Summer Debut for Cablevision Network DVR

[wberndt]

Saw this on
www.engadgethd.com

, which linked to the site below & thought I'd share it here.

Looks like this may be happening soon. Not sure how I feel about this, especially with some of the 'compromises' they have to make to get this out (like not being able to skip commercials -BOOOO!). I'll reserve judgement until it's official and available.



Cable Digital News - Video - Summer Debut for Cablevision Network DVR - Telecom News Analysis





Cablevision Systems Corp.


(NYSE:
CVC


) plans to deploy its controversial Remote Storage-DVR (
RS-DVR


) some time this summer, according to a report from
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc.


analyst Craig Moffett.
"We'll be rolling out our first product based on [the RS-DVR] later this summer. We'll move to centralized storage," Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge told the analyst, noting that the company still believes its approach is on solid legal footing.
Last fall, the MSO indicated that the service could be up and running by early 2009. (See
RS-DVR Debut: 'Early Next Year'


.)
Cablevision sees the RS-DVR as a big capex saver, as deployment of the service would cost about $100 less per customer, compared with giving every sub a set-top box outfitted with a hard drive. It also solves a problem of in-home wiring: An RS-DVR implementation could be configured as whole-home DVR that doesn't require
Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA)


or another advanced home-networking platform to shuttle video around the home's network.
Studios, programmers, and other content holders generally oppose the RS-DVR. But Cablevision has prevailed so far, as the courts have said the network-based system doesn't directly infringe on copyright rules and should be granted the same protections already governing stand-alone DVRs and VHS machines. (See
Lawsuits Could Nuke Network DVR


,
Net DVR Still Appealing for Cablevision


and
Court Resurrects Cablevision's Network DVR


.)
In the most recent legal matter, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the Department of Justice weigh in on the appeals court ruling in January, indicating that the high court may eventually determine the fate of the RS-DVR. (See
Supremes Consider Cablevision's RS-DVR


.)
However, Cablevision now believes that the MSO and programmers can eventually find common ground without further legal intervention.
"I think ultimately we'll end up in some commercial arrangement with programmers. We're having discussions with the copyright holders that can make the network DVR model work in their best interests," said Rutledge, as quoted in Moffett's report.
Those comments could portend a change of direction for Cablevision on the subject of advertising. Previously, Cablevision said it the RS-DVR would function like a regular DVR, meaning it would not prevent viewers from fast-forwarding through the advertising.
But the MSO may be willing to disable that function as
Time Warner Cable Inc.


(NYSE:
TWC


) does for "Start Over," an application that restarts shows that are already in progress. Another possibility: Cablevision may try to appeal to programmers by coupling RS-DVR recordings with addressable/targeted advertising, a capability it's
also rolling out


this summer.
Cablevision was not immediately available for further comment Tuesday morning.
— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor,
Cable Digital News

[dm145]

no thank you
the main reason i have a dvr is to skip commercials
the cost is the same as having a local hard drive
what is the point?

[hbk409]

its supposed to be able to skip commercials just like you currently can. However its also supposed to give you the ablity to due online scheduling. And record more the 2 channels at a time.

[skohly]

its supposed to be able to skip commercials just like you currently can. However its also supposed to give you the ablity to due online scheduling. And record more the 2 channels at a time.

No it isn't. One of the selling points Cablevision is using to get past the legal issues with the tv networks is that you can't skip through the commercials.

[dm145]

its supposed to be able to skip commercials just like you currently can. However its also supposed to give you the ablity to due online scheduling. And record more the 2 channels at a time.

You may know something we don't/ i hope but everything i read hints at removing the ability to skip ads?

taken from above:

However, Cablevision now believes that the MSO and programmers can eventually find common ground without further legal intervention.
"I think ultimately we'll end up in some commercial arrangement with programmers. We're having discussions with the copyright holders that can make the network DVR model work in their best interests," said Rutledge, as quoted in Moffett's report.
Those comments could portend a change of direction for Cablevision on the subject of advertising. Previously, Cablevision said it the RS-DVR would function like a regular DVR, meaning it would not prevent viewers from fast-forwarding through the advertising.
But the MSO may be willing to disable that function as Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) does for "Start Over," an application that restarts shows that are already in progress. Another possibility: Cablevision may try to appeal to programmers by coupling RS-DVR recordings with addressable/targeted advertising, a capability it's also rolling out this summer.

[harshness]

Sounds like they're trying to take the approach of delivering something that isn't legal in an effort to pressure the regulators/programmers to deal with the problem.

I can't see any good coming from this approach.

[Joseph Dubin]

And what about the "out to VCR" function on DVR hardrive units? Standard HD boxs don't have this.

[milan2]

My question is not about the commercial skip.

Its about the SPEED. I can't imagine this thing being fast. Look how slow OnDemand is.

[e2727]

If it that slow like the On Demand on don't want it, will we have the option to keep the DVR's we have now?

[cableguy79]

All boxes will be able to use this feature, doesnt matter if its a dvr or not, you will be using the ondemand buttons for this. This is implemented using a simple code push wherein you will notice that your boxes will reboot in the middle of the night. The commercial problem is trying to be solved by having commercials while your fast forwarding through them, it would be almost similar to PIP, only while you fast forward or rewind. Kinda Sucks.