DIRECTV's HD DVR to Launch Next Month

DIRECTV: HD DVR In LA Next Month
The satcaster responds to charges that it can't deliver the new high-def recorder.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (July 28, 2006) -- DIRECTV says it will launch a new High-Definition DVR next month in Los Angeles.

That's according to a TV Week report.

DIRECTV has been heavily criticized by industry analysts and subscribers for missing several deadlines for the high-def Digital Video Recorder.

Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said this week that the continued delays could cost DIRECTV both subscribers and investors. Satellite rival EchoStar and several cable TV operators now offer high-def recorders.

But TV Week quotes DIRECTV spokesman Robert Mercer as saying that DIRECTV's release timeline actually hasn't changed since early this year.

"We're just trying to clarify that it's rolling out in L.A. in mid-August," he said.

However, despite Mercer's claim, DIRECTV CEO Chase Carey said as recently as last May that the device would be launched in the summer. He did not say then it would be launched in just one city in mid-August.

"As I said, this summer we will transition to an MPEG 4 HD DVR," Carey said during an investors conference call on May 4.

Mercer said the HD DVR will be offered in additional cities later in the year. However, he did not release further details such as launch dates.

The DIRECTV spokesman said the set-top box is now completing final testing. "It's going to be a fantastic product," he said.

DIRECTV now offers a TiVo HD DVR, but it will not record high-def channels scheduled to be added to DIRECTV's new satellites; in other words, it will soon be obsolete, which is why DIRECTV needs to release a new HD DVR.

Some industry analysts have speculated that DIRECTV would not have experienced the delays if it had maintained its relationship with DVR service TiVo. The satcaster last year opted to use a DVR technology from a sister company (NDS) for new DVR receivers.

DIRECTV first hoped to launch its new HD DVR last year.

Swanni Sez:
It appears to me that the Los Angeles launch was quickly orchestrated to quiet the growing criticism over the delay. DIRECTV wants to be able to say it will meet the 'summer' deadline.

However, offering the device in one city in "mid-August" hardly qualifies as a summer launch -- unless, that is, DIRECTV releases the recorder in other cities next month as well. But that seems unlikely, based on Mercer's comments.

In fact, I am dubious that the HD DVR will be released in more cities until October at the earliest. If the box was technically sound, DIRECTV would feel comfortable providing specific release dates for other markets.

I believe the LA launch is simply an extension of the test.

So, stay tuned -- and keep your eyes on LA.

And click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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