One of our dreams is to have a true whole home DVR that allows us to watch any show we want, on any TV we want; but so far the perfect solution has eluded us. TiVo was really the first to try with its Multi-Room Viewing, but missed the mark by not giving us a single Now Playing list for the whole house or even any automatic conflict resolution between units. The FiOS HD DVR was the next disappointment because it limits us to two tuners and 160GB for the whole house -- seriously is that enough for anyone?
The concept is that you'd get a RVU server from your content provider (like DirecTV but it could also be cable or anyone else) and plug it into your home network. Then you'd buy HDTVs from the likes of Samsung with a RVU client built in, or you could even plug the RVU server directly into the TV. Then you can go to any TV in your house that is also an RVU client and access the exact same experience. This experience includes the ability to watch or record the same shows that you can from any other TV. Now the key part that get our minds going is the fact that Samsung obviously wants to sell TVs with this built in, otherwise why join the alliance? And then there is Cisco and DirecTV, both companies that make DVRs. So obviously they have interest in creating an RVU server. So as you can see this concept holds some real of potential.
Today at the International Consumer Electronics Show, DIRECTV and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced they have partnered to present the world's first RVU-compatible production televisions, which will provide more than 19.1 million DIRECTV subscribers with the ability to watch live broadcast and stored content from their DVR on Samsung smart TVs, without the need for additional set-top boxes. As founding members of the RVU Alliance, Samsung and DIRECTV are committed to providing a more seamless entertainment experience for consumers across multiple rooms and a variety of screens, through the use of standardized Remote User Interface (RUI) technology.
The RVU protocol will be supported on Samsung's LED D6000, LED D6400 and LED 6420 TV products that reflect the company's commitment to delivering consumers high-quality, visually enhanced and connected entertainment experiences in their home. A RUI technology based on industry standards such as DLNA and UPnP, RVU allows a set-top box server to provide a multi-room, complete viewing experience that includes DVR services, without the need for additional set-top boxes in homes that have more than one connected TV.
One of the most promising aspects of the RVU alliance is the fact that it is built on top of DLNA and UPnP. These two technologies are really everywhere, from Windows 7 to the Playstation 3. In fact we'd be willing to bet that DLNA is the most widespread media alliance ever assembled. A quick look at the roster on the DLNA site shows how well adopted it is. Of course neither DLNA, nor UPnP have the features required to deliver the type of experience that the RVU alliance is promising, which is where the new alliance comes in. To make up the difference, the RVU is offering the RUI -- you saw that one coming right -- which is described as a pixel accurate remote user interface technology. Basically the server would deliver the user interface alongside the video and audio to the client, which means all the heavy lifting is done on the server rather than the client. This is supposed to make the client less expensive and easier to implement, but it also means not just any DLNA client will work.
"We are very happy to be working with an esteemed satellite provider like DIRECTV and provide the world first RVU service to consumers with Samsung TV," said Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung's Visual Display Business. "Products developed on RVU standards, one of the major RUI standards, will help accelerate the development of features and applications that can provide our customers with a truly customizable, immersive entertainment experience that can be enjoyed from the comfort of the home."
Currently Windows Media Center offers the best solution, but it's expensive after you pay $300 a pop for a CableCARD tuner, not to mention it requires more maintenance because it is based on a PC. Needless to say we continue to look for the perfect solution, and we think that the RVU (R-vue) alliance might be just what we ordered. In addition to DirecTV, Cisco and Samsung, the chip maker Broadcom is also one of the founding members of the alliance, but it is their goals that get us excited. So excited, that we'd actually be shocked if they were actually achieved, but you'll have to click through to learn why.
"The CES demonstration of the first RVU compliant television is exciting news for the industry and consumers who want a consistent, superior user experience throughout the home," said Romulo Pontual, CTO of DIRECTV. "Making DIRECTV features and content available to Samsung's televisions through the RVU server allows consumers to enjoy our innovative service without the need for additional set-top boxes. We are pleased to see our successful partnership with Samsung expand to include support for RVU in their 2011 model range."
Capable of supporting multiple connected televisions, DIRECTV's RVU server enables the UI and features to be displayed directly on those connected TVs. Under this partnership, Samsung will embed support for RVU in their smart TVs and provide its customers with the full DIRECTV experience, including DVR services, live pause abilities on all screens in the home, 200 hours worth of shared storage, picture-in-picture capabilities and the power to record up to five shows at once. Samsung's RVU-compatible TVs will be available in March 2011.
Of course the website is short on details, which leads us to believe the details haven't been finalized yet. First up on our list of questions is how scalable is it? In other words, how many tuners can we have in the house, how much disc space is supported, and how many clients can there be? But we also wonder if you can have multiple servers from different providers on the same network? Then there is the biggest question of all, which is how well will this actually work -- assuming it even makes it to market. The last question isn't a concern if you have DirecTV, but if you have cable, we wonder if your provider would even offer such a box, assuming Cisco actually makes a server? Of course not everyone wants to buy a Samsung TV, so we wonder how likely it is that other manufactures would join in on the party? Or what about other devices? The press release mentions other digital media adapters and set-top-boxes, so who knows how widespread the support for this could be.
3D TV is now available on DISH Network! You can find all the