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Old 05-29-2013, 08:06 AM   #1
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Default Aereo

I just received an invitation to join an interesting service called Aereo. It lets you watch all broadcast channels in an area through the internet. Right now they are only offering the NYC and Boston areas. Boston was just added. You can watch all the broadcast channels for your area anywhere on the internet.

What I thought was interesting is that they provide a small antenna for every user and just transmit the signals directly to you over the internet with DVR service. Having an antenna for each user lets them avoid fees since it is a free over-the-air broadcast and they are just passing it to you through the internet instead of a wire.

This does not provide cable channels but is an interesting new option for people in areas of poor reception.
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Old 05-29-2013, 08:22 AM   #2
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Aereo has been decribed as a potential "disruptive technology" in that it could substantially change the future of video broadcasts, cable, networks, etc.

However, there have been, and most likely will continue to be, many court battles over their business model. It'll be interesting to watch (pun intended)

For some who may not be aware, if you have purchased a "Smart" TV over the past few years, you essentially have Roku-like capabilities already in your set. Namely, you can stream Netflicks, Hulu, Amazon, etc to your TV if it is connected to the internet.
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Old 05-29-2013, 08:48 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Merrymeeting View Post
Aereo has been decribed as a potential "disruptive technology" in that it could substantially change the future of video broadcasts, cable, networks, etc.

However, there have been, and most likely will continue to be, many court battles over their business model. It'll be interesting to watch (pun intended)

For some who may not be aware, if you have purchased a "Smart" TV over the past few years, you essentially have Roku-like capabilities already in your set. Namely, you can stream Netflicks, Hulu, Amazon, etc to your TV if it is connected to the internet.
HDMI ports in TV sets have made it easy to use the TV as your computer monitor. I used to use RCA and "S" cables before HDMI became the way to go. I stream Netflex and Amazon prime from my Kindle Fire HD to my TV for all my videos.
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Old 05-29-2013, 12:36 PM   #4
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Default Aereo Information

I inquired about Aereo and got the following answers:

1. Aereo technology can be compared to the HD antenna you would buy and set up in your home. As with your home antenna you would need to to be in the market area to watch the channels available in that area. (In other words you couldn't take the box to Florida and watch the Boston stations)

2. Our membership plans are month to month and there’s no long-term commitment required.

3. You can watch Live TV unlimited, anytime with either memberships, the only difference is the Cloud DVR storage space.

4. Our video streams 720p at its highest quality.

I hope this helps anyone trying to decide if they would like it.
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Old 05-29-2013, 05:06 PM   #5
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We signed up for the free month of Aereo and used it over the past weekend through our ROKU-we have had ROKU for a few years now. We have Direct TV and have been happy with them but my husband is one who always wants to try out new tech things. You basically get whatever they can pull in from their antennae in Boston(so NO WMUR if that is important to you). The only extra is the Bloomberg cable channel because they have a contract with Aereo. I have read articles that they are in talks with other cable channels to perhaps enter into a contract but no specific channels were named.


So far we have recorded and watched recordings as well as watching live television. we enjoy it. We are going to use it for a while and decide it we keep it or not. At this point in time, it would not be a replacement for DIRECTV but an addition to it.


I think the Aereo officially launches tomorrow, we signed up a few months ago for the early invite.
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Old 05-30-2013, 07:57 AM   #6
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Review of Aero in today's Boston Globe, including indications of the legal battles to come.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/...amp=newsletter
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Old 05-30-2013, 08:13 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by TiltonBB View Post
I inquired about Aereo and got the following answers:

1. Aereo technology can be compared to the HD antenna you would buy and set up in your home. As with your home antenna you would need to to be in the market area to watch the channels available in that area. (In other words you couldn't take the box to Florida and watch the Boston stations)

2. Our membership plans are month to month and there’s no long-term commitment required.

3. You can watch Live TV unlimited, anytime with either memberships, the only difference is the Cloud DVR storage space.

4. Our video streams 720p at its highest quality.

I hope this helps anyone trying to decide if they would like it.
I find this a bit confusing. I do not have cable. I have a 2-foot antenna on my roof. I don't see how an Aereo antenna the size of a quarter can pick up signals as well as my Yagi. Besides, if the station is broadcasting in 1080i, then I receive the signal in 1080i. How can they down-convert it to 720p unless they're really broadcasting their own signal over the internet (and the pseudo-antenna is a legal loophole).

