PlayOn Cloud - Streaming video recorder for iOS. Recordings never expire.

@rrhoover @skip721 I would surmise that, no, it probably isn't 100% legal. The real problem, though, is that tech has created this gray area where legal and illegal blur to some extent. The same is very true with music, particularly because artists have a different end-game than the major corporations (in that respect, major labels) who may hold certain distribution rights. But that's a different conversation. Here, because TV and movies are inherently different than music, the potential illegality and strategy must be considered differently (or at least taken with a truckload of salt). As with music, I see potential paths to get around this without encountering (too much) legal action, but it would require doing the legwork to appeal directly to the creators of the shows and/or whoever holds the creative rights. It's an independent play, and that's how it should be strategized.

@rrhoover @skip721 I appreciate the question. Yes, PlayOn Cloud is absolutely legal. It falls under the same consumer fair use as a traditional DVR (and the VCR before that). Our desktop software (PlayOn Desktop) has been around for many years and we added DVR features to that back in 2011. Also, in regards to Netflix and their built in download feature...not all titles are available to download (thousands of titles aren't), and it's only available in the mobile app. With PlayOn, you can record any title and then download to watch on any device. You're not limited to your phone or tablet. Also, each month titles expire from Netflix. Using PlayOn, you can record those titles before they expire to watch offline at a time of your choosing. Once you've downloaded a PlayOn recording, it doesn't expire.

@rrhoover @skip721 My experience with the TV business makes me say that this is 100% illegal :)

@rberrehili @rrhoover @skip721 We can assure you that PlayOn Cloud is legal...it's no different than a traditional DVR. As a consumer, you're allowed to record content you have legal access to.

@skips721 @rrhoover @skip721 No you can't, because the rights for the contents are negociated considering the territory you're watching them in. So let's say I download a movie in the US which has been negotiated for 0.10cts per view and I watch it in France, territory in which the deal is about 0.15cts per view, the rights bearers lose 5cts per each view.

@jxslepton We're confident that won't happen :) We had to go through the same submission and review process as any other app.

@skips721 any plans for an Apple TV app? Slowly cutting the cord and sounds like this would be a good solution for dvr functionality on the Apple tv

@jxslepton Yes, absolutely - we're working on it. In the meantime, you can also download recordings to your PC/Mac (we send a notification email when recordings are complete which include a download link). Once there, you should be able to stream to your Apple TV.

@jxslepton @skips721 PlayOn Cloud works great with AirPlay, so if you have an iPhone/iPad and an Apple TV you should be in business. For now, the phone does have to stay on the same WiFi network when you're using AirPlay.

@ourielohayon - thanks for the feedback. Can you elaborate a bit? Do you mean as you're browsing the various channels in PlayOn (drilling down through the lists of videos)?

@skips721 any thing in your app is way too small. menu buttons/text/catalogs/jackets. you need really a good eye. it should match the same proportion as netflix

@ourielohayon Thanks! We have some UI changes planned and already in the works.

@profitability4u @jimholland - thanks for that feedback. We do maintain a list of what's leaving Netflix on our site (300+ titles expired on 1/1). We'll be updating the page again this week once we have the full list available. https://www.playon.tv/what-to-re...

@profitability4u @jimholland some great BBC titles are scheduled to expire on 2/1, by the way :)

@falemaster @skip721 - It depends on the channel and whether or not the content provider allows for setting subtitles on/off as a default account preference. You can do so with Netflix - just play a video in a browser or in an app and enable subtitles. Let the video play for 5-6 minutes and that will become the new default account playback setting which will carry over to PlayOn Cloud.