Preparing for the Broadcast Flag? 735
Couch Potato asks: "I'm worried that, come next July, the FCC mandated broadcast flag will soon take away all sorts of fair use rights I have long enjoyed. Given that there are only a few months left to make purchasing decisions, how best can one prepare for the advent of the broadcast flag?"
"I'm somewhat aware of projects like Myth TV, but it's not all that I want. Specifically, I want to make sure that I can record DVDs or similar files of any program I want off of cable, sattelite or broadcast TV, flag or not and without any other encumbering restrictions (such as the Macrovision DRM for DVDs) and without worry that someday they'll change something so that my old drivers and hardware are suddenly obsolete and useless when faced with updates to the formats. Note that this makes closed-source-only drivers an issue, because assuming the hardware can still be adapted to whatever they change on us, open-sources drivers can be modified and closed-source ones probably won't be, whether for legal or practical considerations. So then, what can someone with a modest budget do to make sure that their constitutional fair use rights don't succumb to planned obsolecense, like the VCR has?"
Write Some Letters (Score:3, Insightful)
If people don't care? Well, it's like the music industry's continued assault on aural quality. Too fucking bad. People are free to do as they will, and that includes fucking themselves over if they so choose.
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:5, Funny)
Re:naaahhhh just get a home screener setup (Score:3, Interesting)
I bought it originally to keep using my 8mm video camera instead of buying an $800 (at the time) DV camcorder. I've found tons of other uses for the thing now.
Lotsa Luck (Score:5, Insightful)
Problem being, too many americans are too busy watching their spoon-fed share of culture on TV to care what happens, as long as the crap keeps showing up on their bigscreen they're fat and happy.
Re:Lotsa Luck (Score:3, Insightful)
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
- Pastor Martin Niemvller
Re:Quotations out of context (Score:4, Insightful)
The parent mentioned that (and I paraphrase) as long as the rest of the country sat around snd watched (because it had nothing to do with them...yet) nothing would change, this quote says much more than its obvious meaning, you do more to trivialize it by narrowing its application than I did by sharing it. Also do you think the DVD thing is the only thing this broadcast flag can handle? It can have applications, such as disabling the 'manual skip commercial' features of future tivo-like systems, how about a flag that won;t allow you to change the channel when a certain commercial comes on, (ok this might be exxageration, but it makes a point), also the phrase shows how thinking 'well this is only happening in the USA, so fuck the yanks', when in reality, it will proably be adopted (perhaps by financial force) by other countries as well.
The words of the phrase itself do not apply, but the meaning behind it applies very much so.
I detest when such great quotes are marginalized.
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:5, Interesting)
Two of the three federal appeals court judges from the District of Columbia scolded the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday over what they saw as an overstep of the agency's authority given by Congress. The reprimand came in response to the FCC's ruling on the "broadcast flag."
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:4, Informative)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050221-4
JON
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:3, Insightful)
Last I heard, they were still fighting for equal rights for gays and lesbians vis. marriage [tt] ..
Oh ... you meant 2 other groups of people -
Last I heard, racial profiling was still policy ...
Oh ... you meant 2 other groups of people -
Last I heard, the rich weren't worried abut the draft ...
Oh ... you meant 2 other groups of people -
Last I
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:3, Insightful)
Paul was writing to christians when he wrote this piece of "helpful advice" (for values of "helpful advice" equal to "not helpful at all") (1 Cor 7:
In other words, if you were a slave, "don't worry, be happy". And if you're a slave-owner, that's okay, because you can be a "good christian" and still own people - you don't
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:5, Insightful)
How would we know? The corporate media would never tell us even if it actually happened.
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:5, Insightful)
There is no, repeat, NO hope of galvanizing a significant enough fraction of a Congressman's demographic to make a difference in an election when it comes to issues like intellectual property.
The only thing you can do is move out of the country or just continue to civilly disobey.
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:5, Insightful)
It comes back to the fact that americans are apathetic towards politics. If spending more money gets you elected, that's a reflection on the mindless drone voting public who will choose one candidate over another because they saw him on TV more.