I love FREE TV. Most people do not realize that over-the-air (OTA) TV is hi-def. The only caveat is sports. If you love to watch professional sports (and I don't), you only get Sunday network football and other sports playoff games. If you like watching the Bruins, Celtics, RedSox regular season games, they're not OTA.
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Old 05-30-2013, 08:56 AM   #8
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I find this a bit confusing. I do not have cable. I have a 2-foot antenna on my roof. I don't see how an Aereo antenna the size of a quarter can pick up signals as well as my Yagi. Besides, if the station is broadcasting in 1080i, then I receive the signal in 1080i. How can they down-convert it to 720p unless they're really broadcasting their own signal over the internet (and the pseudo-antenna is a legal loophole).

I love FREE TV. Most people do not realize that over-the-air (OTA) TV is hi-def. The only caveat is sports. If you love to watch professional sports (and I don't), you only get Sunday network football and other sports playoff games. If you like watching the Bruins, Celtics, RedSox regular season games, they're not OTA.
The antennae are in a data center. You get the video stream over the Internet. You are literally renting an antenna from them.
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Old 05-30-2013, 09:06 AM   #9
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I find this a bit confusing. I do not have cable. I have a 2-foot antenna on my roof. I don't see how an Aereo antenna the size of a quarter can pick up signals as well as my Yagi. Besides, if the station is broadcasting in 1080i, then I receive the signal in 1080i. How can they down-convert it to 720p unless they're really broadcasting their own signal over the internet (and the pseudo-antenna is a legal loophole).

I love FREE TV. Most people do not realize that over-the-air (OTA) TV is hi-def. The only caveat is sports. If you love to watch professional sports (and I don't), you only get Sunday network football and other sports playoff games. If you like watching the Bruins, Celtics, RedSox regular season games, they're not OTA.
They have thousands of antenna in a location where they can pick up the TV signals off air. They rent you one of those antenna and connect you to it over the internet.

It's really just legal trickery. They are not connecting you to the TV stations. They are connecting you to your own personal antenna so you can get the signal. A cute way around the FCC.
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Old 05-30-2013, 10:44 AM   #10
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It's really just legal trickery. They are not connecting you to the TV stations. They are connecting you to your own personal antenna so you can get the signal.
Zediva tried that with DVDs to provide new releases well in advance of any of the premium channels, which were bound by agreements to delay the showings to promote DVD sales. They bought a boatload of DVD players and new DVD releases, you could rent a DVD and a player from them, they'd load the disc into the machine and transmit the show to you over the internet. They argued it was effectively just a reaaaaly long cable from the DVD player to your screen, and they were following the same business model that allowed other DVD rental businesses to exist.

It didn't end well for them in court, as I (unfortunately) suspect it won't for Aereo.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...8m-shuts-down/
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Old 05-30-2013, 01:52 PM   #11
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It will be interesting to follow the legal sparring. They have apparently won some and lost some. They were blocked in LA but not in NYC. This is from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals April 2013 decision which affirmed a lower court decision denying the major networks' motion for a preliminary injunction barring Aereo from transmitting recorded broadcast television programs to its subscribers:

