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View Full Version : RIAA and MPAA call a halt on digital progress


ASsman
01-24-2006, 04:53 PM
Twats they all be.
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"Customary Historic Use" mooted

By Theo Valich: Sunday 22 January 2006, 16:30
BASTION OF digital rights, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has found a cause for concern when it comes to the future of consumer electronics.

It seems that both the RIAA and MPAA are keen to squish innovation by pushing measures through Congress that ensure no new digital media format will do anything that can't already (legally) be done.

The EFF unearthed draft legislation sponsored by a Republican Senator, Gordon Smith, which seeks to limit future digital broadcast media inventions in a number of ways.

The legislation proposes a "broadcast flag" be added to a digital signal by the broadcaster so that the content receiver will monitor and protect the content by means of a "Secure Moving Technology".

This it defines as "a technology that permits content covered by the Broadcast Flag to be transferred from a broadcast receiver to another device for rendering in accordance with customary historic use of broadcast content, to the extent such use is consistent with applicable law and that prevents redistribution of copyrighted content over digital networks," (our Italics).

In essence, the suggestion is that nothing should be invented in the sphere unless the RIAA and MPAA ok it first.

Are hallucinogenic drugs very popular with the venerable gentlemen at those organizations? I mean, stopping the progress of future content distribution standards, how barmy is that?

This of course, is prompted by the worries over future TV and radio (HDTV and digital radio) stations. Under the draft, the Fair Usage model would be replaced with "Customary Historic Use" - a model in which the distribution of digital content would be outlawed after the content is delivered to the subscriber of a service.

Want to save that historic 2007 SuperBowl? In the US, forget it. Your offspring debuted on national TV network? Sorry, no saving the tape unless your kid brings the it home from the station (and even that could be illegal too).

Add to that that no standard could be developed without the express permission of the RIAA/MPAA committee. Which brings us to a possible scenario: You want to develop a next-gen memory card and submit your idea to the board consisting of very technical folk... "Can it be used to save broadcast content? Yes? Well, we'll ring you back... never."

All that your humble journalist can conclude is the following: the US really wants to end up as a technological backmarker, after Japan, China, Britain, Germany and who knows what other countries... Heck, even in my Croatia with it's 4.5 million inhabitants has 3G providers, DVB-T digital TV, pay-per-view cable TV operators... and yeah, people can freely save that phenomenal documentary or a TV series on HBO. Why we want to? Well, maybe because I was at work while the show was on.

I wonder what it would take to get Americans to take a really deep look at their nation and choose progress instead of repression. Since I have lived in an unusually-liberal communist country, I can't say I have experience like my colleagues from behind the iron curtain, but suggestions inside this draft just sound... USSR-style. µ
http://theinq.com/?article=29160

PDF of Legislation Draft
http://eff.org/broadcastflag/dcp_act_2006.pdf
Just for you Enigma.

CJM
01-24-2006, 05:12 PM
the people of the US should start protesting before they decide to make that illegal, too.

ASsman
01-24-2006, 06:23 PM
Too lazy, stupid, or both. Maybe it'll be the final straw, and I will be forced to move to a proper Country. Like ICELAND!

synch
01-24-2006, 06:33 PM
They have even stopped masking their naziness.

Ah well... For every measure against copying there is a countermeasure.

EN[i]GMA
01-24-2006, 06:48 PM
Twats they all be.
-----------
"Customary Historic Use" mooted

By Theo Valich: Sunday 22 January 2006, 16:30
BASTION OF digital rights, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has found a cause for concern when it comes to the future of consumer electronics.

It seems that both the RIAA and MPAA are keen to squish innovation by pushing measures through Congress that ensure no new digital media format will do anything that can't already (legally) be done.

The EFF unearthed draft legislation sponsored by a Republican Senator, Gordon Smith, which seeks to limit future digital broadcast media inventions in a number of ways.

The legislation proposes a "broadcast flag" be added to a digital signal by the broadcaster so that the content receiver will monitor and protect the content by means of a "Secure Moving Technology".

This it defines as "a technology that permits content covered by the Broadcast Flag to be transferred from a broadcast receiver to another device for rendering in accordance with customary historic use of broadcast content, to the extent such use is consistent with applicable law and that prevents redistribution of copyrighted content over digital networks," (our Italics).

In essence, the suggestion is that nothing should be invented in the sphere unless the RIAA and MPAA ok it first.

