Wary of a Video Napster, Hollywood Plots an HDTV Crackdown

[Leo V]

Wary of a Video Napster, Hollywood Plots a TV Crackdown

A good read for all you people who weren't up-to-date on current events. There is something new here, also:

"While ... months ago ... the entertainment companies had pledged that the only things that would be designated ''copy never'' would be pay-per-view or video-on-demand movies, the bar has since moved. The entertainment industry now wants ''copy once'' designation on all cable programming. And at least two companies would like it on over-the-air programming, too, if they can get it."

I guess the FCC really swallowed the MPAA's earnest pledges that they'll go easy with their Big Brother "B-chip", hook line and sinker :|

 

[dkozloski]

Don't expect anything significant to be broadcast by HDTV until this issue is completely under control.

 

[AMB]

If only there was a Video Napster for 56k users

 

[michaelh20]

Well there could be, but you'd need a microscope to see the picture... yes, it would compressed down to 10 pixels or something like that.

 

[Sohcan]

ttt...

This really pisses me off...I sure hope the consumer electronic companies take this back to the Supreme Court. Nevermind that this completely violates the 1984 Supreme Court Betamax case. If I want to archive a TV show for personal, legal uses, I shouldn't have to be penalized because some people might pirate the material.

 

[Gunbuster]

Aliens may be pirating current HDTV signals right now, lets send lawyers into space to fine/sue them.

 

[Workin']

I will be totally amazed if HDTV doesn't just tank. It's to the point now where it should be called "lawyer-vision", because that's the only people who will be able to use it (not to mention afford it).

I would not buy a HDTV tuner at this point because the proposed copy protection would render it useless when it is implemented. Just wait to hear the howling when the early-adopters get royally burned. What a way to screw a great new technology.

 

[Leo V]

Gunbuster, ROTFLMAO!! A new age of space exploration is about to commence... we're a Star Wars world in its infancy. Can you hear Jack Valenti's booming breath from behind Darth Vader's mask?

HDTV won't tank because big-money advertising will brainwash people like it's known to do. DVD's are selling really well, and it's illegal for you to access your own DVD's contents.

 

[6TNINE]

Video Napster? Movies are on Napster now?

 

[Workin']

But Leo, DVD's are a different story - last time I checked I could watch my DVD's when I feel like it - not when the network or MPAA decides I can. The average user couldn't care less that DVD's can't be easily copied - but I bet they will react differently when they can't record "Friends" and watch it tomorrow night instead of tonight......

But practically speaking - how would a "copy once" form of protection infringe on your right to make a backup of something you own the original of (or received for free over the air)? You just couldn't make a copy of a copy - where's the problem there? It's the "copy never" thing that's creepy - that and the FUD factor cast over the whole HDTV thing.

 

[jello]

Correction - You can watch them when you want... Provided you only do so on a player that the MPAA has granted it's approval.

And dvd's CAN be easily copied, by the real pirates who are churning out thousands to sell. Byte for Byte duplication is easy. What you can't do is extract the media and use it in any of those fair use ways you can with an old VHS tape.

aron.

 

[Sohcan]

Workin', the problem with the "copy once" scheme is that if "you make a copy on one machine and want to play it on another, it won't play." If I make a tape of a show and want to watch it on another friend's TV/VHS player, it won't play. Even worse, if I were to archive a show that I really enjoy and want to watch in the future (which is what I'm doing with B5), the tapes are useless if I buy a new recording device.

 

[Workin']

<< if &quot;you make a copy on one machine and want to play it on another, it won't play.&quot; >>

Where did it say that? Did I miss that or are you confusing playing and duplicating? That model is a proven loser - see Divx (Circuit City's attempted rape of the consumer, not the mpeg4 scheme). You can always capture the analog stream - just the digital stream would be protected, no? Well, except for Macrovision, but even the most inept can overcome that.....

<< Provided you only do so on a player that the MPAA has granted it's approval. >>

And you can only get Dolby Digital from a decoder that Dolby Labs has granted it's approval. Don't you think that the people who create something should have ANY control over what is done with it?

Don't get me wrong, I hate all this copy (read: revenue) protection. Just playing Devil's advocate here, and trying to make sense of this nonsense.

 

[Sohcan]

That was a quotation from the Inside.com article (the last item under &quot;This is how the copy protection module will affect viewing&quot. It was probably their interpretation of the system since no one really knows what the MPAA is planning, but it is a worst-case senario.

It is technically possible for them to implement the scheme...in addition to the CSS protection, they could have some sort of &quot;device tag&quot; that gets encoded into the recording so that it will only play on the machine with that identifying tag.

 

[Leo V]

Don't forget guys, there are 2 sides to the problem: technical and legal. If the MPAA successfully lobbies out their agenda (read: campaign contributions to both parties), the recording/copy protection will be as stringent/draconian as they wish. If you think they don't want to rape the consumer ala Circuit City, look over their criteria.

The legal part is, sadly, completed and working. Mostly it's the 1996 DMCA that makes it a federal crime for anybody to &quot;circumvent&quot; (or even attempt to circumvent) any copyright protection device, much less talk to anyone about such circumvention. Extracting the contents of your CSS-encrypted DVD disc is hence a federal offense.

And I'll repeat: if this didn't come right out of 1984 (the negative utopia thriller), you wouldn't see me so worked up over this madness.

 

[Workin']

Well I'm sure they would like to make the Divx model work, but it seems they would have to be even dumber than they appear to try that fiasco again. But I suppose stranger things have happened........

I predict that it will be later than 2005 by the time they get the final HDTV standard worked out, then several more years before normal people can afford the hardware.

 

[Gunbuster]

I just want a cheap (less that $1500) HIDef that has a Dsub or BNC monitor input and can to 1024x768 (higher a bonus)
I can care less about the TV programing, I just want HQ DVD and PC output.