SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- DirecTV Group, the direct-broadcast-satellite titan controlled by Rupert Murdoch, rolled out a series of new products Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, including a service that allows viewers to combine images from up to six channels on one screen.
El Segundo, Calif., DirecTV said it's launching three DirecTV Mix channels that combine the images from a series of themed cable networks.
The News Mix, for starters, puts CNN, CNN Headline News, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News Channel and The Weather Channel on the same screen at one time.
The Sports Mix includes ESPN, ESPN2, The NFL Network and other channels, while the Kids Mix features children's networks such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
There had been some demand for such a service, said DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer, to avoid the inconvenience of jumping back and forth between programs and the interactive guide.
DirecTV also launched a digital video recorder that has more functionality than the DVR technology currently included in its set-top boxes through its TiVo.
Updated features include 100 hours of recording time, up from 30 hours; greater speed; a function that allows customers to record several pay-per-view movies, but only pay for the ones that are actually watched; the ability to mark certain parts of a recorded program, for later reference; onscreen caller ID, hooked up to a customer's home telephone; support for interactive TV programming; and a picture-in guide that allows browsing of interactive features during recording as the program is visible through an onscreen window.
Also at the show, the company unveiled its Home Media Center, which allows the networking of several television sets through one central hub. The main unit allows DVR service on all sets, and supports both high- and standard-definition signals.
In addition, DirecTV announced the advent of new technology intended to significantly cut the amount of bandwidth required to deliver high-definition signals by satellite. MPEG-4 AVC video compression will be used to launch hundreds of local and national HD channels later this year and in 2007, the company said.
The satellite firm said the first 12 markets to receive local high-definition channels will, by order of market size, be New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington, Atlanta, Detroit, Houston and Tampa.
Shares of DirecTV rose 3 cents to $16.03 Thursday.