The NYT has an article about AOLTW’s next step in the PVR war.
They’re already testing Scientific Atlanta’s Explorer 8000 set top box in some areas, and they’re an investor in Tivo. They had previously announced a joint development effort as part of AOL’s apparently-abandoned AOL TV venture.
Now, they’re apparently moving full-speed ahead on a headend-only system called Mystro TV. While this may sap the market for PVRs, it certainly won’t destroy it — because as long as it’s controlled by a company that’s also a studio and network, it will be in thrall to the CopyrightCartel. That means no automatic commercial skipping (like the ReplayTV 4000 and 5000); no 30 second skip (like all ReplayTV models and, via a hack, all TiVo models except ones running software 2.1 for some reason). It’s much worse than just that, though:
But it also lets networks set the parameters, dictating which shows users can reschedule, and it also creates ways for networks to insert commercials
Unless it lets me stockpile 13 episodes of Angel, then watch them all in a day, to get caught up, it doesn’t even replace the Tivos, much less the Replays.