DirecTV to Focus on DVRs, HDTV

[Gregg Lengling]

The potential future CEO of Hughes Electronics told a crowd at Merrill Lynch's Media and Entertainment Conference that the company and its DirecTV unit plan to be a leader in bringing emerging technologies into the television space, including DVRs and HDTV.

Chase Carey, picked by News Corp. to lead Hughes and DirecTV once the media giant completes its proposed takeover of the businesses, told the conference audience Monday that DVRs will be "a major part of the television household of tomorrow." He added, "I have never seen a device which is as valued, even worshipped, by every consumer who uses it."

Carey said DVR technology will help DirecTV compete with cable. "The DVR is not just our answer to cable's VOD, but we believe it will become the true VOD experience that allows for greater control of all content.

"We expect to have the best DVR in the market and our global scale provides the resources and expertise to achieve that goal," Carey said. He added that in addition to typical DVR functionality, such as rewind/replay and recording capabilities, the service can also deliver DVR-tailored content.

HDTV will also be critical to DirecTV's future. Carey said the company plans to combine use of Ku-Band and Ka-Band capacity, including satellites being built for Hughes' SpaceWay effort, for HDTV delivery. Digital terrestrial capabilities and new compression technologies also will help DirecTV "stay at the forefront of HDTV," Carey said.