Imagine if you could settle in for a night of TV viewing and watch two programs at the same time. Imagine if you could do this from any room with a Genie Mini Client. It’s not only possible, it’s been there all the time.
It’s called DoublePlay and it’s standard on all DIRECTV HD DVRs. It was first rolled out back in 2007, believe it or not. The biggest surprise for many people is that it works on the clients, too.
All you do is press the down arrow twice to start, and then you can switch back and forth between two programs just be pressing the down arrow. If you pause before you do, the program stays just where you left it.
With the sheer volume of commercials, it’s pretty easy to watch two one-hour programs in just over one hour by zapping through commercials and shifting from one to the other. It will make your spouse happy if he or she can watch the program they want, and you can watch the program you want too!
It’s better than picture-in-picture
Every so often you will run into a longtime AV enthusiast who will bemoan the loss of picture-in-picture with their DIRECTV receiver. This feature was available on Genie DVRs from about 2012 to 2017. It’s never worked on the Genie 2. Picture-in-picture was a system where you saw another program stream in a small window, generally in the corner of the screen. Think about the way you see your own image on Zoom and you’ll get an idea. Picture-in-Picture was common on TVs in the ’10s, and it began to disappear when it was clear that very few people used it.
Personally I think that DoublePlay is better than picture-in-picture. With it, you can truly have two programs going at once and you can give your full attention to each. I personally find DoublePlay works very well for news events like elections, so I can watch two news networks at once. Other folks use it for red-carpet shows before award shows. It’s a time saver and helps you choose what you want to see.
Upgrade your DIRECTV system with Signal Connect
Are you still using an older, pre-Genie DIRECTV system, now is the time to upgrade! Genie DVRs are more capable and more efficient than older systems, and they’ll be more reliable over time. You can have wireless clients you can take from room to room as well. And of course, there’s 4K programming. DIRECTV has the only live 4K channels in the pay-TV world and you can only watch them using Genie systems.
When you’re ready to upgrade, call the experts at Signal Connect. We don’t run call centers with script readers, and we don’t believe in long hold times. When you call, you’ll get a real expert in our Novi, Michigan corporate offices. They’ll be able to work through the same computer systems that DIRECTV’s call centers use. The only thing that’s different… there’s no frustration. When you call, you’ll work with someone who you can call over and over again, and they’ll be able to take care of all of your needs.
Call us at 888-233-7563 to get true white glove service. We’re here during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, just fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
