Aereo and the Supreme Court

[RockyMtn]

An interesting story that frames the issue quite well. The quote at the end pretty much sums it up....“Aereo is certainly not the first company to think about doing this,” Flynn says. “It’s really hard to do, which is why it hasn’t happened.”

Aereo's Supreme Court Showdown Won't End TV as We Know It - Businessweek

[aja8888]

I have a trial subscription to Aereo and it's quite nice. Much better than Crapcast which is sucking way too much money out of us for 300 worthless channels.

[MichaelB]

Here's an easy to understand primer on Aereo and the legal case it faces What is Aereo? - Everything you need to know about the Aereo case - Vox

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Here's an easy to understand primer on Aereo and the legal case it faces What is Aereo? - Everything you need to know about the Aereo case - Vox

Thanks, I'll pass it along.

[ls99]

IMHO Aereo will win.

In the past there was a case of community antenna/re-broadcasting.
Antennas for us all: How Aereo wound up at the Supreme Court | Ars Technica
"
1976: Different views

In their briefs, Aereo and the broadcasters present competing versions of the history that led up to this case.
What they agree on is surprising. Legal challenges to the concept of a “remote antenna” aren’t new. In a 1968 court case, Fortnightly Corp. v. United Artists Television, copyright holders said their “public performance” rights were infringed by “community antennas,” which received signals from five televisions stations, converted them to different frequencies, and re-broadcast them. The case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that re-broadcasting of a signal wasn’t a performance at all. "

[clifp]

Megan McCardle a economics blogger had an interesting column today about Aereo.

Basically she thinks the broadcasters will win primarily cause IP law tends to support the status quo/property holders.

[pb4uski]

I think and hope Aereo will win.

I live in an area where, principally due to topography, I can't get OTA broadcasts even though the major network broadcast towers are only 30 miles away. In fact, people I know whose place I can see from my front window can get OTA.

It seems to me that what Aereo is doing is no different than if I arranged with a friend in the area with good reception to put an antenna on his property and transmit the OTA signal to me via the internet where I would then decide what to watch or record.

[Chuckanut]

I am rooting for Aereo also, though I think the Supreme Court ruling is a toss-up at this point.

I live within the broadcast area of many TV stations in a large metropolitan area. All broadcast antennas are within 20 miles of my home. But, I often get pixelation and/or 'weak signal' messages if the weather is poor or for some reason I can't figure out. One station has never had a strong enough digital signal so I don't get it at all.

Aereo would help me watch more of the broadcast TV shows including the commercials. I assume that would be a benefit to them since more viewers can mean higher advertising rates. Instead, I usually watch last season's shows via disk rentals or streaming, with NO commercials.

Hmmm... Maybe I am better off with no broadcast TV and no commercials.

[imoldernu]

Small point of what is... is.
I get same day clips from ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, History Channel, A&E full programs, news programs and many primetime series, full episodes, via free Plex.

[clifp]

I recently switched to Dish network after the initial teaser rate for year it is going to be $55/month for TV only which seems reasonable to me. It automatically records all the network shows and has really nifty commercial skipping technology. The convenience factor is worth it.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Small point of what is... is. I get same day clips from ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, History Channel, A&E full programs, news programs and many primetime series, full episodes, via free Plex.

I tried loading Plex on my XP Professional box (latest SP's installed). Won't load...says the MSI installer is not up to date. There is no newer one.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp I recently switched to Dish network after the initial teaser rate for year it is going to be $55/month for TV only which seems reasonable to me. It automatically records all the network shows and has really nifty commercial skipping technology. The convenience factor is worth it.

We have Dish as well. Best option given no OTA. Much less expensive than cable in our area and just as good IMO. Only downside it every once in a blue moon I have to go out and brush heavier snows off the dish.

[imoldernu]

Decision due on Aereo case in the Supreme Court.

A Preview of Possible Outcomes in Aereo Supreme Court Case - Disruptive Competition Project

Quote:

The Court’s Aereo decision will issue on a Thursday or Monday between now and June 30. The case could be resolved as early as tomorrow morning, but the fact that it was argued so late in the term may produce a correspondingly late decision date.

My guess: Vacatur/Remand... with the current SCOTUS, anyone's guess.

Whaddya think?

[RockyMtn]

Personally I think that the broadcasters will win. Copyright and intellectual property rules/laws will outweigh Aereo's claims that it is just an antenna with a DVR in the cloud.

[Chuckanut]

I think Aereo will win. Think about it. All it does is let a local person who lives in the broadcast area of a station, get the signals that it broadcasts to local people. It is the person's choice as to what broadcasts he/she receives. And we get those signals when they are broadcast. Granted people can record the information for later playback, just like people used to do with a tape VCR. All perfectly legal and consistent with material broadcast over the public air waves.

Now if Aereo were to record the broadcasts and say, put them together into a weekend of binge watching a show that would be different. Or if Aereo where to time shift shows so that it could pit various shows against each other when they aren't normally broadcast at the same time, that would be a different story. Or if Aereo replaced the commercials with their own commercials, that again would be different.

Consumer choice is the driving factor. That's the key

[bUU]

I see little reason to believe that the SCOTUS will be driven by consumer choice rather than intellectual property law. But stranger things have happened.

If it was me, I would simply order Aereo to leave the signal unchanged in format, ATSC from antenna to customer. That would prove that all they're doing is just giving the consumer an antenna.

[pb4uski]

I personally hope Aereo wins in that it would be a big help to those of us who do not get good OTA signal to cut the cable.

While I see Aereo's business model of providing both antenna and DVR service to consumers as fine, if it is found to be in violation I suspect it would be possible to "simply" move the DVR to the customer's house as bUU suggests.

If Aereo is simply providing me with better OTA signal which is freely available to people who live closer to broadcast towers and I am willing to pay them for that service, I don't see how the broadcaster's intellectual property is violated. It is substantively the same as my friend who lives in an area with good OTA signal can do with a digital antenna and TiVo.

Either way, the broadcaster is providing me programming in exchange for advertising.

[DayDreaming]

I hope Aereo wins.

And at the same time the Supreme Court should declare Comcast in the wrong for taking HD OTA signals, rebroadcasting them as SD, and trying to sell HD and an "extra" feature. (I know that's not part of this court case but it sure makes me mad!)

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeDreaming I hope Aereo wins. And at the same time the Supreme Court should declare Comcast in the wrong for taking HD OTA signals,

One thing I love about OTA free TV is the quality of the signal. Most people I know who have cable are in awe of the picture my $40 antenna delivers.

Of course, with HD digital, if the antenna can't deliver a great picture, all you get is garbage, or nothing at all. Thus the need for a service like Aereo if one lives on the wrong side of a hill, or near another interfering object.

Yup, I would be happy to buy my own recorder if that's the price for keeping Aeroe alive.

[bUU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski While I see Aereo's business model of providing both antenna and DVR service to consumers as fine, if it is found to be in violation I suspect it would be possible to "simply" move the DVR to the customer's house as bUU suggests.

It's not the DVR that is the issue. It is the fact that the violation is retransmission. For what Aereo is doing to be transmission instead of retransmission, they'd have to be delivering the same signal that they received, i.e., ATSC, instead of taking the signal, changing it into something that they can cheaply transport, and then providing it to you. That isn't what they're doing.