Time Warner's Look Back service is clearly a rudimentary form of a network PVR (NPVR) service where the service provider stores the broadcast content on its network and provides access to it later. The U.S. broadcasters have fought against more complete NPVR services. Cablevision is in the middle of a lawsuit because it went ahead and offered a full NPVR service without getting explicit permision from these broadcasters. The Look Back service is as far as they are willing to go today.

BT in the UK now offers a service it calls Replay TV which permits the viewer to access previously broadcast programs from the Electronic Program Guide (EPG). The viewer can look at the EPG from the previous day and select a program to watch, for instance. BT is charging for this service.

The advantage of NPRV over a DVR is that everything is recorder and it is not necessary to make a decision in advance. If your friend tells you about a great program that you did not program on your DVR, you can still watch it.

Some service providers do not want to provide hard disks on their set-top boxes and see NPVR as the solution. Others plan to offer both.

Personally, I think there is room for both the DVR and NPVR, but NPVR is not available here in the U.S. yet. I will just have to make do with a DVRl.

 Bob