Are hallucinogenic drugs very popular with the venerable gentlemen at those organizations? I mean, stopping the progress of future content distribution standards, how barmy is that?

This of course, is prompted by the worries over future TV and radio (HDTV and digital radio) stations. Under the draft, the Fair Usage model would be replaced with "Customary Historic Use" - a model in which the distribution of digital content would be outlawed after the content is delivered to the subscriber of a service.

Want to save that historic 2007 SuperBowl? In the US, forget it. Your offspring debuted on national TV network? Sorry, no saving the tape unless your kid brings the it home from the station (and even that could be illegal too).

Add to that that no standard could be developed without the express permission of the RIAA/MPAA committee. Which brings us to a possible scenario: You want to develop a next-gen memory card and submit your idea to the board consisting of very technical folk... "Can it be used to save broadcast content? Yes? Well, we'll ring you back... never."

All that your humble journalist can conclude is the following: the US really wants to end up as a technological backmarker, after Japan, China, Britain, Germany and who knows what other countries... Heck, even in my Croatia with it's 4.5 million inhabitants has 3G providers, DVB-T digital TV, pay-per-view cable TV operators... and yeah, people can freely save that phenomenal documentary or a TV series on HBO. Why we want to? Well, maybe because I was at work while the show was on.

I wonder what it would take to get Americans to take a really deep look at their nation and choose progress instead of repression. Since I have lived in an unusually-liberal communist country, I can't say I have experience like my colleagues from behind the iron curtain, but suggestions inside this draft just sound... USSR-style. µ
http://theinq.com/?article=29160

PDF of Legislation Draft
http://eff.org/broadcastflag/dcp_act_2006.pdf
Just for you Enigma.

Just for me, the resident 'libertarian' who dispises and disparages government intervention in the economy in principal as well as practice?

Right...

ASsman
01-24-2006, 07:01 PM
No the PDF, douche bag. I thought you were? Nevermind that besides the point.

EN[i]GMA
01-24-2006, 07:18 PM
No the PDF, douche bag. I thought you were? Nevermind that besides the point.

Ah, I see.

I misunderstood your mention of my name.

But yeah, I didn't click on it because of PDF.

TFA is good enough for me.

FunkyHiFi
01-27-2006, 04:39 PM
This is a great example of how very powerful the broadcasting lobby is. And why I am so happy this Abramoff issue happened so more people know about all this massive government/corporate ass-kissing that has been going on.

But as far as I know, the issue of broadcast flags-the system used to prevent most types of user copying & playback-still isn't over with. The FCC lost a court case over this issue but i don't think they will give up so easily.

BTW: for anyone out there that owns a high definition TV without an HDMI or DVI digital signal connection, you are the people that could potentially be REALLY screwed by the FCC. These connections are capable of carrrying encrypted signals-that means if your TV doesn't have a DEencryption system, you wouldn't be able to watch and/or record whatever program a broadcaster desired. This is already true of the upcoming high definition dvd formats, called "Blu-Ray" and "HD-DVD", which are debuting this year. There will be tens of thousands of pissed off people that own pre-HDMI HDTVs that won't be able to use these formats.

Here's some discussion (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=237904) of this issue at a home theater forum (especially post #14).

An new and worrisome article (http://news.com.com/Senate+may+hoist+broadcast+flag+again/2100-1025_3-6030454.html) about this at cnet.

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FYI: this anti-pirating paranoia is what has helped to cripple the two competing high resolution surround *music* formats-dvd-audio and sacd (http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/index.php)-I mention in the other music forum (they both debuted in 1999). This time it's just the music labels themselves & not the guvment that asked for the copy protection, and demanded that the hardware manufacturers use it. So what we ended up with is players that require six analog cable connections to transfer the hi-res signals to your receiver instead of *one* tidy digital connection*. This is so all of us sleazy music fans won't hook up our hi-res players to our computers and upload music :rolleyes:.....never mind that uploading six channels of uncompressed hi-res data involves an enormous amount of bandwidth-IIRC even someone with a cable connection would need almost an hour to download one song!

* a few very expensive players and receivers from Pioneer, Denon, Yamaha and Sony now have digital hi-res connections but they are encrypted & only work between the same brand of equipment-aarrgh!

ASsman
01-27-2006, 04:44 PM
Hah, I hope we get faster internet connections out here in the technologically retarded US. Will all get hacked, cracked, packaged and downloaded.