Tivo is looking better and better.


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## lee espinoza (Aug 21, 2002)

Scott Greczkowski: Actually I am hearing a little more (All should be considered a rumor)

Quite POSSIBLY you may be able to record to ANY pocket video recorder / player that supports Windows Media "Plays for sure" technology.

IF this is true, it means that you could actually record DirecTV on your PocketDISH as it supports Microsoft Plays For Sure technology.


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## slydog75 (Jul 8, 2004)

hmm... just pulled this link out of the 'request HMO' thread.. since that's been dead for a while (any chance of it happening that is) I figured I'd re-post it here. It implies that they may re-partner with Tivo.. Which seems highly unlikely so take it with a grain of salt:

http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/12/28/cesrumor_dvr_partnership_mobilemedia/


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## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

lee espinoza said:


> Scott Greczkowski: Actually I am hearing a little more (All should be considered a rumor)
> 
> Quite POSSIBLY you may be able to record to ANY pocket video recorder / player that supports Windows Media "Plays for sure" technology.
> 
> IF this is true, it means that you could actually record DirecTV on your PocketDISH as it supports Microsoft Plays For Sure technology.


If you read the NDS information for XTV2Go, you will notice that mobile support for the "R15" also fron NDS will only support Windows CE devices.

If you want more information, I would advise reading the PDF available from the NDS site and information on XTV Replay also available on the NDS site.


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## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

ebonovic said:


> Cool.......
> 
> Hopefully "portable devices" include laptops...


I posted on the other thread for you, it will be Windows CE devices only. See NDS, XTV2Go and XTV Replay.


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## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

tivolocity said:


> I think its a pretty safe bet that its only for the R15, and HR20-250. It will be interesting is to see if the "TiVo or death" members will now warm up to these non-TiVo DVRs. Especially, if you can get the content onto a PC [which i think is a real stretch]. Or, if this will be seen as a useless gimmick.
> 
> Personally, mobile doesn't do much for me. However, archiving to a hard drive or DVD, is huge.


I agree with Gunnyman, all of us with hacked DirecTiVo have far more capability than NDS is going to allow. In addition, the NDS stuff (XTV2Go, XTV Replay) is for Windows CE devices only and based on what I am reading on their site, it appears you might have to pay to download each item or it will only be available for PPV items.

For me, even if I didn't have all of the capability I currently have on my hacked TiVos, this capability would NOT get me interested in a buggy first generation DVR.


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## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

lee espinoza said:


> but to the people who don't have there tivo hacked this may mean a lot


How many NON-TECH people are running around with Windows CE devices, that currently have non-hacked DirecTiVos, that would buy another DVR "R15", just so they could download content to their CE only device and maybe even have to PPD (Pay Per Download). I believe that is a very small percentage and is unlikely to create nothing real exciting. But I will give you this, their will be a small number that might attempt it, just to have a new toy, but then again, if they are technical minded, they have already hacked their DirecTiVos and have far more unlimited downloading capability which is completely unrestricted, and except for their time involved it doesn't cost them anything.

See NDS site, XTV2Go and XTV Replay for more information.


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## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

lee espinoza said:


> Scott Greczkowski: Actually I am hearing a little more (All should be considered a rumor)
> 
> Quite POSSIBLY you may be able to record to ANY pocket video recorder / player that supports Windows Media "Plays for sure" technology.
> 
> IF this is true, it means that you could actually record DirecTV on your PocketDISH as it supports Microsoft Plays For Sure technology.


Just read the NDS site information "R15" on XTV2Go and XTV Replay to get an idea of what is coming, and it FLATLY STATES CE DEVICES ONLY (that is Windows CE Devices Only).


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## Jolly1 (Aug 19, 2004)

Gunnyman said:


> then they are shooting themselves in the foot.
> The install base of iPod with Video is likely greater, or it soon will be.


Sony PSP sales are going to finish between 12 and 15 Million units in their first year, ending March '06. Considering that it will likely accelerate after that, I think there is plenty of justification to support the PSP.

Also, considering that the PSP already supports the standard H.264/Mpeg4 video standard, it would be easy to do as well.


