It’s been a while since anyone asked me about the DIRECTV C30. It’s become an important part of DIRECTV lore. A while back, I spoke to a customer who claimed that while at DIRECTV about five years ago he had beta tested a “C30” DIRECTV Genie Client. We all know that the first Genie client to be released was the C31, but I did actually believe him because I remember that there was discussion of a C30 client at one time.
The photo above was taken at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. I actually sat that one out but I know the person who took it and he can be trusted. It seems to be a Genie client and I believe it was the C30.Note: I’ve been asked which thing is a C30. It’s the thing on the bottom. The thing on the top is a cable modem, I think.
I know for sure that the C30 was never released to the public. I’m not sure why. From the look of this photo, it looks like the C30 was about the size of an H24. Of course today’s Genie clients are much, much smaller. My guess is that it’s also less expensive to manufacture.
Were there other skunk works projects?
Seeing the C30 in that photo, it brings up the whole question of… how many other DIRECTV projects have gotten to the stage where there have been actual prototypes before they were canceled?
I’ve been told that before Genie, there was another product called “Home Media Server” back in 2006 or 2007. I may have actually snapped a picture of it at CES, I remember they had it under glass:
Sorry for the quality, I was taking pictures with a RAZR phone!
I’ve been told that about 10% of the projects that make it to the prototype phase don’t get any further. Sometimes new hardware comes along that’s cheaper or faster, and sometimes the product just doesn’t perform. I don’t know what the issue was with the C30. It may have just been the size. On the other hand, it’s possible the C30 was never intended for production. It may have just been a test bed for the client functionality.
I’ve been aware of other projects that never made it. I’ve also been told that there was a very limited trial run of “Sat-Go 2″ which was literally a handheld DIRECTV receiver with a 5” screen. I’m not sure how that would have ever worked, so I’m not surprised it was canceled. And, for those who really want to dig deep, there was the ill-fated “DIRECTV2PC” product which, although available to clients, never really made it out of beta. This was a program you ran on your PC that let you watch your recorded programs. Of all DIRECTV’s projects, this is the one I hope they resurrect. Although, I’d move it to a streaming box instead of a PC.
Plenty of companies make prototypes that don’t go anywhere.
Of course DIRECTV isn’t alone here. The simple fact is that factories today can be configured to make small quantities of almost anything, and keep in mind that when you’re sending something to the FCC for approval, it has to be in final form, so it wouldn’t surprise me if every day, factories turned out hundreds of prototypes for different companies. If only I could get my hands on one. Then I would be one step closer to my dream of becoming a secret agent.
