TVSquad

HBO needs to take a flighting leep, they already over charge for their service.

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HBO can go straight to Hell. Their selection of movies is weak, and now this.

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I called their offices yesterday (212-512-1208) and told them if they continued to lobby for this I would unsubscribe and "aquire their programming elsewhere"

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It's not only HBO, all of the premium channels and the studio's and the Actors unions want this. HBO is the only network that admits it. And for all you TIVO and DVR subscribers, myself included, Their will come a day when you digitally record a program that you will have a certain amount of time to watch it (I've heard two weeks), if you don't your recorder will erase it. I read in PC magazine that TIVO already has the software to limit the amount of time you can store a program. Some place on the west coast got a little taste of this about 6 months ago. When people recorded the Simpson's season debut, a lot of subcribers got a message...Warning!! you have two weeks before this program will be deleted! TIVO said it was A glitch...yeah right a glitch. Beleive me their will be alot of moaning in the industry how TIVO is stealing all of their revenue and everybody will join in a compromise that shows can be recorded, but only temporarily, hence the TIVO software program..uh err.."glitch" But all is not loss ..we may see the return of Video recording and tapes. They still have a heck of a time stopping that...

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Be careful of bit torrenting any HBO shows--I once got a nasty letter from then via my internet company (also my caqble company) sayting they knew I'd downloaded it and that they would take legal action next time.

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Sorry, my keyboard has a broken key and that throws all my typing off.

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So let me see if I got this right. Currently HBO doesn't mind, technically, if you record one of their original programs when it airs regularly on HBO, HBO2, HBO Signature, etc. You can put that on your DVR no problem. It's when you record it off of their in-demand PPV service that they get upset. Ok, how long before recording... say the Sopranos on regular HBO during a Sunday premiere, as scheduled, is something they want to block?

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Treat your audience well, and they'll treat you well.
Threaten to limit your audience's DVR usage, and your audience will limit your network. It's that simple.

(BTW - I don't even HAVE HBO, I've never seen a single program from it. Nor do I have a DVR, TiVo, ecetera... I'm still recording with a VCR!)

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The point of an on-demand service is to allow subscribers to have access to content on their own schedule. So what is the legitimate purpose of DVR-ing on-demand content? It is already available "on demand." This differs from recording a scheduled episode of a show, which is being aired when you are unable to watch for whatever reason, so that you can watch at a more convenient time.

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I agree with Rodney. While it could lead to further limitations on other content, right now all the want to do is stop people from recording on-demand content. But if Tivo or anyone tries to limit how long you have to watch a program you recorded they will never hear the end of that.

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Call it the tip of the iceberg or the top of the slippery slope. This is all heading to a place where you will no longer be in control of your devices. Tivo has already demonstrated the ability to time limit recordings, or disable them altogether. Not everything about the move to digital television is all peachy high resolution goodness. God bless the analog hole.

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This is why I built a freevo. Turned an old computer into a dvr power house, with just a tv-tuner card and free pvr software. Records great, and even has a utility to erase commercials. Syncs up to zap2it to get the listings. It's way worth it.

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"HBO isn't just setting its site on DVR users"

Uh you guys need an editor. It should be "setting its sights."

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I just purged a LOT of Season Passes from my Tivo. Shows like all the CSIs and Law&Orders that had piled up episodes throughout the season - I just don't watch them anymore. If I could not use this content as I saw fit, I would further cut down on my TV viewing, reduce my cable bill to the absolute minimum, and maybe even switch to buying the few remaining shows online.

Go ahead. Give me a reason to cut back on another bad habit. Become the next $8/pack of cigarettes, and see if quitting TV will be as easy as quitting smoking was.

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