As of today Directv subscribers will no longer be able to view a Pay Per View (PPV) movie purchase for more than 24 hours (link). The ability to watch a movie in several sittings has been a major plus for my wife and I over the last 12 years as Directv subscriber. When I upgraded to HD, this was one of the major selling points for us to stay with Directv. This weekend we watched "Into the Wild" and it would have been a drag to watch the 2 and 1/2 hours in one evening. Watching a movie over multiple sittings may be heresy to movie buffs, but I find that it allows you to ponder the story.
What I find interesting about this whole situation is that we seem to be in the minority. There does not seem to be a major uproar from subscribers. I googled forums on the subject and found very little dissension. I could not even find a post on the subject on the dbstalk.com forum, although they seem to be less and less independent.
For our use this probably means we won't be purchasing any more PPV movies, we may become NetFlix subscribers and it opens up the door to switch to FIOS TV. Since I currently use FIOS Internet, the current triple play promotions is probably a cheaper solution than Directv. I would have to balance the promotion against the purchase cost of a Tivo HD DVR, since it looks like the current FIOS Motorola DVR does not allow the use of the eSATA port for my 1 Terabyte hard disk array. As telecommunications, the internet and television technologies merge, it seems that flexible consumer solutions are becoming harder and harder to find. I understand the fear of piracy, however I feel Digital Rights Management is hampering my legal rights to use the content I purchase.
I can understand movie studios not wanting us to keep a PPV movie indefinitely but 24 hours is a ridiculous time frame. I think 72 hours would be more appropriate and would work for us. I agree that if someone wants to keep a movie indefinitely they should purchase a DVD or permanent download.
In the end this is a big step backwards for Directv who has been a leader in providing advanced technology and content to users. It seems to only advantage they have left is for the die hard sports fan. However, as those contracts come to an end and the cable/telcos offers the same packages, Directv may have a real problem on their hands.
Comcast blocking Windows remote assistance coming from Verizon FIOS
It looks like Comcast is blocking remote assistance sessions from Verizon FIOS. I can connect fine from FIOS a PC on Hargray.com and Kuhncom.net networks, but when I try to connect to my mother's PC on Comcast, the initial connection attempt times out. When I use Verizon Wireless' EVDO Broadband network it connects without issue. There are no differences in PC configurations between the two connections. I am using my X60 in all scenarios, and since I can connect to other individuals on different networks using FIOS, I have to assume that Comcast is in fact blocking remote assistance connections from FIOS.
Comcast has already been chided by the FCC for its stance on Net Neutrality slowing and/or blocking peer to peer traffic. At yesterday's FCC's open public meeting (Gigaom article) on the subject at Stanford, they failed to show up. Comcast is already a lousy cable TV provider, now they want to add lousy to their Internet service. As competition grows from Verizon FIOS and others, I would think they would want to rethink their strategy but they seem to have their head in the sand. I also have to chide Verizon and the other large telecoms for not showing up at this meeting. I can understand that telecoms don't want more regulation, but if they want to avoid it they need to reign in the likes of Comcast.
This is not a positive environment for the consumer and I believe Congress needs to take some action.
Posted by sskarlatos on April 18, 2008 at 08:16 AM in Comcast, Commentary, Verizon, Verizon FIOS | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
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