A Variation on the DVR, Without Ad Skipping
This will go over like a lead balloon - I hope. Time Warner Cable already offers a feature called Start Over in 6 of its 23 markets. This feature is free and allows you to watch a program from the start, within 30 minutes its beginning - but without the ability to fast forward. Starting this October Time Warner will offer a new service, called Look Back, which it will eventually expand around the country.
The service, called Look Back, will let cable customers watch certain
shows later on that they missed, just the way a digital video recorder
does, but without an extra monthly fee. The fast-forwarding function
will be turned off, however, and consumers will be limited to watching
programs later on during the day they are shown, anytime before
midnight.
Watch until midnight on the same day it played originally? Not good enough for me - and hopefully not for others, either. I would hate to see this really impact the sales / use of real DVRs like Tivos. No fast forward (or skip, since I use the 30-second skip hack on my Tivo). Ugh. I can't imagine.
