DirecTV’s Nomad Now Available – Does Copying, Not Streaming

DirecTV Nomad Back in August I posted a number of details about DirecTV’s then forthcoming Nomad place shifting product, and it is finally here for $149. It turns out that most of the info I had at the time was correct and, unfortunately, the rumors were generally confirmed. The Nomad is a copy-based device, similar to how TiVoToGo works, and not a streaming system like a Slingbox. So there is no real-time access to your content. You need to load everything onto your mobile device before you leave home. Which is admittedly useful for something like a plane where streaming generally isn’t an option, but if you’re away for an extended time you’ll probably still want a Slingbox to keep up with your shows from the road.

And speaking of mobile devices, right now your options are very limited. You can use a Windows PC, an iPhone 3GS or better, or an iPod Touch. That’s it. The Mac, iPad, and Android devices are all listed as ‘Coming Soon’. Though you can run the iPhone app on the iPad for now. As I previously reported, the Nomad communicates with DirecTV DVRs via Ethernet. Using DirecTV’s existing multi-room system, shows are streamed from the DVR to the Nomad. There they are transcoded to H.264 and saved for syncing with your device. One thing to note, Nomad is a ‘one size fits all’ system. Unlike TiVoToGo, which will transcode to different resolutions and bitrates for different devices, or Slingbox which can stream in anything from 320×240 up to 1920×1080 depending on the device and bandwidth, Nomad has one setting. It transcodes to 720×480 (which is DVD resolution). The bit rate varies, but seems to be around 1.5Mbps.

Up to five mobile devices are supported per account. You can set it up to auto-convert series, etc. Again, it seems to work very much like TiVoToGo, only in a dedicated HW box instead of software on a PC. Transfers from the DVR to the Nomad happen in real time. So a two hour movie takes two hours to stream and transcode. Fortunately, once transcoded and stored, copying to a device happens much faster, with about an hour of content transferred in ten minutes according to reports.

The folks over at DBSTalk got their hands on one early and have written up a first look document. There’s also a running discussion thread in their forums with more info.

Oh, one thing to note, the player app will not work on any jail broken iOS devices.

Via EngadgetHD.

About MegaZone

MegaZone is the Editor of Gizmo Lovers and the chief contributor. He's been online since 1989 and active in several generations of 'social media' - mailing lists, USENet groups, web forums, and since 2003, blogging.    MegaZone has a presence on several social platforms: Google+ / Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / LiveJournal / Web.    You can also follow Gizmo Lovers on other sites: Blog / Google+ / Facebook / Twitter.
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  • Anonymous

    what makes you think that it won’t be able to support streaming down the road with a firmware update? if it can transcode video, one can only assume that it would be able to do so in real-time and even adapt the bit-rate to the available bandwidth and then stream it to the mobile clients. 

    • http://www.gizmolovers.com/ MegaZone

      Never assume.  Even if the HW *can* do streaming, it does not do it today and there are no announced plans to add it.  So no one should buy a Nomad based on that.  The Nomad is not a streaming box, it is a store-and-forward device.  That may change someday, but not today.

      Getting streaming to work well isn’t as simple as it seems at first.  Not truly doing it well anyway.  You need to be able to transcode at different resolutions, bit rates, and even frame rates for optimal performance.  You need to be able to adjust based not only on the display device, but also on the network in between.  And you need to be able to adjust on the fly as conditions vary – a device moves from WiFi to 4G to 3G, moves through different coverage areas, etc.

      A Slingbox PRO-HD can go from 160×120 up to 1080p with variable levels of compression, frame rates, etc.  It can adjust them all automatically, or you can manually tweak one or more of the parameters (depending on the SlingPlayer you’re using) and it’ll make the trade offs to optimize the stream.  I’ve streamed at 160×120, less than 200Kbps, and 10-15fps on a Palm OS Treo 680 on an EDGE network, and I’ve streamed 1080p at 8Mbps on a LAN.  I’ve regularly done 720p at 2-3Mbps across country to my laptop.  (I set the resolution as it best fits the 1440×900 display resolution.)

      Can the chip in the Nomad handle the demands of transcoding at all the variable settings?  Presuming it can, will DirecTV invest the resources in producing the software – both on the box and in the clients – to do streaming properly?

      I’d guess the HW probably can do it.  The question is if they will, and secondarily, when.

      • Anonymous

        very valid points. All we can do is hope, BUT, hoping aside, I must say that I have already experienced the value of “porting” shows from my DVR. I started using my nomad yesterday and my kids are already addicted! They loaded up their ipod touches with their TV shows and it made for a pleasant long drive to grandma’s house. 

  • HTphile

    This seems pretty pointless. There are already DVR programs like beyond TV that can allow you to do this for much less than $150. Without streaming they really missed the mark.

  • HTphile

    This seems pretty pointless. There are already DVR programs like beyond TV that can allow you to do this for much less than $150. Without streaming they really missed the mark.

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