Time Warner Cable on DVR set-top push

Twenty-four markets offer the service after Columbus, San Diego launches.

By Laura Dunphy -- Video Business, 5/12/2003

MAY 12 | In its latest moves to bring high-tech offerings to customers, Time Warner Cable has launched digital video recording capabilities in San Diego and Columbus, Ohio.

Time Warner began rolling out its DVR service last summer, and Columbus and San Diego mark the 23rd and 24th of its 31 cable divisions to include that option. A spokesman said the company would not disclose its timeline for debuting DVR in remaining markets.

Last week's rollout follows Time Warner's launch of other high-tech offerings, including video-on-demand, subscription VOD, high-definition TV and high-speed Internet access.

"The strategy is to make as many digital services available as we're able," the spokesman said.

Customers in participating markets with a digital cable box can pay an extra $4.95 to $6.95 monthly (depending on the market) for the DVR service, plus $5.95 a month to rent a set-top box that allows them to digitally record as much as 43 hours of TV programming.

Time Warner's service contains the same basic features as industry leader TiVo--for example, the ability to pause live TV and to automatically record favorite shows all season long. But the cable giant's unit also contains a dual tuner, which allows a user to record two shows at once and watch programs picture-in-picture style, even if a TV isn't set up for that possibility.

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