4 ms·

If using one antenna to capture and retransmit a show is not legal, and it isn't (or Aereo would simply do that) I don't see how using more private, leased ante

by ori_b 13y ago

If using one antenna to capture and retransmit a show is not legal, and it isn't (or Aereo would simply do that) I don't see how using more private, leased antennas to retransmit a show is anything but a blatant violation of the spirit of the law. While I think the law making this distinction is silly, and the law is dumb and needs to be changed, I don't see Aereo's workaround as something that fits within that law.

rayiner 13y ago
It's not dumb. It captures the very common sense notion that there is a difference between playing a DVD for some friends at home (private performance), and setting up a movie theater with said DVD (public performance).
- koenigdavidmj 13y ago
  Aereo is doing almost exactly what cable television once did, putting a radio receiver on one end of a cable and a bunch of customers on the other. (I assume that cable companies probably have direct physical links to local stations by now, but it's not relevant). The fact that their transmission medium is the web rather than coax seems inconsequential to me. That seems to fall on the `movie theater' end of the dichotomy, but it's legal.
  - rayiner 13y ago
    Yes, and in 1992 the law was changed to require cable companies to get retransmission consent in order to engage in that practice (usually by paying fees).
  - jamesaguilar 13y ago
    "a bunch of customers" A single customer. One radio receiver per customer if I understand their model correctly.
  - triptychs 13y ago
    > Aereo is doing almost exactly what cable television once did, putting a radio receiver on one end of a cable and a bunch of customers on the other. No, Aereo is putting a radio receiver on one end and one customer on the other. Each customer has their own antenna. It's exactly the same as having an antenna on your home TV, only you're renting the antenna and it comes with a DVR.
    - ori_b 13y ago
      And if they used one antenna and hooked it up to multiple DVRs, would it be any different from a technical standpoint? The same signal is transmitted, the same broadcast is collected, and the same set of users get to view the same content in the same way. The intent of the legislation wasn't pushed for by the Antenna Maker Lobby(tm) to maximize the number of antennas in the world. It was to prevent a middleman from doing a mass reselling of over the air content without paying licensing fees. If one is legal, the other should be as well. And if one is illegal, the other should be as well. Anything else would be insane. IMO, both should be legal.
      - triptychs 13y ago
        > If one is legal, the other should be as well. I agree, I should be able to purchase or rent an antenna from anyone I want to.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- untog 13y ago
  Putting up an antenna for every individual customer (when one antenna would do for all) to skirt around the law is very much a dumb situation for anyone to be in. But that's what they're doing to remain within the law.
mbreese 13y ago
They are using multiple antenna that because that was how the Supreme's told them how to do it in an earlier case on remote DVRs. Since they aren't "commingling" the signals, using their service can be logically thought of as a "private" performance. If they used one antenna, then all of the signals would be mixed together and could be thought of as "public" (which isn't allowed). Because each user controls their own equipment, and their data isn't stored with that from other people, then you end up with a lot of duplicated, albeit private, data. And that's the difference. Using one antenna to capture and retransmit a show to yourself is perfectly legal. That's the whole point behind the Slingbox. With a DVR, you are "time-shifting" your viewing. With a Slingbox, you are "place-shifting" your viewing. Put them together, and you can do both. The only distinction for Aereo is that they are providing place and time-shifting as a service using normal (free) over the air signals. Aereo also doesn't allow you to control an antenna for an area where you don't live, so the customer needs to be in the correct geographic area where they could plausibly receive the over-the-air signals without Aereo.
Dylan16807 13y ago
If using one antenna to capture and retransmit a show to a single person is legal, and it is (since households simply do that) I don't see how using more private, leased antennas to retransmit a show is anything but a blatant copy of the legal model. The problem is that the law is nonsensical in the first place, which is why you can approach it from either side and get almost identical results.

by ori_b 13y ago

rayiner 13y ago

It's not dumb. It captures the very common sense notion that there is a difference between playing a DVD for some friends at home (private performance), and setting up a movie theater with said DVD (public performance).

koenigdavidmj 13y ago
Aereo is doing almost exactly what cable television once did, putting a radio receiver on one end of a cable and a bunch of customers on the other. (I assume that cable companies probably have direct physical links to local stations by now, but it's not relevant). The fact that their transmission medium is the web rather than coax seems inconsequential to me. That seems to fall on the `movie theater' end of the dichotomy, but it's legal.
- rayiner 13y ago
  Yes, and in 1992 the law was changed to require cable companies to get retransmission consent in order to engage in that practice (usually by paying fees).
- jamesaguilar 13y ago
  "a bunch of customers" A single customer. One radio receiver per customer if I understand their model correctly.
- triptychs 13y ago
  > Aereo is doing almost exactly what cable television once did, putting a radio receiver on one end of a cable and a bunch of customers on the other. No, Aereo is putting a radio receiver on one end and one customer on the other. Each customer has their own antenna. It's exactly the same as having an antenna on your home TV, only you're renting the antenna and it comes with a DVR.
  - ori_b 13y ago
    And if they used one antenna and hooked it up to multiple DVRs, would it be any different from a technical standpoint? The same signal is transmitted, the same broadcast is collected, and the same set of users get to view the same content in the same way. The intent of the legislation wasn't pushed for by the Antenna Maker Lobby(tm) to maximize the number of antennas in the world. It was to prevent a middleman from doing a mass reselling of over the air content without paying licensing fees. If one is legal, the other should be as well. And if one is illegal, the other should be as well. Anything else would be insane. IMO, both should be legal.
    - triptychs 13y ago
      > If one is legal, the other should be as well. I agree, I should be able to purchase or rent an antenna from anyone I want to.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
untog 13y ago
Putting up an antenna for every individual customer (when one antenna would do for all) to skirt around the law is very much a dumb situation for anyone to be in. But that's what they're doing to remain within the law.

mbreese 13y ago

They are using multiple antenna that because that was how the Supreme's told them how to do it in an earlier case on remote DVRs. Since they aren't "commingling" the signals, using their service can be logically thought of as a "private" performance. If they used one antenna, then all of the signals would be mixed together and could be thought of as "public" (which isn't allowed). Because each user controls their own equipment, and their data isn't stored with that from other people, then you end up with a lot of duplicated, albeit private, data. And that's the difference. Using one antenna to capture and retransmit a show to yourself is perfectly legal. That's the whole point behind the Slingbox. With a DVR, you are "time-shifting" your viewing. With a Slingbox, you are "place-shifting" your viewing. Put them together, and you can do both. The only distinction for Aereo is that they are providing place and time-shifting as a service using normal (free) over the air signals. Aereo also doesn't allow you to control an antenna for an area where you don't live, so the customer needs to be in the correct geographic area where they could plausibly receive the over-the-air signals without Aereo.

Dylan16807 13y ago

If using one antenna to capture and retransmit a show to a single person is legal, and it is (since households simply do that) I don't see how using more private, leased antennas to retransmit a show is anything but a blatant copy of the legal model. The problem is that the law is nonsensical in the first place, which is why you can approach it from either side and get almost identical results.