NY Cablevision Ruling Opens Way For Network DVRs

All of a sudden there's this "cloud" that wants to do much of my computing for me, and Cablevision's long-stalled attempt to toss DVR content up into the cloud has finally been un-stalled by a Second Circuit of New York appeals court. That court ruled today that Cablevision could finally implement their plan for an RS-DVR, or Remote Storage Digital Video recorder.

Imagine a cable box and DVR that wasn't limited by local physical storage - and the attendant annoyances of upgrading hardware or buying TiVo-style expensive alternatives.

Cablevision had been prevented from creating the networked DVR by studios, whose bloodhounds barked out terms like "violation of licensing rights" and "duplicating" and "fair use," and managed to tie up Cablevision until the court decided that an RS-DVR constitutes no more than a simple extension of the regular DVR and doesn't radically alter its business model.

Cablevision hasn't exactly won its final battle, since the appeals ruling sends the case back to New York courts - the permanent ruling may establish a precedent for the future of remote-storage DVR devices.

Cablevision ruling would allow network DVRs [Electronista]