There is no, repeat, NO hope of galvanizing a significant enough fraction of a Congressman's demographic to make a difference in an election when it comes to issues like intellectual property.
Yes there is, just nobody has organized a large enough group of people nor been vocal enough to make them care. This isn't just a technology situation, you can also include small businesses who are either have to pay large amounts for single licenses, or who are "locked out" of innovating new products due to the cost of complying with the wishes of the FCC. Also teach average people about how to maximize the use of their technology fairly, then watch them scream as their rights too are taken away.
Alternatively, politics isn't necessarily about the majority, it's about who screams the loudest. The FCC bows down to a group not because it's the will of the majority of people, but because the group represents the majority of communications between the FCC and the people (90% of complaints come from 1 group).
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:3, Informative)
That's a nice lie you used to prove your point. Too bad the truth [opensecrets.org] proves the opposite.
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.house.gov/brown-waite/ [house.gov]
At least she won't vote for privitizing social security. The average age in this district IS 127. I bring it down a bit.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl05_brown-wa ite/telescare.html [house.gov] I swear it wasn't me.
Re:Write Some Letters (Score:5, Insightful)
With that said, I agree with the rest of your point. The problem here is that majority rule does not work when the majority doesn't care. People need to wake up.
That's not the issue (Score:3, Insightful)
Just for information... (Score:5, Informative)
I'm not saying the parent is speaking to this specifically, but this is just a point of information for others who will no doubt ignorantly vomit out the opposite in this thread.
Re:Just for information... (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, and the DMCA passed Congress without a single no vote. The Senate passed it 99-0, and the House passed it on a voice vote (which generally means that there wasn't any real opposition).
I don't know if the parent was attempting to point out that Democrats are solely to blame for things like the DMCA and the Broadcast flag or if he was trying to point out that both parties are to blame. It seems clear to me from the record that you can't blame things on just one party. People shouldn't get the impression that the Republicans have somehow been the guardians of our fair use rights against attacks conducted solely by the Democrats.
You are forgetting... (Score:5, Insightful)
100% of the people who pay for cable are the ones who pay for cable! This might sound odd, but let me explain. The broadcast flag does not HAVE to be enabled at the source. The broadcasters can turn it on and off. If HBO started using the broadcast flag, they might change their minds if 10% of the people both wrote letters AND canceled their service. Men, you can grab by the balls. Companies, you grab by the wallet. The problem is that consumers TOLERATE this stuff. If ABC doesn't let you TIVO, then don't watch. Networks live and die by Nielson ratings.
I dumped all cable and broadcast TV over a year ago. I get my movies from Blockbuster, and I get my news from news.yahoo.com. I am happy.
Re:Not be a cynic but... (Score:5, Insightful)
Similar question... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Similar question... (Score:5, Informative)
Hope it never shorts out, and they never update the driver or software.... and you don't need your todays AGP card to work in tommorows PCI-E mobo.....
p.s. buy two
Re:Similar question... (Score:4, Insightful)
pcHDTV 3000 is a Great option! (Score:5, Informative)
I am using an AMD 1700+ CPU with 1 GB memory, an nVidia GeForce FX 5700 128MB board. I only have 80+GB space on the system right now (enough for around 5 hrs recording time ) but I will probably upgrade it later this year.
I bought this card because it does not have the broadcast bit and since it was made before July it will not be encumbered with all those restrictions.
I do not, however, plan on abusing that flexibility by sharing my recordings and thus ripping off the content owners. It is the thieves that feel it is thier right to steal from people just because they can that have brought this onerrous situation upon us.
Re:pcHDTV 3000 is a Great option! (Score:5, Insightful)
You mean the ones with complete contempt for the notion of the public domain, who have repeatedly bought extensions to the duration of copyright in order to deny us the free use of our own culture?
Yeah, they're thieves all right, and they're the ones who've brought this situation upon us. It really sucks.
Re:Producers should not be enslaved to the Consume (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem is that scumbags keep retroactively increasing the length of protection, and that is cheating
Why is it cheating? Because the people that BUY your IP do so at a set price with the assumption that after they wait x # of years the stuff they bought today will be theres to do with what they want. That is one of the decisions they made when they bought it.
