Worried by the fresh opportunities that digital broadcasting creates for pirates to copy and swap films and videos on the internet, the industry – along with a conglomeration of TV studios, broadcasters and consumer electronics manufacturers – is quietly pressing ahead with plans that could transform the way we watch TV.
Their idea is to add a hidden label to every digital TV broadcast. This will be read by a secure chip in the TV receiver in your living room and place restrictions on what you can do with a programme – whether it can be copied, say, or even recorded in the first place. The studios or broadcasters will control these restrictions.
If the technology works as planned, it should help prevent pirates from making illegal copies of movies or TV shows and distributing them on the web. Innocent viewers will be affected too, however, according to US-based campaign group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The system could prevent you recording your favourite soap or pausing live TV, or stop you watching a recorded movie because you’ve already seen it once. “Worse, the restrictions can be changed at the whim of the rights holder,” says Ren Bucholz, EFF policy coordinator. “It may be that today you can record a programme and transfer it to DVD for long-term storage but next week you could be prevented from doing the same thing.”
| If people couldn’t record a show to watch later or pause live TV, there would be a public rebellion. |
Found by Bubba Martin.
this another reincarnation of the broadcast flag, no?
when will these jerks learn that their is no way to prevent the reproduction of a digital signal?
or is this just a cynical method of laying the legal grounds to make money by randomly suing people, a la the riaa?
95 % of new digital content sucks anyways, so if the couch potatoes all opted out of DRM relevancy and got real lives then this whole issue would become a non-issue. Hey kids, it’s entertainment, not the mountain top.
This is already the case. Many of the latest DVR units used by cable and satellite TV companies have this technology built in.
What this is all about is video on demand TV which is obviously where the future of TV lies. If broadcasters can’t force people to pay for programs or at least watch commercials which pays for the programs, there will be no future of TV.
“If the technology works as planned, it should help prevent pirates from making illegal copies of movies or TV shows and distributing them on the web.”
There is no way to stop piracy, and if anybody thinks this stuff will help is very naive. The way to stop piracy is to give the people what they want, and make it cheaper and easier to get it legal.
Ironically, Illegal pirated CDs and DVDs are disappearing thanks to the internet. This is the model that the Studios and networks need to follow. Finding a bittorent of a TV episode you want to watch that has enough seeds to make it a quick enough download is not that easy of a task. If Studios can offer the same TV episode with a few remote clicks making it either free with commercials or a couple of bucks without, then internet piracy will dry up too.
Unfortunately John, people like you and your informed readers are the only ones that really seem to care about this let alone understand it.
The generation ‘me’ doesn’t seem to mind (more like understand) the restrictions so long as they can get what they want ‘right now’.
I think what big media is doing right now is cutting off their nose in spite of the face. Most cable operators simple want to monotenize their own streams and are perfectly willing to capitulate to the networks and Hollywood so long as they get a cut.
Unfortunately fair-use is becoming an endangered species around the world and removing it from free economies has risen to such important levels that it is a major topic of discussion and negotiation at the G8 summit. So protecting a failing American business model is as important as funding AIDS in Africa.
I’m afraid our world leaders are and continue to fail us in too many was to count. People had better step up to the democracy plate and start swinging or soon your ‘public’ voice my be flagged as unrecordable and removed from the stream.
You know… the one Mr. Bush continues to illegally tap into. Yeah that one!
I don’t think this is anything new. This is simply the broadcast flag that was debated a few years back. Content providers will have to tread lightly on this. With the popularity of DVRs, if too many restrictions are enacted, the consumer backlash would be great.
#4 has it right.
I always used my VCR to timeshift and archive shows. DVD-recorders may not allow this thanks to the high-def content. Heaven forbid we get to watch “Dancing With The Stars” in HD when we want to, right? If this happens, I’ll just toss the TV out onto the curb. Most American TV is crap anyways.
The irony here is as the amount of content on cable grows it becomes a burden just to scan the available shows. I have a DVR and find there’s to much to review and I no longer want to save and catch up later.
There’s not enough time in one’s life to spend it watching TV. I used to have a large Laser and DVD collection now I’m down to 15 titles and even those I question keeping. I think for young people the cool factor will fade with time.
#6 has it right. Amercan TV with the “000’s ” of channels is no better than the 4 channels I was limited to in rural england.
US TV = Cheaply made shows, no storylines, all targeted at 16 year olds. When they do come out with good shows, 5 episodes in they are cancelled. What Idiots. One example, West Wing made a lot of people rich no doubt, but it wouldn’t survive today.
At least in england they had decent documentaries.
I remember a time in the US when there were 4 free channels, with decent programming and reception that I received for free. Now I pay for those free channels and all the others to the tune of $80 bucks a month with 7% inflation in perpetuity. I’m thinking a library card and a netflix account with an HD receiver and antenae will make me a wiser and richer consumer. Why pay for crap?
In the meanitime, I’ll keep my old VCR’s tuned up
those drm stickers are sweet
This is already happening. I wanted a DVD recorder and purchased one from a Big Lots store, a Magnavox MWR 10D6. It works great except whenever I try to record channel 8 which is CBS where I live. Whenever I try to tape CBS the recording’s sound blanks out every 1/2 to 1 minute for a few seconds. VERY annoying!
I guess when my last VCR dies, I will have to give up on watching any CBS show/movie. I usually don’t watch TV live as my work schedule interferes with watching prime time television. Oh well, I love to read books and surf the web, I guess I will just have more time for other interests.
T.V. is becoming more and more irrelevant, and it’s because of their own actions. They were ape shit when TiVo came out because of the commercial blocking. Now they just want you to pay for everything under the sun.
I love my netflix, the series end up there anyway and I get all my news from the internet now….so screw um!!