DIRECTV announced on Wednesday that customers with their DIRECTV Plus HD DVR will be able to access pictures and music from their PC with Viiv technology. The announcement was posted by HDTV Magazine and came one day after Apple announced that its Apple TV will ship in February.

"We announced our alliance with Intel at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show and we are happy to be here today, one year later, to show you the fruits of our labor," said Romulo Pontual, executive vice president and CTO, DIRECTV, Inc. "The way people consume media is rapidly evolving and connectivity between digital devices is becoming an essential part of the home ecosystem. DIRECTV understands this evolution and is delivering innovative solutions to make sure our customers stay connected."

The story claimed that the transfer of music and photos is just the beginning and went on to say that, "Later this year, DIRECTV plans to enhance the photo and music experience, as well as provide the ability to stream video from Intel Viiv technology-based PCs via DIRECTV Plus HD DVRs."

This announcement came one day after Apple announced its Apple TV, a device that creates a direct link between an iTunes library and an HDTV with Wi-Fi technology. Appleis business motivation is clear, namely, create a synergy between eventual HD content in iTunes and the HDTV experience, hopefully all on their hardware. In effect, it turns the PC or Mac with iTunes into a vast library DVR and bypasses the traditional broadcast carriers and their equipment. The DIRECTV announcement appears to be another step carriers like DIRECTV are taking to preserve their hardware presence in the living room.