DirectTV

Two 'DirectTV' stories March 2012 - April 2013

DirectTV to add voice search, capabilities to its iPhone app later this year (video)

DirectTV has announced that it will be adding voice search and capabilities to its iOS application later this year, and a beta will be available this summer. Like Apple’s Siri application for iOS, the application will understand many different types of commands. For example, you can say “find movies with Tom Cruise” or “what’s playing on HBO?” Solid Signal posted a review for the DirectTV voice app, detailing some of the more advanced voice features.

While you wouldn’t want to use voice control in place of a remote, it’s a nice parlor trick to tune a receiver using your voice. Say “Tune to channel 7” or “tune to ABC” and the receiver will change channels for you. The natural language recognition is quite good, too. Saying “find me some comedies” resulted in over 200 being found.

The site also published a video overview:

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DirecTV iPad app update adds video streaming on the go

In October, the “DirecTV” app added the ability to stream video over home networks. Today, an update to the app adds the ability to stream shows and movies over 3G and Wi-Fi anywhere. The new feature is limited to video content, meaning live TV streaming still requires a Wi-Fi connection on your home network. Engadget points us to an early review of the new feature that is apparently called “DirecTV Everywhere” from The Solid Signal Blog (below).

According to the video, it looks like available content for the feature is limited to DirecTV’s Audience Network, HBO, Cinemax, Encore, Sony Movie Channel, and Starz. The update also adds a “social module” that lets you check which friend’s on Twitter and Facebook are watching, as well as Miso check-ins and the ability to resume watching programs on the iPad where you left off. You need to be a DirecTV subscriber to get access to the content, and you will find a long list of requirements for various features on the iTunes page with version 1.5.0…

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