Samsung and DIRECTV

CES 2011 is the platform where Samsung announced their partnership with DIRECTV, and the result of this alliance is the birth of the first RVU-compatible production televisions, providing over 19.1 million DIRECTV subscribers with the ability to watch live broadcast and stored content from their DVR on Samsung smart TVs – and all this without requiring any more set-top boxes. Sounds like good news, don’t you think so, as there is one less thing to buy and have around your home. This is because of Samsung and DIRECTV’s position as founding members of the RVU Alliance, hence their commitment to deliver a more seamless entertainment experience for consumers across multiple rooms and a variety of screens, thanks to the availability of standardized Remote User Interface (RUI) technology.
The RVU protocol will see action on Samsung’s LED D6000, LED D6400 and LED 6420 TV range which will in turn reflect the company’s commitment to delivering consumers high-quality, visually enhanced and connected entertainment experiences in their home. A RUI technology that is based on industry standards such as DLNA and UPnP, RVU enables a set-top box server to provide a multi-room, complete viewing experience which will comprise of DVR services, all without having to have additional set-top boxes in homes that already contain more than a single connected TV.


DIRECTV’s RVU server itself is capable of supporting multiple connected televisions, where it will allow the user interface and features to be displayed straight on those connected TVs. This partnership will see Samsung embed support for RVU in their smart TVs and providing 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. Patience is a virtue though, as Samsung’s RVU-compatible TVs will be available only in a couple of months’ time this year for a yet undisclosed price point. At least that gives you time to start saving up for a new TV, right?