[opendtv] Re: Is 'Fair Use' in Peril?
- From: johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxx
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 22:15:19 -0800 (PST)
I don't know your conclusory remarks to be true based on my observations.
You spoke of why -- purportedly -- people bought VCRs. I described how
people use them. In the early 1980's, people convinced themselves to buy
a computer to balance their checking account, which was (until Quicken)
harder to do with a computer than manually. (Uh, that WAS my point about
time-shifting.)
I see one hell of a lot of VCRs with flashing (or steady) 12:00 on them.
I guess you don't. Mine is an observation; yours appears to be a
conclusion. Then, you go on to an urban legend. I stopped watching
Johnny Carson about 1979; the second year I owned a VCR, so I couldn't
have gotten the information from there.
As for not knowing about post 1990 VCRs, just a week or two ago, I reset
the clock on my mother's 1992 era Sony VCR with VCR+; the clock was off,
and she wanted to record jeopardy. Apparently, KPBS-TV is no longer
transmitting the time signal. The VCR does not get the channel line up
from over the air; you have to scan. How could you make your statement
without knowing this?
John Willkie
> Time shifting with a VCR is the reason most people bought them.
> One tape manufacturer even brought out a cassette specifically designed
> for
> timeshifting reuse again and again. For that to happen, a lot more than
> two people
> have to be timeshifting.
>
> The old Johnny Carson joke about the VCRs that continuously blink 12:00 is
> just that: A JOKE.
>
> If you really believe that only one or two people in the world have
> mastered the
> art and science of VCR timer setup, you are truely out of touch with
> reality.
>
> Since the early 1990s VCRs have automatically set their clocks and
> composed
> their own channel maps when you connect the cable and plug in the power so
> you don't have to mess with it. They get the time data from the local
> PBS station
> and they sample the entire cable or off air lineup automatically and
> store the channels
> in memory.
>
> How can you not know about this?
>
>
> johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
>>I can accept that there are two people in (North America/the U.S./New
>> York
>>State/NYC/Manhattan or even your city block) that do this, Mark. I also
>>suspect that the VCRs in your household don't blink 12:00 continually.
>>
>>But, not 2% of the populace, nor 2% of total viewing hours.
>>
>>I suspect that making this type of use easier is one of the drivers to
>> the
>>(at this point) non-success of Tivo. I note that they have less than 1%
>>of the populace or total viewing hours.
>>
>>If the VCR blinks 12
> :00, it's useless for timed recording, so you at least
>>have to be home to start the recording so you can later view it.
>>Otherwise, the activity becomes more burdensome.
>>
>>What's the business model for insuring that VCRs (or TV's have the
>> correct
>>time?
>>
>>John Willkie
>>
>>
>>
>>>>Have you, for example, EVER used a VCR to watch TV programs?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>I can't speak for Tom, but my wife and I do so often. We've never had a
>>>problem. We've been doing it since 1978.
>>>
>>>TTFN,
>>>Mark
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
>>
>>- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
>> FreeLists.org
>>
>>- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
>> unsubscribe in the subject line.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
>
> - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
> FreeLists.org
>
> - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
> unsubscribe in the subject line.
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.
Other related posts:
