Time Warner has been talking up their pseudo-DVR service “Start Over” since first mentioned in the WSJ last year, with more details revealed this spring. Now that they’ve gotten NBC’s blessing (money talks), South Carolina digital cable subscribers will be getting first dibs next month.
Start Over falls somewhere between VOD and a DVR in functionality – you can restart a show already in progress, but you can’t skip ahead or schedule recordings. It may be a simpler concept to grasp for folks who haven’t jumped on the DVR bandwagon, but Start Over isn’t very compelling for those of us who have. Good thing Time Warner is bundling it with digital cable at no additional charge.
USA Today says: With Start Over, digital cable customers who miss the beginning of certain shows, but who tune in before the end, can push a button and go back to the start. They also can pause and rewind the show but can’t fast-forward through commercials. The service lets viewers act on impulse or because of unexpected delays. They don’t have to plan ahead to record a show, as they do with digital video recorders (DVRs).
I love the fact that press releases like these try to make DVR usage seem so ‘hard’ (you don’t have to ‘plan ahead’ – like forethought is such a difficult thing).