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December 4, 2008 3:37:45 PM CST

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DirecTV to Get With Times, Add On-Demand

Posted Mar 13, 08 2:41 PM CDT in Technology,  Arts & Living,  Business 

(Newser) – Challenged by cable and phone-company competitors, DirecTV will offer video-on-demand for the first time, a combination of DVR and broadband-connected content with significant limitations. Because the biggest satellite-TV provider doesn’t use terrestrial connections, it’s been long unable to offer instant play options. Its new plan will store some content on customers' DVRs, and allow them to stream more of it from the Internet.

But the workaround isn’t perfect, the Wall Street Journal notes, as viewers may balk at having DVR space eaten up by stored programming. Streaming content could have also have major delays, meaning users would have to pick and choose in advance—building in load time. Comcast, the biggest cable provider, offers 275 million on-demand programs a month; DirecTV On Demand will start with 3,000 titles.

Source Wall Street Journal

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DirecTV sub-contractors Eddie Ortiz, right, and Jose Sandoval, background, prepare to install a DirecTV Ka/Ku satellite antenna dish atop a Redondo Beach, Calif., residence, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007. Satellite...   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
DirecTV sub-contractor Eddie Ortiz installs a DirecTV Ka/Ku satellite antenna dish atop a Redondo Beach, Calif. residence in this Aug. 7, 2007 file photo. TV's big switch from analog to digital broadcasts...   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)
The DirecTV building is seen in El Segundo, Calif., in this Aug. 8, 2006 file photo. Satellite broadcaster DirecTV Group Inc. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007 said its third-quarter earnings slipped on higher...   (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, file)
DirecTV dishes adorn the wall of an apartment building in Los Angeles in this Feb. 7, 2007 file photo. Satellite broadcaster DirecTV Group Inc. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007 said its third-quarter earnings...   (AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)
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Comcast • DVR • DirecTV • streaming content • satellite TV • video on demand


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