Appeals Court Allows new DVR Rollout

A federal appeals court in Manhattan has overturned a ruling that blocked a Cablevision Systems Corp. rollout of a next-generation digital video recorder service.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Monday that a lower court judge misapplied copyright law to Cablevision's remote-storage DVR.

The case has been closely watched in the industry as cable companies increasingly offer digital video recording services to their customers.

DVRs let cable subscribers record TV programs without using videotape. They also can pause live TV and do instant replays. The ability of viewers to skip commercials worries the TV industry.