Cablevision Breakthrough??

[MitchW]

I just saw in the newspaper that Cablevision is trying to introduce a CENTRAL SERVER DVR service to replace all SA8300HD and Tivo DVR's. Hollywood studios blocked the upgrade saying it would amount to an unlicensed re-broadcast of all their movies. Cablevision has appealed.

If this upgrade goes through, what would the impact on the TiVo S3 be? Personally, I use Charter and would not be directly affected by this innovation. I am still using three SA8300HD's leased for $ 11 each per month. I have not yet made a decision whether to upgrade my Tivo S2.

[pkscout]

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=347834

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=345543&highlight=cablevision

[Leo_N]

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=347834

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=345543&highlight=cablevision

Hehe, you do realize your first link is to the same thread you are posting in?? :)

[Gloftoe]

...would be horrible. Back when Time Warner Cable first offered DVRs, we ran out and got one. It worked okay, recording what it was told to record. One evening, the cable TV went out, and we figured "Okay, we'll just watch something that we've recorded." The DVR couldn't "contact" something, and we weren't able to watch something that was recorded, right there on a hard drive in our living room.

This is how I imagine a "central" DVR service. If your cable goes out, you're SOL for watching anything you have recorded.

It's one of the main reasons we stay with our Tivo service. No cable/satellite service? No problem!

[dt_dc]

...would be horrible.As always ... cost / benefit. Different strokes for different folks.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=3899217&&#post3899217

[jmoak]

just fyifrom The Associated Press, as reported by MultichannelNews via nab.broadcastnewsroom.com on 04/01/07
U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin appeared to leave little wiggle room for an appeal in his ruling that effectively squashed Cablevision Systems' plans to roll out a remote-storage digital-video recorder (RS-DVR) http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6427148.html, stating that the technology would allow Cablevision and its customers to engage "in unauthorized reproductions and transmissions of plaintiffs' copyrighted programs."

Chin seemed unconvinced of Cablevision's key argument -- that its product was merely an extension of set-top DVRs because it would be the customer and not the company who would control what is recorded, stored and watched via the device.

Chin noted that while Cablevision elected to make programming on all of its 170 channels available on the device, it could choose to block certain channels. He pointed to testimony that Cablevision had originally expected to offer 12-50 channels on the RS-DVR device.http://nab.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=117237

Maybe things don't look so good for an appeal?

[MitchW]

just fyihttp://nab.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=117237

Maybe things don't look so good for an appeal?

They already filed the appeal. This could very well end up as simply ALL their programs being availiable as Video on Demand. I have Charter and they have upped the VOD programming 10 fold from last year. Virtually all movies are already available on VOD including STRZ, HBO, MAX and SHO PLUS all series on those channels. I have noticed that at least one series, "The Tudors," is available on VOD BEFORE it appears on the regular broadcast. That is a big change giving the VOD users access before regular users get to see the move.

All movies available for purchase on DVD now make a simultaneous appearance on PPV.

I have also noticed that at least on Charter bookmarks inserted on VOD movies on one if my three HD outlets is available on the other two outlets as well. I can start a VOD movie or series on one TV and continue it the next day on another. That is a change from just a few months ago.

[jedwards]

This is how I imagine a "central" DVR service. If your cable goes out, you're SOL for watching anything you have recorded.

It's one of the main reasons we stay with our Tivo service. No cable/satellite service? No problem!

Tell me about it!

My cable went out this afternoon, and they are not rolling a truck until tomorrow.
I will miss a couple of recordings, but most can be rescheduled.

In any case, I have days of TV on tap.

[jmoak]

They already filed the appeal. No doubt! That was never in question. (they fast-track filed with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on tuesday the 10th)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zdigital11apr11,0,6790716.story?coll=sfla-business-headlines

I was simply struck by the U.S. District Court's statement that the service amounted to "transmissions of (the) plaintiffs' copyrighted programs" since it was not recorded in the customer's homes (as was deemed legal by the 1984 Supreme Court Sony Betamax case), but was to be stored and fed from a central server location just like vod.

I actually think that they will eventually do it, but they'll have to give the networks and whoever else's programming they offer for this service a cut of the revenue.

How many programmers can they cut deals with and how much it will cost is the question, at least to me.