Ben Popper over at Venturebeat.com lives in New York City, so he was able to test drive the newly-launched Aereo web TV service that simultaneously rebroadcasts live network programming over a streaming service for $12 a month.
Popper noted that the process of setting up your Aereo account and getting to the actual streaming was “fast and painless.” There are no apps to download, and no hardware to purchase. You can watch on up to five authorized devices. It’s as easy as selecting whatever channel you wish to watch. Load time was quick, and the content ran without buffering, even when he adjusted video quality to high.
He then connected Aereo to his Facebook account and found 4 friends, but at that point he couldn’t figure out how to implement social features from there. But no worries – I’m sure as it catches on lots of content will be generated in turning Aereo into a social experience.
Aereo also offers as part of your subscription 40 hours of DVR cloud service, where you can set it to record all episodes, or just new episodes while skipping the reruns. Ben also noted 27 channels available – but that’s in New York. If Aereo wins its current legal battles, eventually this service will roll out to other major cities in the United States.
The legal battle it’s facing doesn’t come as a surprise. Broadcasters are saying that Aereo is illegally cutting into retransmission fees. The networks currently have licensing agreements with cable and satellite TV services, where the Pay TV giants pay to rebroadcast network shows. But it’s inevitable that new technologies develop, new services will also continue to challenge these traditional distribution channel models.
In it’s counter-filing, Aereo stated “When a consumer is accessing broadcast television using the Aereo technology, he or she is using a specific individua antenna that is tuned and used only by that consumer for the duration of that access, which simply provides to its members the convenience of locating at a remote facility the type of equipment they could otherwise have in use at home.”
Aereo is referring to antennas that can be purchased and mounted on top of houses or within attics, where networks can be accessed for free, apart from the cost of the antenna itself. What they are doing is “renting” a remote antenna, and then providing the content via a streaming server.
The service is only available in New York City, where it launched last week. The industry is watching with baited breath to see how all of this plays out.
