DirecTV keeps bragging that its DVR scheduling features are better than cable's, announcing Tuesday that users have downloaded 1 million copies of its DVR scheduler app for iPhone and iPod touch devices.
The DVR scheduler app -- which the satellite operator is currently featuring in a national TV ad campaign -- was first offered in the Apple App Store in March 2009.
Across all platforms in 2009, DirecTV said subscribers scheduled more than 12 million DVR recordings remotely. The app is now available on Android devices and the Palm Pre and Pixi. Future versions of the application will offer the ability to order DirecTV Cinema movies, content recommendations and ratings, and streaming of show and movie trailers, the company said.
"Based on the positive responses we received from Apple iPhone and iPod touch users, as well as industry experts, it is clear the DVR Scheduler app provides our customers with a convenience they need in a simple format that anyone can use," Eric Shanks, DirecTV executive vice president of entertainment, said in a statement.
Dish Network in January introduced a remote DVR scheduling iPhone app and AT&T offers one for U-verse TV subscribers. Each has an average rating of three out of five stars by App Store users, lower than the DirecTV app's 3 1/2 stars. About 42% of the ratings for the Dish app and 41% of those for the U-verse app gave them just one star, compared with 25% for the DirecTV app.
Meanwhile, no major cable operators offer comparable features. Comcast, for one, has launched an iPhone app, but the MSO's version in its first iteration does not allow subscribers to remotely program their DVR.
