website hit counter About that DIRECTV Tuner - Chris Lanier

About that DIRECTV Tuner

Small bits of “news” keep flowing out about the DIRECTV Tuner for Media Center.  The ever optimistic DIRECTV CSRs are promising that the tuner is good to go for a November launch, sadly that isn’t going to happen so don’t get your hopes up.

Once again this is going to be a case of a feature noting getting in your hands until the next Media Center feature release.  The bad news?  That just happens to be Windows 7.  The good news?  PDC is only a month away and I’d expect Windows 7 betas to start making appearances out before the end of the year (note there are several Media Center sessions at PDC).

Possibly a silver lining to the whole subject, Microsoft actually made a comment to someone about the tuner!  CED is reporting that DIRECTV and Microsoft "continue to look at ways" to make the tuner happen and that news will be announced at "the appropriate time.”  The title of the article was “DirecTV, Microsoft Continue Work on Media Center Product.”  DIRECTV weren't available for comment.

Published Sun, Sep 14 2008 22:11 by chrisl
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Comments

# re: About that DIRECTV Tuner

Chris,

I belive you (read: I've given up), but what makes you think it will make it in Windows 7 and not Windows 8 or 9?  Or at all?

Also, one of the parties involved (DirecTV) is saying it will be available in November.  MS has just released an announcement that they're doing away with BDA drivers and are moving to something that will now allow an easier path for new tuners.  From an outsiders view, it looks like it's just around the corner.

Personally, the words "continue to look at ways" means it's never going to happen.  That should have read "finishing up development" if it was going to happen at all.

If the music side of MCE was as advanced as TV, we would just be getting LP support with them looking at ways to get CD's to work and downloadable music wouldn't even be on the radar.

Monday, September 15, 2008 11:21 PM by Platup

# re: About that DIRECTV Tuner

It seems all the news about MCE these days is bad.

I've been running MCE05 and VMC since MCE 05 was released almost 4 years ago, and for the do-it yourself home user we have gotten absolutely nothing.

The TV-pack gives us QAM, wich back in 2005 probably would've been great when there were only 4 or 5 premium HD channels. But now that I've spent 18mo with a dish PVR and I've got maybe as many as 20 HD channels that have stuff either I or my wife will watch anything less than full support for premium HD content is useless.

Yes cable card is out there, yes the price on the boxes w/ a tuner around $1000 now, but I just dropped a measly $200 to get a 2.5ghz dual core, nforce 8200 mobo with HDMI audio and 2gb of ram. I already had everything else I needed.

[/rant]

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:37 AM by Joel Barsotti

# re: About that DIRECTV Tuner

Windows 7 better be HUGE for Media center or I am gone. Wait, Didn't I say that for Vista ? Oh, yea, I did...

Just waiting for features that should have been here for years now....Biggest software company in the world, is 3-4 years behind with everything when it comes to media center...what a joke

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 1:23 PM by someone

# DirecTV’s Media Center Tuner still not on track for this year | TechDomo

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Thursday, September 18, 2008 9:01 AM by DirecTV’s Media Center Tuner still not on track for this year | TechDomo

# re: About that DIRECTV Tuner

Bummer.

It seems like it would make sense to make Media Center its own product.  Microsoft sells lots of software this way.  Why not Media Center?  This landscape is moving too quickly to wait several years for a new version of Windows to get any new features.

What is the rational for having Media Center bundled with the OS?

Friday, September 19, 2008 12:03 PM by Carl