Network DVRs not illegal, rules court

Cable operators are to be allowed to offer "network DVR" services - where digital video recorder functionality such as recording and playing back programmes on demand may be provided using normal cable boxes - after an American court ruled them legal.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York has ruled that Cablevision, a cable operator covering parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, may offer network DVR functionality without violating copyright law.

The ruling constitutes a major victory for Cablevision, which first announced its trial of such services in March 2006 but aborted them after America's major television networks raised copyright concerns. It will allow the cable operator to offer DVR functionality using its server infrastructure at the headend, saving the need to purchase, deploy and maintain hard disk-equipped DVR boxes in subscribers' homes. The services can instead be run on existing basic digital cable set top boxes.

Cablevision chief operating officer Tom Rutledge characterised the ruling as "transformative" and added: "We can now provide high-quality DVR capabilities to almost all of our customers in a very short period of time."

However, Turner Broadcasting - one of the broadcasters involved in the original lawsuit that stopped the 2006 rollout - said that it may appeal the verdict. Such an appeal would have to be lodged with the US Supreme Court; however, America's highest court would have to consider the case a serious conflict in the interpretation of Federal law to hear it.