Today, the United States District Court for the Central District of California denied Fox's attempt to take away television viewers' right to control how they watch TV. Consumers who have purchased the Hopper DVR can continue to use all its features, including its ability to skip commercials on recorded programming.
The following statement can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Senior Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge:
"It's great news that the Court has resisted Fox's attempt to shut down DISH's product, before there has even been a trial on the merits of the case. Consumers have a right to record television programs and watch them later in the manner of their choosing.
The Wall Street Journal has run tworecent reports that describe Apple's plan to roll out a cable set-top box. There have been rumors about this for years. Back in 2007, Steve Jobs showed a level of familiarity with obscure cable technology that would suggest that Apple engineers were looking into this kind of product back then. But Jobs was repelled by the janky technology, and instead, Apple introduced a pure streaming device--the AppleTV--that did not interact with cable TV content. But most of the most valuable content is still available only on cable, or on cable first. Lots of people seem to love the AppleTV, but there's a reason why Apple still describes it as a "hobby."
The Wall Street Journal has run tworecent reports that describe Apple's plan to roll out a cable set-top box. There have been rumors about this for years. Back in 2007, Steve Jobs showed a level of familiarity with obscure cable technology that would suggest that Apple engineers were looking into this kind of product back then. But Jobs was repelled by the janky technology, and instead, Apple introduced a pure streaming device--the AppleTV--that did not interact with cable TV content. But most of the most valuable content is still available only on cable, or on cable first. Lots of people seem to love the AppleTV, but there's a reason why Apple still describes it as a "hobby."
The Wall Street Journal has run tworecent reports that describe Apple's plan to roll out a cable set-top box. There have been rumors about this for years. Back in 2007, Steve Jobs showed a level of familiarity with obscure cable technology that would suggest that Apple engineers were looking into this kind of product back then. But Jobs was repelled by the janky technology, and instead, Apple introduced a pure streaming device--the AppleTV--that did not interact with cable TV content. But most of the most valuable content is still available only on cable, or on cable first. Lots of people seem to love the AppleTV, but there's a reason why Apple still describes it as a "hobby."
The Wall Street Journal has run tworecent reports that describe Apple's plan to roll out a cable set-top box. There have been rumors about this for years. Back in 2007, Steve Jobs showed a level of familiarity with obscure cable technology that would suggest that Apple engineers were looking into this kind of product back then. But Jobs was repelled by the janky technology, and instead, Apple introduced a pure streaming device--the AppleTV--that did not interact with cable TV content. But most of the most valuable content is still available only on cable, or on cable first. Lots of people seem to love the AppleTV, but there's a reason why Apple still describes it as a "hobby."
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In today’s hearing before the House Committee on Energy
& Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Public Knowledge
President & CEO Gigi B. Sohn will tell Congress that the future of video distribution
promises to be more competitive and beneficial to consumers--but only if
policymakers act now to make it so.
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.
Subscribe to the podcast via the .xml here.
Click here to download the file for this week's podcast directly.
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Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.
Subscribe to the podcast via the .xml here.
Click here to download the file for this week's podcast directly.
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I am appalled at the news that you are suing DISH over its DVR “Hopper,” a technology that allows its users to more conveniently skip commercials on recorded shows. Astonishingly, you've claimed both that DISH and its customers are breaking the law when they don't watch commercials on recorded programming. I'm offended that you would so casually call millions of Americans lawbreakers.
Skipping commercials is 100% legal and the Supreme Court affirmed viewers' right to record TV in its landmark Betamax decision of 1984. Unfortunately, while technology has evolved since the Betamax decision, your habit of trying to use the courts to squash innovation has not.
One of the benefits of the FCC's often-laborious process of rulemaking is that it allows new issues to be discovered and resolved. This is what has happened in the Commission's proceeding on a seemingly-arcane issue: "encryption of the basic tier."
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[title] => Let's Get the Future of TV Right
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One of the benefits of the FCC's often-laborious process of rulemaking is that it allows new issues to be discovered and resolved. This is what has happened in the Commission's proceeding on a seemingly-arcane issue: "encryption of the basic tier."
One of the benefits of the FCC's often-laborious process of rulemaking is that it allows new issues to be discovered and resolved. This is what has happened in the Commission's proceeding on a seemingly-arcane issue: "encryption of the basic tier."
One of the benefits of the FCC's often-laborious process of rulemaking is that it allows new issues to be discovered and resolved. This is what has happened in the Commission's proceeding on a seemingly-arcane issue: "encryption of the basic tier."
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In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress told the FCC to increase competition in video devices—consumer electronics that can display and interact with pay TV content. That competition is still missing.
A consumer should be able to attach any non-harmful device to a cable network and access the programming that they are paying for. After all, when cable was analog you could simply plug your TV directly into cable.
This ability should apply to more than just “cable,” however—today, satellite TV is more popular than ever, and Verizon and AT&T offer subscription TV services that aren’t strictly “cable” (The FCC calls these MVPDs, or “Multichannel Video Programming Distributors”).
preserves the openness of the Internet and the public's access to knowledge, promotes creativity through balanced copyright, and upholds and protects the rights of consumers to use innovative technology lawfully.
