Cablevision Systems said Monday it will begin testing digital video recorder technology as a service that stores shows on Cablevision’s own servers.

DVR technology typically allows cable and satellite service subscribers to store programs on hardware devices that are usually incorporated into the set-top boxes in their homes.

But Cablevision will offer its 2 million digital cable subscribers the option of storing the programs in Cablevision’s facilities at the point where the TV signal originates.

The option, which the Bethpage, New York-based cable operator is calling remote-access digital video recorder service (RS-DVR), will allow customers with traditional set-top boxes to get all of the benefits of hardware DVRs without the additional monthly expense of an upgraded box.

The company currently charges $9.95 for a DVR-enabled set-top box. Cablevision expects the RS-DVR option to be less expensive to its subscribers and allow customers to avoid the need to sit at home waiting for an installer to arrive.

The company did not say exactly what or how it plans to charge its subscribers for the DVR service, whether it will be a flat charge for unlimited programs or per program stored.

Cablevision also expects to save money on the RS-DVR service by not sending a truck with an installer on board to upgrade customers’ current set-top boxes to hardware DVRs.

Shares of Cablevision rose $0.22 to $26.68 in recent trading.

No Copyright Problems

Cablevision, the sixth-largest U.S. cable operator, said it does not anticipate any copyright complications because the only difference between customers recording on DVR boxes versus RS-DVR is the location of the hard drive on which the recording is made.

“We are not recording shows and making them available as video on-demand content,” said Jim Maiella, a Cablevision spokesperson. “We are merely replicating the existing DVR functionality. The customer is making the recordings. We are just storing them.”

While Cablevision owns some of the video content it distributes on its cable network, much of the content is owned by other entities such as Disney. The recording and resale of shows have specific rules of engagement that are carefully monitored and guarded.

Subscribers will select programs they wish to record from the channel guide in the same way as hardware DVR subscribers currently do. Customers will be allowed 80 gigabytes of programming storage, roughly equivalent to 45 hours of video entertainment.

They will control the viewing or deleting of the copies of programs in much the same way as DVR customers do. Customers also will be able to record two programs simultaneously while viewing a stored program.