A Review of the DirecTV Genie and Voice App
There are two products recently provided by DirecTV that allows people to have more control over their home theater experience – and their TV watching experience in general. Whether you have a home theater or not, you will want to consider downloading the new voice app and taking advantage of the DirecTV Genie HD DVR.
The voice app can be downloaded from iTunes or the Google PlayStore depending upon the device you have. It works on smart phones, tablets and e-readers. The app will tap into the DirecTV box or DVR in order to control what’s playing as well as what’s recording. It works if you’re standing in front of the television or if you’re 10,000 miles away.
What’s unique about the app is it works in a similar fashion to Siri for all of the iPhone users. Voice commands can be provided to the app in order to save a significant amount of time. There’s no need to use the search feature or scroll through the entire TV program. If there is a favorite show of yours, you can simply tell the app that it needs to be recorded.
If you’re on vacation and realize that you forgot to set the game to record, you can do it from there. If you need to suddenly check on something on the DVR and you can’t find your remote, you can simply pull out your mobile device. The voice app is free, making it that much more of a must-have. Keep in mind you will need DirecTV’s service to reap the full benefits of this app. Sign up using SaveonTVDirect to get special pricing, Sunday Ticket, and 3 months free of HBO.
The DirecTV Genie has a lot of power and it’s not like the other HD DVRs that are out there. It will power all of the TVs in the home with only one DVR. The other TVs will simply need a small Genie Mini, which is a little box that no one can even see. This provides the ability to record, rewind, pause, delete and even jump from room to room watching the same program. It’s possible to watch live or recorded programs in as many as four rooms in the house.
Recording conflicts are not an issue with Genie. As many as 5 shows can be recorded at any one time. This ensures that each and every member of the family can record their shows without being told that it’s not possible.
It’s possible to watch two shows at once because of the Picture in Picture. There is also a significant amount of storage, so the family can watch the shows stored on the DVR at their pace. Though a movie marathon night is always possible too.
Recommendations are made by Genie as well. The DVR is smart, paying attention to what is being watched and recorded on a regular basis. If there are a lot of legal shows being watched, recommendations will follow. This is similar to how Netflix and Amazon make recommendations on what you may also be interested in.
Between the Genie and the voice app, it’s possible to get a lot more out of your TV. You can watch the shows you want, record the ones you won’t be home for and even learn about new shows. Best of all, you don’t need to be home to do the recording.
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