Looks like AOL is coming out with a TiVo-like television-on-demand digital cable television service called Mystro TV that’ll let you pause live television and that calls up shows that aired previously from a central server, obviating the need for cable subscribers to buy any additional hardware or to remember to program a box to record shows before they air. Of course having the shows at a central server somewhere rather than a hard drive next to the TV also gives the cable company more control over how or whether you’ll be able to fast-forward through commercials:
[T]he Mystro TV system offers networks and studios considerable advantages over in-home personal video recorders such as TiVo or ReplayTV, which is made by Sonicblue. Not only can networks determine the availability of their shows, but Mystro TV prevents consumers from making, storing or sharing copies (something ReplayTV allows). Mystro also does not automatically skip commercials or even include a fast-forward button that leaps past one 30-second commercial at a time (another feature of ReplayTV.)
It also makes it possible to insert advertising where it couldn’t go before:
While a program is paused or rewinding, networks can insert new commercials during the process or display them around the periphery of the screen. On the CD-ROM demo, for example, a viewer pausing “Charmed” might see a commercial for Special K or Pizza Hut.
And not every network will necessarily license its shows for the service. Stick with your TiVo for now.
