James Delahunty
16 Feb 2008 2:13
A self described web Personal Video Recorder (PVR) that allowed users to record from 12 different UK channels appears to have been forced to close its doors. TVCatchup.com which had a tagline "never miss a show again" allowed members set the service to record programmes for them up to 7 days in advance. Afterwards, users could watch the programmes for up to 60 days, or another user could "loan" a recording that another member forgot to set.
Each user had a limit of 10GB worth of recording. However, the legal status of the site has been in question for some time now. The operators maintained that TVCatchup was nothing more than another kind of PVR and so should have the same legal status. The BBC did not agree.
"We are not aware of TVCatchup having approached us, nor have we given our permission for them to make BBC programmes available to the public on this basis," a spokesman told the Guardian in December. "We do not accept all of the assumptions and assertions that they have made in their terms of service, and will be looking into this further."
A visit to the site's homepage now reveals the message: "This Account Has Been Terminated For Terms Of Service Violations."