Comments on: ‘Virtual PVR’ launches for mobile phones, PCs and Macs

By: Don’t quit TV yet – but start iView « Between 0 and 1

Don’t quit TV yet – but start iView « Between 0 and 1 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:14:49 +0000

[...] better all the time, I can only recommend tuning in. Channel 9 and 7 will be following suit and other DVR options are coming into existence. You don’t necessarily have to bend your antenna the wrong way to [...]

By: r4i

r4i — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:41:33 +0000

I am waiting for this mobile I am very fond of new phones I loved to use this multimedia and high definition phone these are the My favorite gadgets.They give you very nice performance with sound as well as picture quality and other multimedia

By: mattk

mattk — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:13:38 +0000

A ‘networked pvr’ service is not exactly a new idea, but I never thought I would see someone try to release one here in Oz. My understanding of copyright law in this country, would require mytvr to have an individual recording of each show for each of their customers that wanted to watch that show. So, if 100 customers wanted to watch the same show, they would need 100 separate recordings of that show.

They would not be permitted to just have one recording of a show and then be allowed to give access to that one recording to multiple people.

If I am understanding our copyright law correctly and they would need as many individual recordings as customers that want access to it, the infrastructure they would need to have in place to continue to provide the service as they grow is almost imaginable.

Perhaps I am wrong, and they can just record one copy of every show and then on sell it to multiple customers in multiple locations???

Regardless, I don’t think it will be long before each of the networks (or Freeview) take some sort of action. It is also not clear where they (mytvr.com.au), are getting their EPG data from.

By: Gerard

Gerard — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:28:23 +0000

Why would you pay for something AND watch ads?

By: Camille Alarcon

Camille Alarcon — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:09:16 +0000

Hi Steven – that’s now been amended in the story

Cheers,
Camille – Mumbrella

By: aplet

aplet — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:07:37 +0000

Seems like a good idea, although I’d imagine the subscription costs may be a bit high for most, given that TIVOs are already in the homes of the most likely candidates.

Why not offered on TVs? Seems like the obvious drawback

By: Harison

Harison — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:26:57 +0000

TiVo is unmetered on my ISP (internode). This is not. Otherwise I like the idea

By: Clinton

Clinton — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:46:36 +0000

IMpressive service. Also, the nicest looking most straightforward and convenient online TV guide I’ve seen yet – http://www.mytvr.com.au/guide

By: Jordan Windebank

Jordan Windebank — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:32:20 +0000

Now to find an easy way to stream this to my TV without additional hardware and I’m set. Cost is pretty impressive for heavy TV watchers.

By: Steven Noble

Steven Noble — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:16:01 +0000

Hi Camille,

This from Wikipedia: “Time shifting is the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or listened to at a time more convenient to the consumer.”

Cheers.

By: Camille Alarcon

Camille Alarcon — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:11:04 +0000

Hi Steven,

You’re correct on TiVo not offering ad skipping in Australia, which has now been updated in the article. Also, the time shifting capability mentioned refers to ad skipping – so in the future myTVR may allow users to skip ads.

Cheers,

Camille – Mumbrella

By: Milorad

Milorad — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:09:00 +0000

*** I should say, skipping rather than ‘ad skipping’, as it doesn’t work as it does in the US.

By: Milorad

Milorad — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:06:09 +0000

ad skipping is available on every other PVR not directly associated with a TV station. tivo is channel seven’s love-slave in australia, which is the only reasony it doesn’t have the feature here.

On myTVR’s website, some mention is made of “licensing” being applied to individual user accounts, indicating that a portion of your monthly fee may be going to the networks for the privilege. /speculation

By: Duncan Riley

Duncan Riley — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:30:56 +0000

Interesting to see where this sits legally in Australia; a similar attempt at a centralised PVR service (that is, where the company makes the recording on your behalf) hit legal issues in the US on the basis that centralised recording didn’t constitute fair use because the recording involved a commercial service.

Given the TV channels here won’t even allow ad skipping on a TiVo, I can’t see them being that amused by this.

By: Steven Noble

Steven Noble — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:53:30 +0000

Article says: “Unlike TiVo it does not allow users to skip ads, but they can manually fast forward them.”

In Australia, TiVo doesn’t let you skip ads.

Article says: “Carew said it does have the capability to add a time shifting function, which it will review in the future.”

Isn’t this entire service, by definition, time, place and device shifting?