[mythtv-users] Tivo sues EchoStar for providingMyth-likefeatures....gulp

[Pete's MythTV]

I had a look at the patent too.   It seems to me that the thing they are
trying to protect is the ability to record & playback at the same time, and
hence provide timeshifting.  It does mention in there that this could be
done with a bank of VCRs, therefore they can't really patent timeshifting as
a concept.   All that stuff about mediafilters, etc is just a load of waffle
describing their method.

Back in 1994, I can recall doing a series of early NVOD demo's in Europe and
the US using a broadcast spec video server.  I forget the product name or
vendor, but it was certainly capable of doing simultaneous record and
playback of MPEG streams.  We were recording off a VCD player, and playing
out five streams with two minute time differences, all at the same time.

It's not just Echostar they have to beat.  Scientific-Atlanta, Motorola,
Pace all make PVR boxes for Cable & Sat providers.  That looks like a whole
lot of legal costs to me !!

We shall see what happens.

Pete





  -----Original Message-----
  From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org]On Behalf Of K Chaloupka
  Sent: 07 January 2004 03:57
  To: Discussion about mythtv
  Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Tivo sues EchoStar for
providingMyth-likefeatures....gulp


  note: that they specifiy MPEG as the form of compression....

  John Wells <jb at sourceillustrated.com> wrote:
    Patents found here....damn, not trying to troll, but if they're
    successful....


http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1
&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,233,389.WKU.&OS=PN/6,233,389&RS=P
N/6,233,389


http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1
&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,327,418.WKU.&OS=PN/6,327,418&RS=P
N/6,327,418


    John Wells said:
    > The patent madness goes on....
    >
    > Wonder if this could byte [sic] myth in the end?
    >
    >
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/04/01/06/2154252.shtml?tid=123&tid=129&tid=155&t
id=188&tid=99
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    > mythtv-users mailing list
    > mythtv-users at mythtv.org
    > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
    >

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