DVR Dousing

Cablevision‘s loss of its network DVR case didn’t surprise one industry technology vet who has been there, done that. Jim Chiddix, who worked on the scrapped Mystro network DVR project during his tenure at Time Warner Cable a few years ago, told us that "we were convinced that you have to deal with the copyright issues." Time Warner never launched Mystro, but parts of it are being used for its Navigator guide and Start Over service. Late Thurs afternoon, a federal court ruled that Cablevision’s planned network DVR service would have violated content providers’ copyrights. "I don’t think any copyright attorneys were surprised by it," said Chiddix. CVC has said the network DVR is no different than a standalone DVR, with consumers doing the copying. But countered the judge: "the remote-storage DVR may have the look and feel of a set-top storage DVR, but ‘under the hood’ the 2 types of DVRs are vastly different." He said the network DVR is more akin to VOD than other time-shifting devices. The VOD comparison is significant because Cablevision must obtain licenses for the content it provides on demand, and the studios have argued that the same is true for its remote storage DVR. The MSO said it is reviewing its options, including a possible appeal. Cablevision put off a launch of the service last year after lawsuits were filed by Fox, Disney, Cartoon Net and other studios and networks.