Digital TV Facts: The Latest

It’s been a rough week for viewers who want to digitally record TV shows. TiVo asked one court to deactivate Dish Network DVRs because of a patent dispute, and a group of Hollywood studios and broadcast networks asked another to shut down Cablevision’s planned “network DVR” service over alleged copyright violations.

Cablevision isn’t the only cable operator interested in centralized video playback for its customers:

In March, Comcast COO Steve Burke and Time Warner Cable chief financial officer John Martin told investors at an analysts’ conference that their respective companies would probably follow Cablevision’s lead if it were able to launch nDVR successfully.

Time Warner dumped its Mystro nDVR service in 2004 to placate content providers. Its Start Over feature, which allows viewers to restart a live program from the beginning, incorporates Mystro technology, according to Mediaweek. But Start Over does not allow fast-forwarding, and a CED article says that Time Warner—a media empire that happens to own plenty of content—arranges copyright clearance for the programming.

• Links: Mediaweek, CED