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Fox's Attempt To Block Ad-skipping TV Recorder Autohop Fails
another random user writes that Fox's preliminary attempt to stop Dish Network's Autohop feature has failed in court. "A bid to block a TV service that allows viewers to automatically skip adverts on recorded shows has been rejected.
Fox had called for a preliminary injunction on Dish Network's Autohop ahead of a copyright ruling.
Broadcasters Fox, Comcast, NBC and CBS have each sued Dish Networks, saying the show recordings are unauthorized.
Fox said it would appeal against the ruling. It says Autohop is 'destroying the fundamental underpinnings of the broadcast television ecosystem.'
But Dish called the decision not to grant a preliminary injunction a 'victory for common sense.'
Its Hopper digital video recorder can record and store prime-time content from the four major networks for up to eight days.
And the Autohop feature lets viewers skip advertisements completely — rather than fast-forwarding through them — at the press of a button."
Ads are exactly why I don't watch prime time television. I grab scene releases of all the tv shows I watch. Sickbeard handles the fetching of all my new TV shows, automatically grabs old episodes of new shows I've added, etc. I still pay for a full cable package, with all the extras, so I don't feel bad about downloading, however due to the law as it is, what I'm doing is still technically illegal.
Broadcast Television has largely become a joke. In my opinion a lot of shows out there shouldn't even exist, and other good ones were cancelled after a season or two for whatever reason. I see in the future, Shows taking a pause part way through to endorse product X and Y, like they did in the 50's with radio dramas.
Most of the time, Networks broadcast shows based on how much money they'll make, not for any artistic value the show might possess
I have strong moral objections to shows like Two and a half men, where charlie sheen was being paid what, $13M per episode? Or these dream wedding shows where folks with an undeserved sense of self worth, drop more money than most people will see in a lifetime, for a wedding? Oh Lawd give me strength.
I would like to see producers of content cut out the media giants, and sell their products directly to the home subscriber. Technologically this is quite feasible, and could plausibly result in higher revenues for the people that matter, those directly involved with the show.