DirecTV launches 4K box

US pay TV operator DirecTV, now owned by AT&T, has launched its first 4K ultra HD set-top box, the 4K Genie Mini.

The box, which DirecTV says is about the “size of a paperback book”, will expand the reach of the operator’s 4K content to subscribers without a DirecTV-ready 4K TV.

DirecTV launched 4K programming in November last year via its Genie HD DVR, a service available to 4K-ready UHD TVs from Samsung, giving access to DirecTV 4K video-on-demand movies. According to the company, the same service will be available soon from TV manufacturers including LG and Sony.

DirecTV launched the Genie Mini Box as a complement to its DirecTV-ready TV distribution strategy, which allows subscribers to receive its signal without the need for a set-top box by buying a TV with DirecTV’s RVU technology embedded in it. RVU makes use of a home server or gateway device to send DirecTV’s signal to a TV elsewhere in the home.