Quote:
"We conclude that Aereo’s transmissions of unique copies of broadcast television programs created at its users’ requests and transmitted while the programs are still airing on broadcast television are not 'public performances' of the Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works under Cablevision. As such, Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they are likely to prevail on the merits on this claim in their copyright infringement action. Nor have they demonstrated serious questions as to the merits and a balance of hardships that tips decidedly in their favor. We therefore affirm the order of the district court denying the Plaintiffs’ motion."
I wonder what "hardships" would be created by Aereo providing an internet antenna? The court of appeals didn't seem to be convinced that there was one.
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Old 05-30-2013, 03:18 PM   #12
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I wonder what "hardships" would be created by Aereo providing an internet antenna? The court of appeals didn't seem to be convinced that there was one.
I think this one will hinge on ad revenue. Aereo is in between the signal and the end user, and can therefore inject/overlay/delete ads in the stream. Time Warner does (did?) that too though, so it'll be amusing to see the double-standard arguments. (I remember seeing many commercials that didn't quite sync properly with the ones they were overlaying, so you'd see a brief bit of the other ad at the beginning or end.)

This is one of those 'if they were smart' situations. If they embraced the change, they could influence it and benefit from it. Instead, they'll go kicking and screaming to bankruptcy court.
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Old 05-30-2013, 07:47 PM   #13
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I think this one will hinge on ad revenue. Aereo is in between the signal and the end user, and can therefore inject/overlay/delete ads in the stream. Time Warner does (did?) that too though, so it'll be amusing to see the double-standard arguments. (I remember seeing many commercials that didn't quite sync properly with the ones they were overlaying, so you'd see a brief bit of the other ad at the beginning or end.)

This is one of those 'if they were smart' situations. If they embraced the change, they could influence it and benefit from it. Instead, they'll go kicking and screaming to bankruptcy court.
I always thought those clipping issues were related to local advertisers' deals with the cable companies. Like when you see an ad for your downtown bank on Comcast - they play an ad targeted to the city or town. I don't think Aereo is like that. They don't have license agreements with any of the content providers. They're just saying they are renting an antenna to you for your personal use.
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Old 05-30-2013, 08:06 PM   #14
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Default Antenna

I'm really confused, I suppose I should use Google (I prefer personal knowledge than someone surfing for answers), but maybe there is someone here with personal knowledge. Is the the stated "antenna" something physically you mount on your house, or is it a "virtual" antenna fed by the internet ?

TIA
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Old 05-30-2013, 09:25 PM   #15
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I don't think Aereo is like that. They don't have license agreements with any of the content providers.
They're not like that now, but you can bet the signal originators are worried about that in the future, and want to nip this in the bud. Tivo let you skip commercials...originally there was no modification, but now it puts up ones of its own as you FF past them.
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Old 05-31-2013, 09:58 AM   #16
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I'm really confused, I suppose I should use Google (I prefer personal knowledge than someone surfing for answers), but maybe there is someone here with personal knowledge. Is the the stated "antenna" something physically you mount on your house, or is it a "virtual" antenna fed by the internet ?

TIA
Neither.

There is a real antenna but it is not at your house. Picture hundreds of thumbnail size antenna on a circuit board. Then picture hundreds or thousands of these circuit boards in a room that is in a good location to pick up a strong signal. They could have a million of the tiny antenna in that room. You pay them to connect you to just one of those antenna and you pick up the signal over the internet.

The FCC will not allow them to connect you to the TV stations signal without the permission of the station. However they are not connecting you to the TV station they are connecting you to a tiny antenna perfectly placed to pick up the TV stations signal off air.

Essentially they are only renting your own personal remote antenna. At least that is their legal theory.
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Old 05-31-2013, 11:31 AM   #17
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How does that disclaimer you often hear during a Red Sox game, i.e. "Any use, rebroadcast of the game can not be done without the express permission, etc. etc.", figure into "rebroadcasting from the antennae?
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Old 05-31-2013, 12:04 PM   #18
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How does that disclaimer you often hear during a Red Sox game, i.e. "Any use, rebroadcast of the game can not be done without the express permission, etc. etc.", figure into "rebroadcasting from the antennae?
There is no rebroadcasting in this scenario. The little TV antenna receives, it does not broadcast or rebroadcast. Or at least that is what Aereo will claim. We are kind of splitting very fine hairs here.

