DIRECTV announces DIRECTV Genie HD DVR

Touting it as the "most advanced and intuitive HD DVR" available, DIRECTV has announced their latest HD DVR: the DIRECTV Genie. This new DVR brings to the table a whole roster of features you'd be hard-pressed to find elsewhere, including the ability to record up to 5 high-definition videos at once. According to DIRECTV, this flagship DVR is the by-product of integrating as many of the most requested features as possible.

Features include an opt-in recommendation system, which will recommend shows based on the subscriber's preferences. A single recorded show can be watched on up to four televisions at the same time. Shows can be recorded and deleted from every room with service. With the Genie, the single receiver will operate for the entire home, so that an individual DVR is not needed for every room in which service is wanted.

Recordings can be scheduled up to two weeks in advance, while up to 5 weeks of past shows can be viewed at any time. Genie utilized DIRECTV's TV Apps to provide access to Pandora, Facebook, Twitter, and ScoreGuide, in addition to the usual array of weathers/news/sports. Genie has 1TB of storage space, which can store about 200 hours of high-definition content, or 800 hours of standard-definition content.

Qualified DIRECTV customers can get a free upgrade to the Genie, and up to four different room connections. New customers who subscribe to certain packages that include the Genie are being offered perks, such as the 2012 NFL Sunday Ticket and free premium channels for three months. The Genie DVR is available beginning today.