[opendtv] News: Cablevision Suspends Network DVR Rollout

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2006 08:56:46 -0400

For the past decade I have been saying that networked DVRs are not 
going to be viable because of copyright issues - that fair use does 
not protect them since the consumer is not making the recordings and 
the cable infrastructure is being used to access them. It looks like 
this may finally be tested in court...

Regards
Craig

June 8, 2006

Cablevision Suspends Network DVR Rollout
Release Delayed Pending Outcome of Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
By Jay Sherman

Cablevision is putting on hold its plans to roll out its 
network-based digital video recorder pending the outcome of a lawsuit 
challenging the legality of the proposed service.

A Cablevision spokesman said Thursday that the Bethpage, N.Y.-based 
cable company has agreed to suspend deployment of the network DVR as 
part of an agreement by both sides involved in the lawsuit to an 
expedited trial schedule to resolve the legality questions 
surrounding the network DVR product. Under the schedule mapped out by 
U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin, a trial would begin Oct. 30, 
meaning the earliest Cablevision would roll out the product would be 
the fall.

At issue is whether Cablevision's planned network DVR service poses a 
copyright infringement. The media companies that are suing 
Cablevision argue the planned service amounts to video-on-demand. In 
a counterclaim filed Wednesday in the U. S. District Court for the 
Southern District of New York, Cablevision said the network DVR 
proposal is simply an evolution of the VCR and set-top box DVR 
currently deployed by cable and satellite operators.

Cablevision's decision to suspend the deployment of the network DVR 
is the latest twist in a legal tussle that has pit the cable company 
against several big-name media companies and cable and broadcast 
networks, including News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox, Viacom's Paramount 
Pictures, Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, CBS Corp. and Time Warner's CNN and 
Cartoon Network.

The network DVR works essentially the same way a traditional DVR 
does, Cablevision has argued, except that the recorded shows are 
stored on computer servers operated by Cablevision. The company hopes 
the technology would help reduce the expense associated with 
deploying DVRs in subscribers' homes. Cablevision had planned to 
introduce the product in 1,000 homes on New York's Long Island this 
month.
 
 
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