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Replacing Your Tired Old DVR
An anonymous reader wrote to mention a C|Net article about a possible replacement for the DVR. Called RS-DVR, it allows customers to record shows on centrally located business-owned servers. From the article: "One uncertainty is reaction to Cablevision's service by programming networks, which have bristled at some of the cable industry's previous attempts to record shows on their systems before negotiating new broadcasting rights. Cablevision argues nothing will be recorded on its network unless the viewer orders it from the remote control--an important difference from other failed experiments. Earlier controversies had centered on Time Warner Cable's aborted Maestro service, which had proposed to automatically store programs on its network so viewers could order up just about any show that had been previously broadcasted." There are a number of possible media ownership issues here, I think. Personally, I'm happy having the shows right here on a hard drive in my home.
I already pay a monthly fee to the cable company for the programming. No more monthly fees. I'm perfectly happy to record it myself and not get jerked around by another 'service provider.'
"This is better! NO! Trust us...it's better!"
"These people look deep within my soul and assign me a number based on the order in which I joined" --Homer re:
Right...and have Comcast enforce content DRM by deciding how, when and how many times I get to watch something I 'recorded'?
No thanks!
I saw no mention of how much they're going to charge for this service. Knowing how these guys work, I'm guessing it's not going to be a flat monthly fee, but rather a per usage fee. Or, of course, they could combine the two and charge a monthly fee for the ability to use the service, and then throw a small per use/recording charge on top of that. After all, they gotta find some way to maximize the profitability of this thing.
This guy's the limit!
>Personally, I'm happy having the shows right here on a hard drive in my home.
Exactly. As I've said before, I've never cottoned to having my email stored on someone else's server, either.
Just give me the PIPE, man! I don't need, want, or trust any of your "services" to manage the data for me. I can do that myself, thank you very much.
Steve
A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
Isn't this the kind of thing that got mp3.com into hot water a couple years ago?
A post a day keeps productivity at bay.
Giving the customer less than they want, one technology at a time.
So the content providers can choose how long I have to watch something I want to record? And how is this better than having a DVR and on-demand tv?
Unless they somehow offer this 'feature' as a free service, count me out.
This is the worst idea in ages. Not only that, but as others have stated, recording shows at the cable company facilities is a little different than the legal test that was applied to an end-consumer recording video on their own VCR years ago.
Its scarey, but I forsee a time where a TV is a thin-client- basically an mpeg decoder with a remote proxy tied back to the cable company. And I do not want this. I'm very happy with my dual tuner Motorola HD PVR. (ok, I could be happier if Insight Communication hadn't updated it recently to disable my 30 second skip...which I had to program into the remote to enable to begin with)
Just imagine what the cable company will do with your video if its on their servers? You know the anoyying ads that they insist in putting into the DVR interface to waste guide space??? Imagine them being inserted over your video. Imagine remote lag- no longer can you fast forward at high speed to skip over a commercial and have any hope of hitting the play button in time for your show....its hard enough as it is now!
1. Can you skip ads?
2. Will it still be there when the network loses the "right" to broadcast it?
3. Will it still be there in case government (or someone else) doesn't like the idea of its existance?
4. Will it be free of extra charge?
5. Will it allow "unlimited" recordings?
6. Will I be able to make local copies?
If one of those queries return "no", my answer is "no" as well and I stay with my means of recording.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The cable company doesn't care if you record and redistribute content. It's not hypocritical for them to do it themselves.
On the other hand, you can bet the owners of the content are going to have a problem with the cable companies time-shifting their content and getting paid for it, unless they're getting a cut of the fees and they're convinced it will make it more difficult for the end users to record, redistribute, and skip commercials. I'm sure they'd love to see the cable companies take as much DVR functionality away from the customers as they can get away with.
Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
You do understand that the set of people containing the target audience for Cablevision's service and the set of people that know what KnopMyth is, let alone have the desire to build a box and set it up, have no union, right?
They actually have very large union. What they lack is intersect.
I have a DVR myself, and use it all the time and love it, but it wasn't cheap. If a server-side "recorder" is a cheaper option, even if it's less flexible, why is that so horrible? Providing this doesn't mean the cable companies are going to come into your house and steal your Myth box, you still have that option.
Ok, kvetch about possible cost -- though it might be cheaper than roll your own -- and limitations, but it's sounding too much like conspiracy theory here. For Joe Average who missed last night's "American Idol", this could be very handy.
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
Let's see between a mythTV box or a ReplayTV or a hacked or paying the additional fees for your Tivo you can extract the recording to other machines for use on portable video devices. What they are talking about will downgrade me to no longer have that ability.
and that is only the start, I can not see ANY advantages of their proposed setup. Right now I can record and play back perfectly without my internet connection, theirs CANT.
unless it is going to be $1.25 a month it cant even begin to offset the loss in features (30 second skip is missing from the Comcast PVR and that is why I will not touch it.)
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
A few thousand dollars? For PVR running MythTV? WTF?
Building your own DVR using free scftware should not cost you more than a couple hundred dollars. Be creative and it will cost even less.
Here is the recipe (assumes you have analog cable or OTA antenna and a internet provider)
1. Pentium 400 MHz or faster w/128MB RAM or more, a HD 8GB or larger, a decent video card (nvidia or one that supports Xv), and an ethernet NIC.
Cost: probably free if you reuse an old PC but no more than $100 if you shop on eBay.
2. A cheap frame grabber tuner supported by linux
Cost: $30-$70 ($30 or less for a generic BT878 frame grabber or $70 for a nicer Hauppauge PVR-150)
3. AMICUS CD http://amicus.sourceforge.net/ (meant specifically for older PCs but you can use Knoppmyth or MythDora or do it from scratch, whatever you like)
Cost: $1 for a CD-R plus a few minutes for a download of the ISO
Instructions: assemble PC, install and configure MythTV with AMICUS, hook up to cable TV or antenna, start recording shows. You are done.
Why would you need a networked DRM infested commercial pseudo-DVR?
You don't need thousands of dollars. Put that old clunker PC back to work rather than collecting dust in the basement!
BTW, this is not some abstract theory. People are doing this everyday.
Step 1. Soften up Tivo's market share by offering your own DVR.
Step 2. Kill off Tivo entirely by moving the hard drive out of the consumers home.
Step 3. Charge $1.99 to watch a timeshifted show (*cough* itunes *cough*).