Several Hollywood studios and television networks have teamed up to kill the “network DVR.” I can’t say this surprises me — in fact, back in March I wondered if the lawyers would get involved. While the distinction between recording locally versus recording remotely may appear minor, in effect Cablevision would essentially be rebroadcasting content in an “on demand” fashion which requires additional licensing fees. While some might argue a studio/network victory would be a beachhead setting the precedent to kill all DVRs, I see this more as a line being drawn in the sand… which I can live with.

Business Week says: The network DVR proposed by Cablevision would allow viewers to choose which programs they want to record. But instead of recording on a hard drive in the home, the cable company would record the shows on a central computer, then allow viewers to watch them later. Studios say the law, under “fair use,” gives consumers the right to time shift. But it doesn’t give that right to companies that license the content only for simultaneous broadcast, meaning that to store the shows and offer them on demand for a fee, companies must obtain a separate license. “Such conduct would constitute willful copyright infringement,” the lawsuit states. The companies are asking the court to issue an injunction preventing Cablevision from launching the service.

The plaintiffs in the case are News Corp.’s Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Studios, Viacom Corp.’s Paramount Pictures and The Walt Disney Co., along with broadcasters ABC, CBS Corp. and General Electric Co.’s NBC.

Never enough time…

• Eirik Solheim ponders the future of TV distribution. (eirikso)
• Constantine to be first HD-DVD with In-Movie Experience features. (HD Beat)
• Digital content goes outside the box. (Mercury News)
• Brightcove to add media formats. (Brightcove)
• TV advertising’s DVR challenge. (CNET)

Check out this over-the-top convergence of technologies! Jim Courtney monitors PGA.com live stats while watching the action from his Slingbox and discussing it with fellow fanatics via Skype.

Never enough time…

• Download your TV; the current options. (TechCrunch)
• ABC.com users watch more than two million streams. (PVRBlog)
• TV networks blissfully ignore TiVo problem. (CNN Money)
• Windows Vista requires analog tuner. (jkOnTheRun)
• Paramount embraces blogosphere. (Technorati)

Enrollment and distribution has begun for folks interested in receiving a weekly CNET tech news segment, as announced last month. The service is being offered to both Cox cable customers, and in this case, broadband-enabled TiVo units. CNET had also announced their intention to include advertising, partnering with Best Buy as a charter sponsor. The inaugural 15 minute episode took slightly over an hour to trickle down and contains E3 footage from the floor… without any Best Buy references.

I find this only mildly interesting (where’s my VOD?), but I took Thomas Hawk’s advice and bought a tripod — so consider this a photographic test.

Never enough time…

• TiVo VP podcast: DVR meets broadband. (iMedia)
• NBC Nightly News rebroadcast on web. (MSNBC)
• Windows Media Player 11 Beta released. (Microsoft)
• How TiVo is cashing in on the interactive age. (Thomas Hawk)
• Samsung intros plasmas with built-in DVR. (HD Beat)
• Elgato EyeTV software updated. (MacNN)

Never enough time…

• Time Warner Cable to test “Start Over” service in Greensboro. (News Record)
• Discovery Channel content arrives on iTunes. (Apple Insider)
• Movielink and CinemaNow suck. (Thomas Hawk)
• Pioneer Inno XM2GO video review. (PC Mag)
• Netflix adds Blu-ray option. (Hacking Netflix)