As example, say my house is close to a TV transmitter tower. I put an antenna on my roof and run a long cable to your house. Now say instead of the long cable I video stream it between our houses over the internet. As far as I am aware there is no FCC violation in doing this. The FCC may have a different opinion however.
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Old 05-31-2013, 12:47 PM   #19
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There is no rebroadcasting in this scenario. The little TV antenna receives, it does not broadcast or rebroadcast. Or at least that is what Aereo will claim. We are kind of splitting very fine hairs here.

As example, say my house is close to a TV transmitter tower. I put an antenna on my roof and run a long cable to your house. Now say instead of the long cable I video stream it between our houses over the internet. As far as I am aware there is no FCC violation in doing this. The FCC may have a different opinion however.
This made me think about my Slingbox. I can view all the cable tv channels that come into my house anywhere on the internet. That would seem to be private "rebroadcasting" and I'm pretty sure it's completely legal. With individual antennas and accounts it would seem that Aereo is doing something very similar.
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Old 05-31-2013, 08:08 PM   #20
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This made me think about my Slingbox. I can view all the cable tv channels that come into my house anywhere on the internet. That would seem to be private "rebroadcasting" and I'm pretty sure it's completely legal. With individual antennas and accounts it would seem that Aereo is doing something very similar.
In the case of the Slingbox, it's all private, you're essentially providing a service to yourself, and you're already a subscriber of something at at least one location.

With Aereo, the "source" is an antenna, in a location that is not your "home" in any way. Additionally, there are significant technical issues over whether or not those little antennas are *actually* picking up a signal, or just there as a theoretical item to base their claims and business model off of.

Alongside this, we're seeing more talk again about ala carte CATV programming options. I think the next 10 years are going to be fairly disruptive to the entrenched broadcast media businesses.
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Old 05-31-2013, 08:48 PM   #21
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In the case of the Slingbox, it's all private, you're essentially providing a service to yourself, and you're already a subscriber of something at at least one location.

With Aereo, the "source" is an antenna, in a location that is not your "home" in any way. Additionally, there are significant technical issues over whether or not those little antennas are *actually* picking up a signal, or just there as a theoretical item to base their claims and business model off of.

Alongside this, we're seeing more talk again about ala carte CATV programming options. I think the next 10 years are going to be fairly disruptive to the entrenched broadcast media businesses.
I'm not sure I follow. Aren't Slingbox and OTA digital (Aereo) both providing content to which you're legally entitled? Isn't "home" your TV market? Aero checks your IP for location before it lets you watch programs for your area. If your client isn't in your TV market then you can't view the programs.
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Old 06-01-2013, 05:45 AM   #22
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I'm not sure I follow. Aren't Slingbox and OTA digital (Aereo) both providing content to which you're legally entitled? Isn't "home" your TV market? Aero checks your IP for location before it lets you watch programs for your area. If your client isn't in your TV market then you can't view the programs.
A Slingbox basically hooks up to the output of a cable TV box (etc.) that you already own and have in your residence. It then takes that signal, converts it to an IP video stream and allows you to connect to that stream wherever you have your Slingbox receiver or client.

Aereo is taking an array of antennas and placing them in a datacenter location where nobody lives (or subscribes) to pickup an OTA digital broadcast. They then encode that signal and allow you to receive the exclusive signal from one of those antennas at a location of your choosing. Currently there are some restrictions on your receiving location.

Slingbox sends a signal from a location you own/control. Aereo sends a signal from a location THEY own/control.
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Old 01-08-2014, 10:11 AM   #23
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Aereo is growing like crazy. They just got another $34 million from investors:

http://www.masslive.com/entertainmen..._more_business
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Old 01-08-2014, 10:55 AM   #24
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I'm just waiting to see the day that Companies like Comcast, Metrocast, Time Warner etc., Block these on their internet services......
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Old 01-08-2014, 12:19 PM   #25
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I'm just waiting to see the day that Companies like Comcast, Metrocast, Time Warner etc., Block these on their internet services......
This has been and will continue to be battled in the courts as we speak/write
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Old 01-08-2014, 08:59 PM   #26
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This type of issue is puzzling to me. Broadcast TV makes money by selling ads. The amount they can charge for those ads is determined by the size of their audience. The audience is determined by the size of their viewing market and by the share of the market they reach through the popularity of their programming.