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## Jolly1 (Aug 19, 2004)

ebonovic said:


> Oh I hope not.... purchasing a Sony PSP just so I can watch some shows on my commute....
> Why can't we all just get along and get a standard portable codec that can be played on any compatible device...





Gunnyman said:


> we have one it's called H.264


And this is the standard that the Sony PSP already supports.


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## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

Jolly1 said:


> Sony PSP sales are going to finish between 12 and 15 Million units in their first year, ending March '06. Considering that it will likely accelerate after that, I think there is plenty of justification to support the PSP.
> 
> Also, considering that the PSP already supports the standard H.264/Mpeg4 video standard, it would be easy to do as well.


It's not the Codec, it's the DRM capability of the CE devices that matter. Codec's (Technical) are minor compared to the paranoia of Hollywood and the protection of digital content.

NDS on their site, is pointing out in huge terms how protected their transfered content is, and this is just what Hollywood wants, so this is just what DirecTV wants.

And it is very strongly pointed out the NDS product information sheets that their products that support transfers to mobile devices, support transfers to CE devices only, and as far as I know the Sony PSP is not any will likely never be a Microsoft Windows CE device.


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## Jolly1 (Aug 19, 2004)

tbeckner said:


> It's not the Codec, it's the DRM capability of the CE devices that matter. Codec's (Technical) are minor compared to the paranoia of Hollywood and the protection of digital content.
> 
> NDS on their site, is pointing out in huge terms how protected their transfered content is, and this is just what Hollywood wants, so this is just what DirecTV wants.
> 
> And it is very strongly pointed out the NDS product information sheets that their products that support transfers to mobile devices, support transfers to CE devices only, and as far as I know the Sony PSP is not any will likely never be a Microsoft Windows CE device.


Well then, that leaves out the Video IPod too - Which was the issue of my original response.

It seems to me that if the only devices supported are Windows CE devices, then they shouldn't even bother.


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

lee espinoza said:


> Scott Greczkowski at Satguys is hearing that the partner is Sony and the player would be a Sony PSP.


Finally a good reason to get a psp. I don't play games. The movies are pricy and its way to big for just mp3's. If i can put tv shows on it, bingo! a good reason! Any confirmation of this or just a rumor?


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## lee espinoza (Aug 21, 2002)

Billy Bob Boy said:


> Finally a good reason to get a psp. I dont play games. The movies are pricy and its way to big for just mp3's. If i can put tv shows on it, bingo! a good reason! Any confermation of this or just a rumor?


Just still a rumor


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## Galley_SimRacer (Mar 1, 2002)

If the content can play on the iPod video and the PSP, then it will play on my Palm LifeDrive as well.


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## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

Galley_SimRacer said:


> If the content can play on the iPod video and the PSP, then it will play on my Palm LifeDrive as well.


The announcement should be the NDS XTV2Go for the "R15", which is for Microsoft Windows CE devices only. The iPOD, PSP, and Palm OS should all be excluded from the announcement.


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## Mark W (Dec 6, 2001)

Forgive me, because I really don't understand all that's involved with all of this, but if anyone is looking for a great device to do all of this, I would suggest looking into an Archos AV420, or similar. I bought one of these from Ebay for a trip to Hawaii to entertain the kids. I guess it was kind of like a video IPOD, but it included a docking cradle with cables that allowed you to record from DVD or whatever. It even included Tivo like functioanality, allowing you to set up timed recordings, etc... I loaded a bunch of shows from our DTivos onto it, and it was a fantastic device for video and music. I really just kind of bumped into it because I needed it as a device that could read my compact flash cards and hold digital pictures and video for me.

So I imagine that the big deal with this partership is so that video can just be ported instantly to these devices rather than them having to record?


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

tbeckner said:


> The announcement should be the NDS XTV2Go for the "R15", which is for Microsoft Windows CE devices only. The iPOD, PSP, and Palm OS should all be excluded from the announcement.


Perhaps initially, but it doesn't look like NDS has any problems with using their DRM (called SVP) on other platforms.

http://www.nds.com/worldvision/twenty_five/article2.html


> As an open specification, SVP is licensed by the SVP Licensing Authority on fair and non-discriminatory terms to any qualified company involved in digital entertainment. As it is adopted around the world, *SVP will benefit all players* in the digital content value chain.


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