What is Satellite DVR?

DIRECTV^®'s "TiVo" Satellite television from DIRECTV^®' offers you so many channels that there's bound to be shows on that your busy schedule keeps you from watching. The whole reason you subscribe to DirecTV is for this variety of programming- you certainly don't want to miss it! There's no reason to miss the show, thanks to DirecTV TiVo or digital video recorder (DVR).  This DVR allows you to record any show that comes across your DirecTV broadcasting by selecting the show from your television menu and setting it to record. DirecTV TiVo automatically knows how long the program will be on. It will start and end recording at the right time.

Recording with the DVR: Remember setting your old VCR? First you needed to know the station, then you had to know the start and end times. Armed with that information, you could use your VCR remote to enter the menu system, set the clock of the VCR, set the time to start recording, the time to end recording and the station to record. You just had to hope that the clock on the VCR matches the time of the television broadcasts. Did you ever forget to power off your VCR after setting the recording? If you forgot this, your show wouldn't record. DirecTV and TiVo solve these problems and make it extremely easy to record your favorite shows. With DirecTV and the menu that allows you to see what's on, and what's going to be on, it's a matter of selecting the show with your remote and hitting the "record" button. The DirecTV DVR knows what to do from that point on. Because DirecTV TiVo records digitally onto a hard drive housed within the unit, there's no need for you to buy cassette tapes or to replace them when they get worn. 

Pausing & Rewinding the DVR: Another feature you can access with your DirecTV satellite and with the DirecTV TiVo is the ability to pause and even rewind live DirecTV programming. Once you've used it, you can't go back to standard television watching.  For example, let's say you're in the middle of watching a talk show and you suddenly need to use the bathroom. You can't want to wait for a commercial, but you don't want to miss anything that's going on in the show, either! Grab your DirecTV remote, and hit the pause button for the DirecTV TiVo! The show pauses. You can take care of business and come back, press play and be on your way. When you hit the first commercial break after you've paused your show for a few minutes, try hitting the "live tv" button on your DirecTV TiVo remote. Chances are you will have caught up with the show, as it continued to record automatically to your DirecTV TiVo even while you had paused your live DirecTV broadcast and then replayed what you missed!

HDTV: High Definition Television

High Definition Television (HDTV) by DIRECTV^®' and DISH Network^® provide a higher quality picture on your home television set than standard services. Regular TV, which travels over the airwaves, is also known as analog TV. The quality, or resolution, of the picture you see is defined by the number of scan lines transmitted. HDTV on satellite TV pictures have almost twice the number of scan lines as a regular TV set. The big difference is found in digital technology. High definition satellite TV makes several improvements over viewing TV the old way. One is that you get a clear, sharp image that seems almost lifelike. The widescreen picture you get with DIRECTV^® HD makes you feel like your are sitting in a movie theatre. The DirecTV audio has better quality, too, because it is programmed in Dolby Digital format, which provides surround-sound experience. DirecTV and Dish Network satellite TV are two well-known providers of satellite services who both carry HDTV options. Each company offers many options in packages of services, and many of those packages include high definition quality.

Need High Definition capable TV: One of the negative aspects of getting Directv HD or high definition TV from Dish is that you will need to purchase a high definition television set in order to receive that improved picture quality. The cheapest of these HD ready TVs for receiving DirecTV can cost around $400 or more for a 27-inch screen. If you want to go with a flat wide screen in a large size, you can expect to pay from $1000 to $1600+. People who enjoy watching sporting events on television will love HD satellite TV, because you can actually see a wider view of the playing field. Movie buffs will like it to. When watching movies on Directv, you will be able to see the entire picture instead of having it altered to fit your television screen. Analog TV sets offer a lower level of resolution than HDTV. Today, satellite TV systems and recorded DVD's are digitally encoded so that they can provide a clearer picture. The Directv technology is similar to the resolution you use on a computer monitor, which is measured in pixels. You probably use a much greater number of pixels, such as 800 x 600, than what is seen with analog TV. Because we have become comfortable with the improved resolution, it makes sense to look into having HDTV options as part of our Directv or Dish network satellite TV services. Having HDTV as part of the package adds approximately $10 to your monthly DIRECTV^® satellite bill.

HDTV with TIVO

If you have a high definition television with your DirecTV satellite provider, you can even record programming in high def using a DIRECTV^® HD DVR (digital video recorder). Just because you have to miss the show when it appears live on your television, doesn't mean you have to compromise the quality of the image. A DirecTV HD DVR will deliver the recorded programming in the same high definition that it would have played live. TiVo and HD DVR are more alphabet soup to keep our viewing habits healthy.