Starting on March 14, 2012, New York City residents will have the option to stream live broadcast television to their PC, Mac and iOS devices. That is, rather than connecting an antenna to a TV or set-top box, users can simply log on and watch networks such as ABC, CBS and NBC live.
This new service, which represents a holy grail of sorts for cord cutters, comes by way of startup Aereo. We've been using Aereo in New York City for the last few weeks -- and potential legal hurdles aside -- we think the service shows a lot of promise.
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The concept is brilliantly simple: Login to the Aereo service and watch live broadcast television just as if you were watching a traditional television set. Even better, the cloud based service allows users to set recording in advance or on the fly. The $12 monthly service includes a 40 hour dual-tuner DVR that is accessible from any authorized Aereo device.
Consumers have long yearned to have access to live broadcast television from the web but aside from select NFL games and the Olympics, most content has remained attached to a set-top box. A few cable companies, such as Cablevision, offer access to live content from an iPad or iPhone, but only when the user is inside their residence. The great part about Aereo is that while the service will initially be limited to New York City residents, access is location agnostic.
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That means that I can enjoy live TV or cloud-based recording from my office in Manhattan or in my Brooklyn apartment.
A Question of Legalities
It's a bit sad, and also very telling, that the after describing Aereo to various friends and colleagues, the gut reaction is "they are so sued." Aereo, which has already raised $20 million in venture funding, led by IAC, is prepared for these challenges. CEO Chet Kanojia has joked that the funding is going towards infrastructure and legal fees.
In fact, Aereo appears to have been set-up to explicitly comply to the letter of current broadcast laws. Rather than sharing one broadcast signal with thousands of customers, Aereo has engineered miniaturized antennas the size of a dime to receive and deploy HD broadcast signals.
Users are connected to the antennas on a 1-to-1 basis. That means that an antenna is only transmitting a signal to one person at a time. Moreover, users can only view content from one location at a time. If two family members want to watch different programs on different devices simultaneously, they'll need two Aereo accounts.
These limitations, along with the requirement that residents reside in New York City, are Aereo's way of complying with various FCC statues regarding the distribution of over-the-air broadcast signals.
Kanojia told us that the company has been very transparent about its plans with content companies, including the local affiliates and national broadcasters. While no company has publicly come out against Aereo, one high-ranking broadcast executive told us that it was "going to sue the [expletive] of them."
Using the Service
Legal questions aside, how does the service work? In my two weeks of testing the service, I've found that it works exceptionally well.
Logging in using my iPhone, iPad or Safari for Mac OS X has allowed me easy access to live programming as well as show recordings. The interface is clean and easy to navigate and it includes a searchable programming guide.
You can even set up recordings in advance by searching for shows and then setting Aereo to record once, new airings only or all broadcasts.
Aereo is a pure OTA (over-the-air) IPTV play -- the company has no interest in taking the Boxee route and building its own box. Still, the company is actively looking to support as many devices and screen types as it can
iPhone and iPad users can AirPlay with Aereo, thus offering compatibility with Apple TV. Roku users can also access the service using a private channel. Though iOS 5 is the only supported mobile platform at launch, Android support should be coming soon.
Setup A Device
The first time you login from a new device, you can register that device with Aereo.
Click here to view this gallery.
This Could Force Cablers to Act
Aereo's pricing model -- starting at $12 a month -- is a good fit for device agnostic access to live programming and cloud DVR recordings. While we wish the company had some sort of family or household option at launch, the pricing makes sense for users who might already have a Hulu Plus, Netflix or Amazon Prime account and simply want a hassle-free way to add live local programming.
Just as Netflix has forced cable networks and service providers to adopt a more expansive TV Everywhere approach to content, Aereo could help force the same sort of disruption in the broadcast space.
After all, cable providers are fighting to limit consumer access to OTA broadcast signals via the cable sockets in their walls. Boxee and other cord-cutting companies are fighting back, petitioning the FCC to recognize the harm to competition and public good that such a maneuver would make. Still, the cable companies clearly do not like the idea of losing control.
As I have long argued, cable could do a better job of retaining customers if it would increase the value proposition in a typical cable bundle. That means that in addition to having access to select On Demand content from the iPad or an Xbox 360, service providers and broadcast networks will recognize the need to let live programming become accessible to subscribers as well.
New Yorkers, Get Your Own Look at Aereo on February 29
Aereo is having an event on Wed. Feb. 29, 2012 from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. at General Assembly in New York City. The Aereo team will be on hand to demo the service, show how it was built and answer questions. Food and drinks will be provided.
The first 25 people to email leap@aereo.com with the subject line "Mashable" will get access to the event.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
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