DirecTV kills its Media Center tuner

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DirecTV subscribers who are also Media Center fans have been on a roller-coaster ride this year. First an aborted beta test of the long-rumored HDPC-20 tuner, then confirmation that Windows 7 includes drivers for the hardware, and finally an actual live sighting of the hardware just a few weeks ago.

Alas, it’s not to be. DirecTV officially announced today that it has discontinued development of the HDPC-20. I’ve got details and the full statement at ZDNet.

Published by Ed Bott

Tech journalist. Author of 25+ books. ZDNET Contributing Editor since 2006. Contact info: https://edbott.com/contact-me/

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7 thoughts on “DirecTV kills its Media Center tuner”

  1. I was looking forward to ditching the cable company and going with Direct TV. Not anymore. Your loss Direct TV.

  3. I’m a DirecTV subscriber; like the service a great deal. Such an addition for Windows 7 would have guaranteed extra income from my household.

    Dumb move on DirecTV’s part, I think. Someone is going to make the leap, and it should have been them, if they were that far along.

  4. Ugh. I’ve been waiting to upgrade to a HD box just because of this. Well no more DirecTV. I refuse to own one of their DVR boxes. I’m going to a WMC and switching to the cable company

  5. I was going to switch to DirectTV for this too. I guess I will stay with cable. Is DISH Network going to produce something like this?

  6. So, just for the sake of the argument, why has this entire DirectTV – MCE thing been so difficult. A lot of us are very disappointed about this, but what are/could be the real business reasons behind this decision?

    Was it not technically feasible for some reason?
    Is there some agreement DirectTV has with Tivo that is causing the trouble?
    Is it a DRM issue?
    Is Microsoft going to focus on IPTV and/or distribution through XboxLive?
    Are MCE enthusiasts such a small market that we don’t matter?
    Is MCE a pain in the neck for Microsoft they are hoping to kill?
    Is there pressure from CableLabs to not let this happen?

    I’m not looking for the DirectTV or Microsoft team are idiots kind of response. What are the true underlying business decisions that would cause these two companies to ignore us?

  7. I think Media Center is one of the least used, but most useful components of Vista. I’m guessing they are just cutting where they think the least amount of users will be affected. I wish Microsoft would highlight Media Center more in their ad campaign, I think it’s a terrific feature.

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