Yes, Video on Demand is still a problem for DRM
Dave Zatz has a commenter who thinks that HBO's request for copy never doesn't matter, because it's for video on demand:
Don’t suppose you guys actually read this through… it’s asking that SVOD services be set as “Copy Never”. It’s not asking that normal broadcast TV be marked this way. Because VOD is Video on Demand, there’s no reason to record it to your DVR, you simply order it from the VOD screens. The reason for this is because HBO, and the cable provider can get metrics on activity as well as charge for certain events over and over. Currently with Comcast, when you pay for HBO as a premium channel for normal broadcast, you also get HBO VOD free.
Hey Andrew - either you haven't actually used Comcast's on demand feature, or you really, really like shoddy services. As I said earlier today:
We've used HBO On-Demand to catch up on shows we like on HBO, but we usually run them through the ReplayTV. Why? Because the on-screen controls HBO offers are horrid, and hard to use. The replay offers a better experience, so we use that.
But hey, apparently you're just fine using shoddy services instead of nice ones you already own, because... well, I don't know why. There are plenty of reasons to record VOD to a PVR - the primary one being the crap controls offered.
