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DOJ Urges Supremes Not To Hear Network DVR Case
Which could prove to be a big win for Cablevision, TV lovers...

In a filing, (pdf) the DOJ Solicitor General on Friday urged the Supreme Court not to hear a case in which the entertainment industry has sued Cablevision for use of a network DVR (or RS-DVR). The network DVR stores video content at the network head end, eliminating the need for a consumer-side set top box entirely. Cablevision tested the idea in 2006 storing 80GB of data for 1,000 trial users on their network. But the company was sued by the entertainment industry, who feared a loss of ad revenue and content control.

The entertainment industry (GE, NBC, CBS, Walt Disney, ABC; and others) saw legal success early on, but Cablevision won a key ruling from a federal appeals court in Philadelphia last summer. The case now heads to the Supreme Court, and a refusal to hear the case would in essence be a victory for Cablevision, who has previously stated their implementation of the service would provide customers with about 160GB of network-side storage for about the same price as current DVR service (around $10 per month).

Traditionally the Supreme Court doesn't always listen to the DOJ's Solicitor General, though they have been swayed by input in the past. Consumer advocates were please by the news, Public Knowledge's Gigi Sohn "wholeheartedly agreeing" with the DOJ. "Common sense would dictate that a recording is a recording, whether made on a set-top box or in a cable head-end," says Sohn "We hope the U.S. Supreme Court follows this advice and removes any legal obstacles from the Cablevision service going forward."

Should the Supreme Court hear the case and side with the entertainment industry, network functionality could be significantly less interesting for consumers, as any compromises with copyright holders could result in annoying changes such as unskippable advertisements.
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mod_wastrel
anonome
join:2008-03-28

mod_wastrel

Member

Wow...

"Common sense would dictate that a recording is a recording, whether made on a set-top box or in a cable head-end,"

...or a DVD or a hard drive? ...sounds almost like "fair use", huh?
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Wow...

I think the content owners are idiots in this case. The network DVR isn't necessarily a bad thing.. and, I'm glad there is, right now, no need for Cablevision to work with the providers or we'd have SOOOO many restrictions on the content, it's not even funny.

The bottom line is the content providers (CPs) are not being violated. It's not like Cablevision is recording the content and re-distributing it on a wide basis. The end user has to have selected to record it before the show starts as with the DVR today. They are not making this content available OnDemand.. it's one to one content recording/capture. The providers are, once again, grasping for straws like they did with the Beta, the VHS, Laser Disc, and DVD.

The ONLY thing I don't like about the network DVR is I'm afraid the quality of the recording and the latency of the system will be horrible. On the plus side, if the power goes out, the show still records.. since it's "network based" instead of box based, there's no more watching your programs walk out the door if a box goes bad, and maybe the EAS alert issue goes away too. Also, it SHOULD cut back on the cost of having to have multiple DVRs in the house saving money.

I'm not too worried, either, as with the new boxes from 3rd parties on the horizon, there will still be an option of network based, and box based DVRs.
MrkFrnt
join:2000-11-26
Winston Salem, NC

MrkFrnt

Member

Love by TIVO

I'll watch the commercials, as long as I can choose when I watch the show.

SHABAZZ
join:2008-07-13
Seattle, WA

1 recommendation

SHABAZZ

Member

Re: Love by TIVO

Not me, I want my recordings commercial free!

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD to MrkFrnt

Premium Member

to MrkFrnt
Commercials = someone else watching.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: Love by TIVO

said by SLD:

Commercials = someone else watching.
like the ones tivo records for you without your permission[infomercials]
theres also ads on tivo now.

Uncle Paul
join:2003-02-04
USA

Uncle Paul

Member

Re: Love by TIVO

Any time I've ever ventured down into the TIVO suggested recordings, I've never seen an infomercial.

There are banner ads on the menu screens (Just like Comcast).
bgraham2
join:2001-03-15
Smithtown, NY

bgraham2

Member

I think it depends,

I think it's my right to record TV on my DVR and play it back for myself no matter where the actual bits and bytes are and if I choose to rent a DVR from Cablevision or buy my own then thats nothing to do with the TV companies.

But now, if Cablevision makes money by charging me for the recordings that I make if I use their head end system, then I can see where the TV companies have an argument.

RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY

RARPSL

Member

Re: I think it depends,

said by bgraham2:

But now, if Cablevision makes money by charging me for the recordings that I make if I use their head end system, then I can see where the TV companies have an argument.
The fee they are going to charge is the same as the STB DVR Rental fee so they are actually charging for it just like the STB DVR which is apparently acceptable to the Media Mafia Types. I see nothing that makes them charging for the service unacceptable since, as I note, they are charging now for my doing it with their STB DVR.

The only money they make vs. the STB DVR is the savings for not purchasing the STB DVR. The savings from the lack of the STB are offset to some extent by the cost of purchasing the Drives to store the shows (including the extra space due to the need to record multiple copies to make the Media Types Happy in lieu of only one copy and feeding it on demand as is done with VOD shows) and the equipment to run the system. Given the cost of the STB, I expect that this system would

randomanomnum543
@charter.com

randomanomnum543

Anon

Re: I think it depends,

They will also save boatloads of cash on the shipping of said boxes to and from the factory because of the abnormally high failure rate of the DVR boxes. Not to mention the prices of receiving phone calls for when the boxes go bad, the cost of sending out a tech.. etc.

calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA

calvoiper

Member

What about duplication?

Curious--does the box at the head-end actually store multiple copies of the same content for multiple users? If it "combines" those versions, there might be a different legal interpretation than if it actually segments out each users separate copy....

calvoiper

l2jn4 ljalkd
@swbell.net

l2jn4 ljalkd

Anon

Re: What about duplication?

said by calvoiper:

Curious--does the box at the head-end actually store multiple copies of the same content for multiple users? If it "combines" those versions, there might be a different legal interpretation than if it actually segments out each users separate copy....

calvoiper
The Cablevision ruling requires an individual copy for each subscriber. This solution isn't going to be any cheaper than putting DVR in each house, but is easier to manage and add as a service to exisitng subscribers.
DGLewis
join:2006-03-10
Freehold, NJ

DGLewis

Member

Re: What about duplication?

A honkin' big RAID server farm has a significantly lower cost per bit for storage than does a million individual DVR set-top boxes.

Plus, you can sell a customer DVR without having to ship them a new box, and as others have pointed out, all the maintenance and repair is centralized at the headend, dramatically lowering OpEx.

They can also upsell additional storage space, getting the revenue that's currently going to E-SATA disk manufacturers (and growing the market, because even something as simple as buying an E-SATA disk and plugging it into the back of the STB isn't as simple as having a pop-up on the screen that says, "Your storage space is 90% full. Please delete some recordings, or press to purchase additional storage space.")

JoeOnSunset
Doublethink Is Doubleplus Ungood.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-25
Ormond Beach, FL

JoeOnSunset

Premium Member

Re: What about duplication?

Yeah but can't they just use a file system that is intelligent enough to write exactly duplicated data only once, and store a pointer record so that it appears as 500 copies of the same file? I've read a couple articles about file systems doing this now.

As long as that is handled on low enough a level, I imagine they could get away with it.

Jim Kirk
Premium Member
join:2005-12-09
49985

Jim Kirk

Premium Member

Re: What about duplication?

Why would they even bother? I'm sure they could just record everything 24/7. No need for duplicate anything.
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

Skippy25 to calvoiper

Member

to calvoiper
I dont know too much about the infrastructure of the cable system, but if the Head End serves an area and the ads for that area would be the same regardless, I think it should be allowed to be recorded 1 time.
disc
join:2005-12-31
Raleigh, NC

disc

Member

wonder why the DOJ even cares

Is this a matter of public policy? Or do the cablecos have well-placed friends.
33358088 (banned)
join:2008-09-23

1 recommendation

33358088 (banned)

Member

I want my vcr days back and all the nonsense to end

I want my vcr days back and all the nonsense to end.
thinka bout it they are changing hte rules JUST BECAUSE OF NEW TECH they MISSED IT LAST TIME BUT NOT NOW
well SCREW THEM
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: I want my vcr days back and all the nonsense to end

You can have your VCR and use that. Just make sure you can find the tapes for them.
floydb1982
join:2004-08-25
Kent, WA

floydb1982

Member

What difference does it make

What difference does it make weather you are able to use a DVR top box on your TV recording your favorite show or recording the same only at the cable's end? It doesn't matter which way you go either way you're still going to be able to block out those annoying TV ads.

jtudor
MVM
join:2002-12-07
Morganton, NC

jtudor

MVM

Set Top Box?

How does it totally eliminate the set top box? You still have to have some sort of box for live viewing and to control the "network" DVR don't you? Perhaps it's a smaller box but it's still an STB.