New DirectTV DVR records 5 shows at once, while serving 4 screens

DirecTV has announced its latest high-end set-top box with DVR capabilities, the Genie. It has five tuners which can be used to record 5 HD TV shows at the same time and it can simultaneously send a video stream to up to four displays at the same time. Each display doesn’t need an extra set-top box, but does require a small receiver, the Genie Mini. TVs which are RVU enabled can connect directly to the box, unfortunately this technology is currently only supported by three Samsung of TVs.  To store the content the device has a 1 TB HDD aboard.

Also the software of the Genie is improved, which makes it possible to reserve a TV show two weeks upfront. Episodes of series can be watched up to  five weeks back in time and a show can be started from the beginning even if you switched to the channel too late. With the feature ‘Genie recommends’ you can get recommendations based on your viewing behavior. The feature has been disabled by default but when enabled it can even automatically record an entire series of episodes of your favorite show.

The Genie and four Genie mini’s are free for new subscribers, but they are charged an ‘advanced receiver service’ fee which is $10 on auto billing and $20 without. Current subscribers have to pay up to $99 for each Genie and Genie mini and prices depend on the time you’re subscribed to DirectTV and how old your current hardware is.