To: Editor, The Journal News
FCC OKs method to cut digital TV piracy
In the Business section of the Journal News on November 5, 2003, you had
a small article about called "FCC OKs method to cut digital TV piracy".
You explained what this means for the broadcast industry (possibly less
piracy), but you did not explain what this means for consumers or that
Consumers Union in Yonkers, The Electronic Freedom Foundation, and at
least two other consumer advocacy groups have been rallying against the
Broadcast Flag. This flag could even render your current HDTV or DVD
player useless! This is an attack on both innovation in HDTV and fair
use, and is an extension to FCC powers that many think it does not have
the right to do.
The "Broadcast Flag" is a new signal that High Definition Televisions
(HDTV) and all other devices need to look for in an incoming signal.
When home entertainment devices see this flag they are supposed to
disable the recording of the program. This means that if the station
you are watching does not want you to record a show (maybe the World
Series or even the season finale of "24") they just throw a switch and
YOUR VCR is disabled!
The Electronic Freedom Foundation (www.eff.org) said they did not like
the "...Broadcast Flag proposal because the proposal would give
Hollywood unwarranted control over the development of digital television
(DTV) and related technologies to the detriment of creators and
consumers of the technologies."
Since current DVD players do not understand the broadcast flag, they
will likely be unable to play DVDs recorded with the new standard.
If you already bought a new HDTV you might need some sort of upgrade
before you can view broadcasts which happen after the broadcst flag is
actually implemented. All this will eventually be paid by the
consumer...and this is only the first of several more limits that
Hollywood wants to put on the programs you receive.
So, what can you do? The only way to retain your fair use of HDTV
entertainment is to let your legislators know that you do not want the
TV studios putting new limits on what you can and cannot do with TV
programs you receive with HDTV.
The rate of adoption of HDTV has been slower than the FCC expected. For
some reason they think that reducing consumer options and increasing the
price of the technology will speed acceptance by the general public!
--
Ed Weinberg e
dw@q5comm.com
Scarsdale, NY