In theory, the more possible people they can reach the more they can charge for ads. Let's say (total speculation) that they can reach 10,000 broadcast viewers, 30,000 cable or satellite viewers, and another 5,000 internet viewers. ALL viewers get to see the ads, right? Shouldn't that allow them to increase their revenue stream by charging more for ads (to businesses) that reach more people? Why should they care how the ad is delivered to the viewer?

Is this just a problem because broadcast TV is greedily trying to pry extra bucks out of cable & internet providers?
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Old 01-09-2014, 09:25 AM   #27
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JeffK I think you hit the nail on the head, especially your last line.

The cable-co's and sat providers have done a good job selling all these "packages" which contain 99% junk. The astounding thing to me is the percentage of people within 40 miles of major metro areas who have no clue they can get all major networks for FREE with a $30 antenna. For some reason everyone thought when we went digital we had to go "cable". If you have a less than 10 yr old TV, you have a digital receiver built-in. If everyone would wake up to that fact some of this could get turned around.
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Old 01-09-2014, 09:49 AM   #28
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This type of issue is puzzling to me. Broadcast TV makes money by selling ads. The amount they can charge for those ads is determined by the size of their audience. The audience is determined by the size of their viewing market and by the share of the market they reach through the popularity of their programming.

In theory, the more possible people they can reach the more they can charge for ads. Let's say (total speculation) that they can reach 10,000 broadcast viewers, 30,000 cable or satellite viewers, and another 5,000 internet viewers. ALL viewers get to see the ads, right? Shouldn't that allow them to increase their revenue stream by charging more for ads (to businesses) that reach more people? Why should they care how the ad is delivered to the viewer?

Is this just a problem because broadcast TV is greedily trying to pry extra bucks out of cable & internet providers?
The problem with your "in theory" statement is that people don't watch the ads when the media can be delivered digitally. My wife and I never watch programs when they are broadcast anymore. Whether by DVR, NetFlix, etc, we hit fast forward as soon as the ads start. Many, many people are doing this now and the advertisers know it. So the theoretical ad revenue is not there, despite appearances.
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Old 01-09-2014, 10:05 AM   #29
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Default Time to change the formula

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The problem with your "in theory" statement is that people don't watch the ads when the media can be delivered digitally. My wife and I never watch programs when they are broadcast anymore. Whether by DVR, NetFlix, etc, we hit fast forward as soon as the ads start. Many, many people are doing this now and the advertisers know it. So the theoretical ad revenue is not there, despite appearances.
This is true, but doesn't need to be. There are some video streaming websites that provide ads before they stream your requested video. They stream the add for 10 seconds and allow you to skip it after that. But some of these 10 second clips are so compelling that you don't want to skip. Either it's entertaining, relevant, or both and you end up watching a great targeted ad. That's what "they" need to do. And, with the use of web-streaming, they can more easily target ads of interest to you as opposed to how they are just randomly broadcast today on all media sources.

And, yes, I fast forward through all ads on my DirecTV DVR and my Channel Master OTA DVR.
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Old 01-09-2014, 10:06 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by Merrymeeting View Post
The problem with your "in theory" statement is that people don't watch the ads when the media can be delivered digitally. My wife and I never watch programs when they are broadcast anymore. Whether by DVR, NetFlix, etc, we hit fast forward as soon as the ads start. Many, many people are doing this now and the advertisers know it. So the theoretical ad revenue is not there, despite appearances.
I understand what you are saying but skipping ads is nothing new. I usually mute live ads and do something else while they are on. If recorded, I skip over them. I don't think that the method of delivery, cable or internet makes that much difference. If the ads are included with the program, that is all the advertiser can expect. He can't force you to listen. I used to tape shows with a VCR that put up a blue screen and auto fast forwarded through ads. That content was delivered through broadcast TV and I still skipped it.

