Digital satellite TV service provider DirecTV launched a new home set-top box called Nomad this week. The $150 device allows subscribers to transfer programs recorded on their DirecTV DVR receivers to other devices.

The Nomad device connects to a home Internet network and pulls up to 20 hours of recorded programs off the subscriber's DVR. The shows are transcoded and can be "sideloaded"—transferred to PCs, Apple iPhones, and Apple iPod Touch portable media players.

The transferred programs can be stored on devices for up to 30 days. But certain types of programs—3D, pay-per-view, and on-demand shows—reportedly can't be transcoded or transferred. Also, a special DirecTV program is required to view the transcoded programs. (The company is said to be working on applications for Apple iPads, Google Android-powered devices, and Apple Mac computers.)

Other reports have also noted that the Nomad device isn't a true streaming set-top box: Nomad can't send shows to your iPhone while you're waiting at an airport, for example. Still, Nomad does allow DirecTV subscribers a way to view their recorded shows while not at their living room HDTVs.

DirecTV Nomad is ready to launch, transcodes DVRed shows for mobile viewing [Engadget]
DirecTV Nomad Will Let You Download Satellite Video to Almost Anything You Want [Gizmodo]
DIRECTV Launches Nomad [TVPredictions]
DirecTV Nomad [DirecTV]