Example: Lets say that in 1968 I purchased one of the original film reals of star trek, for say $5,000. I get to watch it myself, but I can't charge cash to others to see it... YET. For just myself, it would only be worth $4,500. But I know that in 20 years, it will be a rare commodity and I will be free to charge people to see the film. My $5,000 is an INVESTMENT.
now 10 years later, some scumbag lier has convinced congress to change it from 20 years to 50 years. I just lost my investment.
The real problem is HOW MUCH DO WE WANT TO PAY INVENTORS/CREATORS for their work.
And while they are certainly entilted to a fair price, we - as the PURCHASERS of that work are entitled to negotiate a fair price - and that price includes a limit on how long you hold the rights to it. May be it should be shorter, maybe it should be longer, but once our society sets a reasonable time limit and you "accept that condition" and create the IP, there is NO POSSIBLE, FAIR REASON to change it. That is just thievery by cheating, greedy scumbags. It is no better than if Ford suddenly decides to extend the 5 year rental agreement with an option to buy after 5 years to a 10 years rental agreement, after you already signed the papers.
M-I-C-K-E-Y... (Score:4, Informative)
"The CTEA [Copyright Term Extension Act]extended the term of protection by 20 years for works copyrighted after January 1, 1923. Works copyrighted by individuals since 1978 got "life plus 70" rather than the existing "life plus 50". Works made by or for corporations (referred to as "works made for hire") got 95 years. Works copyrighted before 1978 were shielded for 95 years, regardless of how they were produced."
And thus, the reason why I cannot sell my bootleg Mickey shirts for another few decades. :)
--Teechur007
Re:Producers should not be enslaved to the Consume (Score:4, Insightful)
That's a circular argument. You're saying that the law should exist because it's the law.
If you don't want "your IP" to be public, then keep it tucked away in a corner of your mind. Take it to the grave if you want. If you want to put "your IP" into the marketplace, the public is willing to protect your work within reasonable limits.
The problem in recent years is that deciding what's reasonable is being left up to people who are clearly biased.
A monkey has the right to copy what he sees other monkeys doing. Shouldn't humans have equivalent rights?
Re:Producers should not be enslaved to the Consume (Score:5, Insightful)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Yeah, it's really awful that people can continue to benifit from thier creations for so long.
Wow, Walt Disney is still alive? What great news!
hell, if logic isn't enough for you the damn thing is enumerated in the constitution itself:
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
Re:Producers should not be enslaved to the Consume (Score:5, Insightful)
Most Disney movies are based on old legends, fairy tales, and historical events. Those are pieces of my culture as much as they are Disney's. Content producers have the constitutional right to a limited protection of their works, after which they are expected to revert to the public domain.
If you mistakenly believe otherwise, then I hope you demand that the publisher of your "collected works of William Shakespeare" track down his rightful, legal heir and fork over the appropriate royalties. Or that Disney pays Hans Christian Andersen's family for "The Little Mermaid". Or that Mel Gibson found someone to pay for the rights to Jesus's life story. Otherwise, you're a corporatist hypocrite who doesn't really understand the "intellectual property" rights you seem to be in love with.
Dang, writing that made me feel dirty. I'm a pretty staunch conservative, but this idea that recent works based on old public domain offerings have some natural right to be privatized for the rest of eternity is just plain bizarre.
Re:Producers should not be enslaved to the Consume (Score:3, Interesting)
The problem is that powerful copyright holders have extended the "applicable laws" more than once, retroactively. The problem is that "applicable laws" have ceased to protect the public from IP hoarding.
What right do you have to claim it as "your" culture?
The right to sing a combination of n
Re:Producers should not be enslaved to the Consume (Score:3, Interesting)
>copyright also prohibits anybody else from
>independently coming up with that series of
>notes later.
Ehh, this might be something that is different in US copyright laws, but if you can show that you came up with it independantly it is NOT a copyright infringement. The hard part is showing that though. But if you actually do create something independantly you would not infringne. As I said, not sure if it is the same way in US copyright laws though.