What you are describing is the ability of new technology to quickly skip over ads. Heck, with the right software you could completely edit them out. The delivery method, which is what this is about, doesn't really matter.
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Old 01-09-2014, 10:26 AM   #31
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Default Technology

Interesting, on one of my Roku movie channels, I think its "Drive in movies", they lock out the skip buttons during advertising, LOL
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Old 01-09-2014, 10:31 PM   #32
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Default I like ads...

I can pee, go get a beer or glass of ice tea, put my hand in the cookie jar, give the cat his treats at 4 o'clock, put my hand back in the cookie jar again while I go get another glass of ice tea or another beer, grab a handful of cashews (fooled you), get another beer or glass of tea, ooooppppsssss, time to pee again, then get..... Ads are great and you don't miss anything on the show or the game.
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Old 01-12-2014, 10:01 AM   #33
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http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...&siteid=yhoof2

This is a current article on Aereo's court battle. I think they should prevail because the 'antenna rental' argument is similar to Cable's argument that DVR services are the same as viewers renting VCR's and DVD machines to make home recordings.

Many stations and networks have simulcast on their home pages. I know a friend who told me he was watching a baseball game on the leagues website a few years back too.
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Old 01-13-2014, 09:20 AM   #34
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Default What goes around.....

It'll be great if Aereo can beat this with the cable co's own argument!
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Old 03-05-2014, 08:17 AM   #35
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Here come the legal challenges.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business...dqL/story.html
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Old 06-25-2014, 01:17 PM   #36
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Default Aereo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamper View Post
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...&siteid=yhoof2

This is a current article on Aereo's court battle. I think they should prevail because the 'antenna rental' argument is similar to Cable's argument that DVR services are the same as viewers renting VCR's and DVD machines to make home recordings.

Many stations and networks have simulcast on their home pages. I know a friend who told me he was watching a baseball game on the leagues website a few years back too.
Looks like Aereo is done for.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothyp...igh-of-relief/
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Old 06-25-2014, 01:26 PM   #37
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Quote:
STATEMENT FROM AEREO CEO AND FOUNDER CHET KANOJIA ON UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISION

Court decision denies consumers the ability to use a cloud-based antenna to access free over-the-air television, further eliminating choice and competition in the television marketplace

New York, New York (June 25, 2014) - The following statement can be attributed to Aereo CEO and Founder, Chet Kanojia:

"Today's decision by the United States Supreme Court is a massive setback for the American consumer. We've said all along that we worked diligently to create a technology that complies with the law, but today's decision clearly states that how the technology works does not matter. This sends a chilling message to the technology industry. It is troubling that the Court states in its decision that, 'to the extent commercial actors or other interested entities may be concerned with the relationship between the development and use of such technologies and the Copyright Act, they are of course free to seek action from Congress.' (Majority, page 17) That begs the question: Are we moving towards a permission-based system for technology innovation?"

"Consumer access to free-to-air broadcast television is an essential part of our country's fabric. Using an antenna to access free-to-air broadcast television is still meaningful for more than 60 million Americans across the United States. And when new technology enables consumers to use a smarter, easier to use antenna, consumers and the marketplace win. Free-to-air broadcast television should not be available only to those who can afford to pay for the cable or satellite bundle."

"Justice Scalia's dissent gets it right. He calls out the majority's opinion as 'built on the shakiest of foundations.' (Dissent, page 7) Justice Scalia goes on to say that 'The Court vows that its ruling will not affect cloud-storage providers and cable television systems, see ante, at 16-17, but it cannot deliver on that promise given the imprecision of its results-driven rule.' (Dissent, page 11)"

"We are disappointed in the outcome, but our work is not done. We will continue to fight for our consumers and fight to create innovative technologies that have a meaningful and positive impact on our world."

