Aereo

You may have noticed that a company named Aereo is making waves in the news lately, particularly now that News Corp. has threatened to pull all of its Fox programming off the air and switch it to a paid subscription service. That seems pretty heavy-handed, so something truly threatening to News Corp. must be afoot. What's going on? Here's everything you need to know about Aereo.

What is it? Aereo is a video-streaming service that streams over-the-air broadcast television channels to iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, and various browsers on Macs and PCs. It currently only works in New York City, but Aereo is about to launch in 22 other cities, including Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

Can you get it? Right now, only if you live in New York City; the service checks your IP address to make sure you're accessing it from there.

Aereo:


How much does it cost? $8 per month for the most economical plan, or roughly the same as Netflix or Hulu Plus.





What can you watch on it? Aereo offers about 20 channels, such as CBS, NBC, Fox, the CW, ABC, and PBS. They're in high definition and look great, but it's broadcast channels we're talking about, remember, not pay TV like HBO or Syfy. You can already get these channels for free with an antenna and a digital HDTV tuner. With Aereo, you can also record programming, and record one show while watching another on a different channel. Aereo doesn't record to your device, though; instead, it records to a cloud-based service that comes with your subscription, complete with a 30-second fast forward button for commercials.





Why are networks trying to kill it? The issue is whether Aereo can legally rebroadcast broadcast television over the Internet. About a year ago, many of the big networks including Twentieth Century Fox, Univision, PBS, ABC, NBCUniversal, and Fox Television sued Aereo for copyright infringement. Aereo claims it has installed enough antennas so that there is a physical one available for every single subscriber at any given time, but the lawsuit alleges Aereo's method counts as rebroadcasting and is therefore prohibited by law. A New York judge ruled in July that Aereo could continue operating, and last week the appeals court upheld the ruling, allowing Aereo to start expanding into new markets.

How does it work? Aereo manufactures small HDTV antennas, receives broadcast channels, and then stores the programming they capture on servers. From there, people access the service on the Internet to view the content, without having to buy or install any equipment. You can also mirror your iPhone or iPad to a living room HDTV using an Apple TV. From there, you get a list-based (not grid-based) program guide that lets you easily flip between channels, or view information on any of the upcoming episodes. There's also a Featured list that gives you suggestions on what's hot and worth watching.

What's the long-term prognosis? In our review, we found Aereo to be pretty cool, but with a fairly narrow appeal—for now, at least. Aereo is expensive, for one, and since services like Netflix and Hulu tend to pick up big-name shows fairly quickly, Aereo is best for people who want to watch actual live TV from a mobile device, since you can watch the same channels for free at home with an antenna.