DirecTV Genie DVR: Say goodbye to seperate set-top boxes

For many TV goers, the DVR has been a savior of sorts. Its ability to record shows, play them back at a later time or date, and fast forward through commercials has proven to be quite a useful tool to those who use it.

A chief complaint among DVR users is that the most of the units manufactured prior to this year do not allow for more than 2 shows to be recorded at once. Another minor issue is saving a show on a family room TV, and then wanting to watch it in another room.

DirecTV is changing that with their new DVR - named "Genie". This new unit allows for users to record up to 5 shows or movies at the same time with 5 onboard digital tuners. With over 1TB of onboard storage, the Genie can record up to 200 hours of high definition programming.

At the risk of sounding like a cheesy sales pitch, that's not all folks! The Genie will eliminate the need of having multiple set-top boxes for DirecTV customers, although a smaller unit called the "Genie Mini" will need to be utilized at each additional TV set to communicate with the main Genie.

How about cost? For new DirecTV customers, there is no upfront cost for the Genie and up to 4 Mini Genies with a new contract. However, a service fee will be included on each bill for $20 per month, but customers can knock that fee down to $10 month when using the auto-pay service through DirecTV.

For existing users, you're looking at a cost of $99 per each Genie or Mini Genie.

It sounds like pricing plans will change according to a DirecTV spokesman in this Wired article.

DirecTV is upping the competition with this whole home DVR, but how will it fair against Dish Network's Hopper? In terms of storage and software, the Genie might have the Hopper, but the latter has the controversial Autoskip technology in its arsenal.