What appeared to be a bright light of opportunities for operators this year has dimmed substantially as the Supreme Court has asked the Department of Justice for its take on a copyright case that will likely delay, or worse, cancel Cablevision Systems Corp.’s (CVC) launch of its remote access (network) DVR service.
An appeals court ruling months ago seemed to open the floodgates for Cablevision’s long-promised service, and similar network-based content offerings from others, that provide a cheaper and more efficient alternative to in-home DVR boxes.
Cablevision plans to use servers, storage and other resources in its network. It had hoped to deploy the service early this year, but that target seems in doubt.
A copyright group stepped in and asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, which itself portended to delay the service rollout. Now the court wants input from the DOJ.
Cablevision has not commented on the latest development.
In a December presentation before financial analysts, Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge said his firm has deployed the service on its campus for internal use, is testing the software that powers it for errors, and sees it as a cheaper, faster and simpler means to provide its customers DVR functionality without them buying in-home DVRs.
“It’s cheaper, easier, more customer friendly and easier to sell,” said Rutledge of the service, in which content resides in the network, as does storage currently handled via hard drives in in–home DVR units.
The cable giant COO estimates his firm can save $100 per install of the service as opposed to a DVR device, as current digital set-top boxes can be equipped to use the service via software download, obviating the need for, or expense of, truck rolls.
“It has all the functionality of a DVR,” Rutledge claimed, adding, “You can’t tell the difference.”
