Cablevision on track to deliver Network DVR this Summer
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted May 20th 2009 2:21PM
posted May 20th 2009 2:21PM
We all want the same thing right? The ability to watch any show we want, whenever we want, and wherever we want. Sounds easy, but even in this day and age to achieve this easily isn't possible. Currently there are a few ways this might happen down the road, and one that looks to be coming our way sooner rather than later is Cablevision's Network DVR. While a traditional DVR has a hard drive in it to store your shows, the Network DVR wouldn't. Instead it would stream the content from a centralized data store, like VOD. You'd still have to pre-schedule your recordings and presumably you'd still have a set limit, but ordering DVR service wouldn't require a new box and best of all, you should have access to all the same content in any room of the house. This has been in the making for a long time now -- three years actually -- but Hollywood has been tying it up in court. Luckily the courts have been on Cablevision's side, but it does appear that the consumer may still get the shaft. That's because it seems there's a chance that the Network DVR won't let you fast forward through commercials, which would obviously make it a show stopper for most.
Remind me, what's the point of a DVR when you can't skip commericals? That's like a browser that doesn't support AdBlock: worthless.
Not totally worthless but it is a big feature missing. Though skipping commercials is an excellent reason for the DVR and a benefit that would be missed, the biggest benefit of a DVR for me is allowing me to watch two shows that air at the same time. It is also good for when I travel for business and cannot guarantee I get to watch all my shows.
The fact is there are conflicts that prevent me from watching shows I normally would watch. These include some of the aforementioned items. A proper DVR resolves this issue by letting you record one show and watch another. (Actually, I have bigger conflicts thanks to wanting three shows at one time at least twice a week. Thankfully the Media Center PC is going to resolve this issue for me.)
@TheBDJ
Get a better DVR then. There are many on the market, such as the Virgin Media V+ box that i have, that can record two while watching a third.
A network DVR would allow you to record essentially infinite shows simultaneously, so it would solve that issue for you as well. There aren't any "tuners", so no issues recording 5 shows or whatever at once.
I think you miss the point. The DVR will still skip commercials. Only when you are networking it to another location will it not skip commercials.
I have FIOS with the Network DVR and one DVR plays to all the boxes in my house. And any of them can fast forward through commercials.
What I cannot do is access those shows outside my network. That is the feature, I believe, that will not allow skipping commercials (still sux though).
I'll remind you. It's so that you can watch a TV show anytime you want and you don't have to make sure that you remember to sit in front of your TV the exact moment that the network decides you should watch the show.
if i can keep adding 1tb drives for $100, i'd rather have it in my house and ffwd through commercials.
however, given the frequent dropouts in CVC recordings (and live TV) i might have a better chance of watching an entire show if they host it...
Way to cripple something intuitive.
Barry, I totally agree. If I wanted to see the commercials I'd just watch the show during normal broadcast. I like starting shows with my DVR after normal start time so that I can fast forward through the commercials and pretty much still watch the show at the same time. Even better: just paying 99 cents for the show, having no commercials, and watching your favorite show is more like a movie.
That name sounds cheap.. like intellevision...
fire marketing
It's not cheap, that's for sure. o__O
Believe me, iO (Cablevision's digital cable service) is a lot better than Verizon FiOS in many ways.
I wonder if they will charge you less for this service as compared to having a set top box with DVR? Also this would help solve the problem when these boxes go bad and you lose all your recorded shows (assuming the network solution is backup\redundant).
SageTV has been doing all of this, and a lot more, for a long time now. The addition of the HD100/200 hardware extender devices has only made it all the more enticing.
lol@ limiting number of "recordings" you can schedule
lol@ not allowing you to ffwd
lol@ cable companies in general.
The idea of storing all programming somewhere else, and streaming it to you is a great idea, but if they don't seriously adapt in the next few years, they're going to become extinct. I think that, for the $60-70/month you pay, you should get:
- A box that allows one-button commerical skipping, or at the very least has a 30-second-ffwd button you can hit until they're all over.
- The ability to schedule recordings from any device w/ an internet connection.
- Place-shifting (inbuilt slingbox functionality)
- Netflix streaming
- Support for accessing my home network and playing video/audio stored within.
- Probably 100 more features that almost all STBs have these days
Oh yeah, Time Warner's HD in NYC absolutely sucks. Pixelation, pauses, choppyness, and a generally shitty looking compressed picture. We pay way too much for this shit.
Add HD Hulu for free on my Xbox 360 and I'll never look back.
Lets stop the nonsense Tivo HD (and the Series 4 with SDV whenever that happens) FTFW!!
isn't the idea to reduce bandwidth so that more HD content (like VOOM) can be had?
PS and no I wont let it go that Cablevision killed off the non premium Voom HD channels (which they own by the way!
http://www.rainbow-media.com/about.jsp
Long live Zatoichi "The Blind Ni**a Samurai"
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0441526/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cOOiDZ-Spk
I would love Hulu on my 360. Unlike Comcast's VOD, they have the episodes AND the shows. Not 1 or 2 episodes(that expire after x days) of a particular show. Giggity
It will be interesting to see if the Supreme Court takes this case. If they do, I'm guessing that Cablevision won't be releasing that network DVR for a while. The case is here, for legotechnophiles: http://beckermanlegal.com/Documents/cartoonnetwork_csc_080804SecondCircuitDecis.pdf
Honestly, I'd much rather Cablevision spend their time and money doing things that matter, like providing decent service, instead of pursuing legal battles that have the potential to set a precedent, which could be even worse.
Screw Hulu, I still cannot watch the first 13 episodes of this season's LOST.
When THAT happens, I'll be onboard
abc.com can. also, just get att uverse, or beyondtv, and problem solved.
All I can say knowing and used to be an Cablevision user..is this you will get the stuff but then you will get Rape when their crappy deal ends..so to cablevision all i can say is:
GO F*CK YOURSELF CABLEVISION..YOU POS!!!
Looking forward for this
I'm surprised more people aren't making a bigger deal about this.
I wrote a post last year about what this could mean for the future of video and music licensing here
http://deancollinsblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/cloudification-of-your-content.html
(lol or just go to www.Cloudification.net - i cant believe that domain wasn't taken).
===>Let's face it if you are still using Cablevision for your internet or television you are getting ripped off. Sure they offer a good introductory offer for high speed internet ($30 plus fees) but then it like triples in a matter of months. If you use them for more than three months at a time you are a sucker. There are much better companies out there that give you much more for your money. Shop around.
===> We all want perfect HD channels and DVR play back with no commercials, but waiting for an outdated company like cable vision to give it to you is madness. Right now they are promising all these great things that are coming in the future, and meanwhile they are removing channels from some customer's line up and making them pay more for things they used to get for free.
===>Have you noticed that in today's economic meltdown most companies are taking notice and offering good deals for Americans that are trying to cut back? I think that's great. For example most fast food restaurants are offering reduced priced menus.
ON THE OTHER HAND Cablevision is taking a different approach. They see the economic meltdown as a good opportunity to give you less and charge you more. I guess they assume they will lose some customers in the long run, but in the short run they'll clean up. Of course that makes sense since the company is controlled by one very wealthy Dolan family who is probably trying to make quick cash on the company before it inevitably sinks further down the stock exchange.