Yours truly,
Chet Kanojia
Founder & CEO
It may not be over for Aereo but they'll have to negotiate fees with the networks to continue doing business.
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Old 11-07-2014, 08:29 AM   #38
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Default Aereo leaving the Boston Market...

From the Boston Globe today:

http://www.boston.com/business/techn...g9J/story.html
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Old 11-07-2014, 09:50 AM   #39
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Default FCC promise years ago

And they renegade. When they sold the TV analog frequencies back in 2008?, they promise no disruption in service and the FCC provided the digital box coupons worth $35. The claim was if you can receive the analog signal you can get the digital. Unfortunately digital travels in a straight line while analog can 'bounce' around. Many if not all in the valleys lost their signal and were force to cable or satellite service costing thousands of $.

When I lost me signal, FCC refer me to a 'model' that I need a 60' tower to receive a signal. Problem is the tower is expensive and no help form the gvt. Also the homeowners association will have none of it. My complaint went to deaf ears.

You would think the lawyers will argue to the fact that there is a cable/satellite monopoly and the little guy needs a break. That will never happens as long as there is PAC money to prevent this break.
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Old 11-22-2014, 09:52 AM   #40
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It seems to be over:

Quote:
A letter to our consumers
The Next Chapter

A little over three years ago, the team at Aereo set out to build a better television experience for the consumer. We began this journey because we were frustrated with a system that we believed was broken and no longer served the consumer. When it came to watching live television, the options were few, the products available were cumbersome and didn’t fit our increasingly mobile lifestyle, and costs were unreasonably high and rising.

With that in mind, we put our collective engineering power to work to create an online technology that was simple, useful, and compelling, and provided consumers with a true alternative to how they watch local live TV. That’s how Aereo came to life.

Our engineering team created the first cloud-based, individual antenna and DVR that enabled you to record and watch live television on the device of your choice, all via the Internet. In less than two years, we went from drawings on a napkin to launching Aereo’s technology in more than a dozen cities across the country.

The enthusiasm we encountered was overwhelming. The sense of frustration consumers expressed reinforced our mission. We knew we had touched a nerve, had created something special, and had a built something meaningful for consumers.

But we encountered significant challenges from the incumbent media companies.

While we had significant victories in the federal district courts in New York and Boston and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the reversal of the Second Circuit decision in June by the U.S. Supreme Court has proven difficult to overcome. The U.S. Supreme Court decision effectively changed the laws that had governed Aereo’s technology, creating regulatory and legal uncertainty. And while our team has focused its energies on exploring every path forward available to us, without that clarity, the challenges have proven too difficult to overcome.

Accordingly, today, we filed for Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings. We also appointed Lawton Bloom of Argus to serve as Aereo’s Chief Restructuring Officer during this period.

Chapter 11 will permit Aereo to maximize the value of its business and assets without the extensive cost and distraction of defending drawn out litigation in several courts.

We have traveled a long and challenging road. We stayed true to our mission and we believe that we have played a significant part in pushing the conversation forward, helping force positive change in the industry for consumers.

We feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to build something as meaningful and special as Aereo. With so many shifts and advances in technology, there has never been a more perfect time to take risks, challenge the status quo and build something special.

Thank you for all of your support. Your emails, tweets, Facebook posts and letters have meant the world to us. We are incredibly grateful to have gone on this journey together.

Yours truly,
Chet Kanojia
November 21, 2014
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Old 11-22-2014, 10:10 PM   #41
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Aereo loses battle, cord-cutters may win war...

http://www.zdnet.com/aereo-loses-battle-cord-cutters-may-win-war-7000036064/



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Old 11-25-2014, 05:22 PM   #42
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Old 11-26-2014, 08:08 AM   #43
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Default I know that this link is a bit old but here is bad news for...

https://aereo.com
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