Comcast, Time Warner back Cablevision DVR plan
Proposed service will let cable TV subscribers record programs on network servers, doing away with DVR boxes like TiVo's.
The proposed new service will allow cable TV subscribers to record programs on Cablevision Systems' network servers, doing away with the need for digital video recorder boxes made by companies like TiVo and Cisco Systems' Scientific-Atlanta.
Cablevision said Monday that the service it called RS-DVR (remote-storage digital video recorder) would help cut costs, such as for installing and repairing DVR boxes.
"It's a great idea. I applaud it," Comcast Chief Operating Officer Stephen Burke said at the Bank of America Media, Telecommunications and Entertainment Conference.
He and John Martin, chief financial officer of Time Warner's Time Warner Cable, told the conference the cable industry was watching Cablevision's trial service and would likely follow suit if it proved successful.
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.
"Our lawyers say Cablevision is on very firm footing so long as it's fair use (by the customer)," said Comcast's Burke.
He said a network recording service would help cable companies compete against satellite TV operators such as DirecTV and EchoStar, which cannot cut the cost of the DVR box out of their pricing structure.
"If it happens, which I predict it will, I'm sure the rest of the industry will follow," Burke said.
Time Warner Cable's Martin agreed.
"If this proves legal, we have the ability to do so on our infrastructure," he said. "That's what's important and exciting, so I'd say stay tuned on this one."
Time Warner began to test a service called "Start Over" in November that allows viewers who miss part of a live program to start from the beginning if the show is still in progress. Martin said Start Over was a network DVR concept that could be broadened out.
Cablevision said it plans to test the RS-DVR in its Long Island, N.Y., market for 60 days. It will require little more than a software download directly to existing cable set-top boxes.
Cablevision said it is likely to introduce the service to its estimated 2.1 million digital cable subscribers later this year.