Devil’s Advocate wrote: So

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March 23, 2012 at 11:31 am #7002
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    [quote=Devil’s Advocate]

    So let me make sure I understand this. It’s OK to pay for cable or satellite @ $60 per month for 200+ channels– movies and TV and music now. Add a DVR, VCR or DVD-R or two in the mix. Record everything that you want to watch no matter what time, day or night and have it whenever you wish to watch it for however long you wish. Once you finish watching the episode/movie/music video/whatever, you delete it from your DVR/erase the VHS tape with the next episode, etc. How is this different from the Sick Beard setup? Oh. Right. We’re not paying the satellite or cable company to use their equipment but using ours that we already paid for. Hmmmm… DA out.

    [/quote]

    It all boils down to copyright infringement.  The studios don’t have a problem with you recording shows that air live on cable or satellite as long as you record the commercials along with them.  They actually prefer that you watch TV live but DVRs have become so commonplace in most households that they realize there’s not much they can do about it.  Even Nielson has finally recognized that shows are being recorded for later viewing and now take those numbers into account when rating market shares for any given show. 

    Getting shows via usenet or torrent sites tend to have the commercials stripped out of them.  Downloading shows from either source opens you up to a lawsuit for sharing copyrighted material in direct violation of the DMCA.  FYI – usenet and torrent sites are closely monitored by the networks and they can see who’s sharing what over the internet.  If they see a trend from a particular IP address they’ll contact your ISP and ask that they send you a cease and desist notice.  Chances are that’s all you’ll get unless you decide to ignore the order and continue with your wicked ways.  Then, all bets are off because you’ve painted a bullseye on your back for a network lawyer.

    The equipment you use to record the show has nothing to do with it.  Shows aired by cable or premium channels like FX or USA Network or HBO are only available through a paid provider.  If you get them through other means you’re essentially stealing from the network since you’re not paying to receive the channel.  OTA network channels are available without a paid provider, but the sharing scenario still holds true.