Aereo

Aereo

Aereo was a technology company that allowed subscribers to view live and time-shifted streams of over-the-air television on Internet-connected devices. It used a cloud-based system with many small antennas.
television streaming cloudbased antennas

Aereo: Cloud-Based TV Streaming

Aereo was a technology company that allowed subscribers to view live and time-shifted streams of over-the-air television on Internet-connected devices. It used a cloud-based system with many small antennas.

What is Aereo?

Aereo was a technology company that allowed subscribers to view live and time-shifted streams of over-the-air broadcast television on Internet-connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. It launched in 2012 and was available in several major US metropolitan areas.

Aereo used a cloud-based system that utilized thousands of tiny antennas at its data centers to receive over-the-air TV signals. It then transcoded the signals to be streamed over the internet to subscribers. This allowed people to watch broadcast TV on devices without needing a traditional cable or satellite subscription.

However, after multiple lawsuits from major broadcasters like ABC, CBS, Fox and others, the US Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Aereo's service violated copyright laws. As a result, Aereo suspended service later that year and sold off its assets as the company shut down.

Aereo Features

Features

  1. Allowed users to view and record over-the-air broadcast television on internet-connected devices
  2. Streamed live TV from small antennas stored in data centers
  3. Offered a cloud DVR to record and replay shows later
  4. Supported streaming to mobile devices, computers and internet-connected TVs

Pricing

  • Subscription-Based

Pros

Provided affordable access to broadcast TV without cable

Enabled watching TV on the go on mobile devices

Cloud DVR eliminated need for hardware DVR equipment

Supported many popular internet-connected devices

Cons

Faced legal challenges from broadcasters for retransmitting signals

Limited channel availability compared to cable TV

Relied on good internet speeds for optimal streaming quality

Restricted to users located in cities where it offered service


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