AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR Launches; HomePNA Enables Home Networking. What’s Next: The G.hn Standard (think gigabit per second rates on coax, powerline and phone wires)
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
Now into being a 3rd year U-verse customer, I have been hearing all about the potential of true home networking. 
That vision is now being put to the test with the launch of AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR, giving U-verse TV customers the freedom to play back Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) recorded programs on any connected TV in the home.
U-verse Total Home DVR is now being introduced to customers in the Bay Area at no additional charge and is planned for deployment to all U-verse TV customers by the end of 2008.
- There is no equipment to buy, no software to download, no phone calls to make. You will be advised by AT&T when your upgrade is in place. They do this automatically, through (what else?) the phone line that connects to your service.
- Total Home DVR works because of the HomePNA standard that AT&T has adopted.
- The real future of home networking will be on the G.hn standard – the next generation standard for existing-wire home networking (a wired and complementary counterpart to the very popular WiFi wireless home networking standard). G.hn has targeted gigabit per second data rates and operation over all three types of home wires: coax, powerline and phone wires.
Here’s what you can do with Total Home DVR:
— Watch HD and SD DVR recordings on other connected TVs in the home. In addition to your DVR, you can access, play, pause, rewind and fast forward any recorded SD or HD program on up to seven additional U-verse-connected TVs. All U-verse DVRs and receivers are HD-capable.
– Pause a recorded show and pick up where you left off in another room.
– Play back multiple, independent viewings of the same recorded show on different TVs.
– Play back up to four recorded shows at once. Up to three can be HD recorded programs.
– Watch up to five HD programs simultaneously throughout the home, including two live HD programs and three recorded HD programs.
— Record more of the show you want to see with soft padding, which automatically adds 1 minute to the beginning and 2 minutes to the end of each pre-scheduled recording.
– Organize recorded content by series. Series recordings will be grouped as a single heading in the recorded TV menu, making it easier for customers to manage and select their recorded programs.
– Store up to 37 hours of HD content or up to 133 hours of SD content, which is more storage than most cable providers’ DVRs.
– Record up to four programs at once on a single DVR — another feature that is exclusive to AT&T U-verse TV.
– Set the DVR while on the go from your PC or wireless phone. With AT&T Yahoo!® Web and Mobile Remote Access to DVR, you can schedule recordings from any Web-connected PC or compatible mobile phone (wireless service charges apply) by using your AT&T High Speed Internet account.
Photo by Alan Weinkrantz (c) All Rights Reserved.
