TV2Me is a device that allows TV viewers to watch their home's
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
or
satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
programs on their own
computer
A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
s,
mobile phone
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
s, television sets and
projector screens anywhere in the world. "This technology gives users the ability to shift space, and to watch all the cable or satellite TV channels of any place they choose - live, in full motion, with unparalleled television-quality - on any Internet connected device."
History
TV2Me was invented by
Ken Schaffer, who began working on it in 2001, when he was working overseas. His goal was to watch his favorite American shows through any kind of device from wherever he was. With a team of Turkish and Russian programmers he developed circuitry that allows the
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a group of international standards for the compression of digital audio and visual data, multimedia systems, and file storage formats. It was originally introduced in late 1998 as a group of audio and video coding formats and related ...
encoder to operate more efficiently and to generate a better picture.
Schaffer, who was known for having previously invented the
Schaffer–Vega diversity system, the first practical wireless guitar and microphone system for major rock bands, and for developing satellite tracking systems that allowed U.S. agencies and universities to monitor internal television of the then
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, launched TV2Me in December 2003. TV2Me introduced the concept of placeshifting and started an entire industry.
Operation
To set up TV2Me, the cable or satellite box and a
broadband internet
In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide- bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Internet access. The transmission m ...
connection are plugged in the device. "The server requires an
Internet connection
Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide ...
with an
upstream speed of 512 kb/s or higher."
On the receiving end (for example the computer), any browser can be used to view in real-time or with a 6-second delay. The delayed mode uses the extra time to produce a slightly better picture. No additional software needs to be installed. "The "target" (receiving location) can be anywhere on earth − anywhere there's wired or wireless broadband. The viewer can use virtually any
PC running
Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
Mac
Mac or MAC may refer to:
Common meanings
* Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc.
* Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth
* Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages
* McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...
,
Linux
Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
- even
Solaris
Solaris is the Latin word for sun.
It may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film
* ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg
** ''Sol ...
."
Copyrights
No
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
has been set for this placeshifting device but this technology is problematic to many copyright holders because it sidesteps what is known in legalese as proximity control, which restricts the distribution of content to specific regions and times. "It's a standard contractual stipulation for the
MPAA
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. F ...
, whose member studios license distribution rights to movies for distinct territories; the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
, which considers geographic limits the linchpin of lucrative television deals, including its Sunday Ticket pact with
DirecTV
DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...
; and local television stations, which pay millions of dollars for exclusive territorial rights to all kinds of programming."
On this issue, Ken Schaffer's position has been: "The TV2Me user paid for the rights to watch these programs. What separates him from other cable subscribers is that he has a long extension cord."
See also
*
Spaceshifting / placeshifting
*
Copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
*
Private copying
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
*
Schaffer-Vega Diversity System
References
{{Reflist
External links
TV2Me(Archived)
Television technology
Television placeshifting technology