Re:pcHDTV 3000 is a Great option! (Score:5, Informative)
It is the thieves that feel it is thier right to steal from people just because they can that have brought this onerrous situation upon us.
I applaud you decision to respect the copyright laws, and not support piracy. On the other hand, I think you are very wrong to think DRM controls have anything to do with piracy. They don't stop anyone from copying a disk, and they are a mere speed bump for anyone who wants to rip content. DRM related laws are not aimed at the lawless, they are useless for stopping piracy. DRM is all about content control for people who obey the laws. Their purpose is to prevent you from moving your already purchased content to a newer format, or displaying it in multiple locations. They are about price fixing in different regions. I'm sorry you have been fooled into believe the smokescreen about piracy. Content producers are not stupid enough to believe that DRM will stop piracy, it is just an excuse.
To make a second point, while I do not violate copyright laws, I think the dirty hands of the content publishers give them little right to complain about copyright violations. Copyright was a two-sided deal, and they have welshed on their half. If copyrights do not enter the public domain and copy-written works are not available for sale at a reasonable price, then the original agreement has been broken and their is no reason why they should have exclusive rights to publish a work. Just because they bribed politicians with the money they made with their government sponsored monopoly, does not make it ethical to fail to fulfill their half of the deal. Of course, corporations are rarely ethical, and generally will do whatever the law allows them to, including change those laws to make more profit. If someone wants to violate these unfair copyright laws, hack content publishers bank accounts, or steal all their staplers, I say "enjoy and good luck."
Re:pcHDTV 3000 is a Great option! (Score:3, Informative)
The last statistics I saw indicated that less than 20% of Americans don't have cable or satellite. This means that the BF will affect only that small minority who watches digital TV and receives it over the air. It doesn't affect cable viewers, and it doesn't affect satellite viewers.
As far as I know, HBO generally does not go over the air. That's because
Re:pcHDTV 3000 is a Great option! (Score:3, Informative)
There is a distribution [mysettopbox.tv] that is being worked on that could help people along.
Buy offshore (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Buy offshore (Score:2)
Wont there be software uh... "patches" that will get around the flag?
Buy offshore (Score:3, Insightful)
And this is why any attempt to controll how an end user uses media will fail. The whole system will work as long as everyone plays ball. As soon as you have somebody that realizes they can make a better product by simply ignoring DMR/Broadcast flages/whatever, they will have 'built a better mousetrap'. And since implimenting copy protection takes extra effort, the product without it
Re:Buy offshore (Score:5, Insightful)
They can't stop millions of illegal aliens or hundreds of tons of drugs, but they can catch a container of tuner cards?
Re:Buy offshore (Score:4, Funny)
Worse, when smuggling them cards by sea beware the navy seals and their specially trained tuner-tuna.
Re:Buy offshore (Score:3, Informative)
Buy an HD TV tuner card (Score:4, Informative)
How best can one prepare for the broadcast flag? (Score:5, Insightful)
Hmm.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hmm.. (Score:5, Informative)
Avoid any COFDM devices as that is the European standard and would not work here in the states unless it also did 8VSB.
Don't worry... (Score:3, Interesting)
Necessary Purchases (Score:2, Funny)
Stock up on:
Canned Food
Water
Yacht Batteries
Guns
Ammunition
The EFF is fighting the broadcast flag (Score:5, Informative)
Unfortunately they're fighting it on a technicality - that Congress did not give the FCC explicit power to create the broadcast flag, and thusly they have no authority themselves to create it.
Re:The EFF is fighting the broadcast flag (Score:5, Interesting)
This issue isn't a technicality but a very valid point with regard to legislation and powers delegated by the U.S. Constitution.
Our goverment is (and should be) set up in such a way so that, when in doubt, the people have right of way.
This is not only an issue of the FCC overstepping its authority, but a fundamental question of what the federal government can, and cannot do.
Broadcast flag preparation... (Score:2, Insightful)
Chris
Pirate TV? (Score:4, Interesting)
1. We work hard on establishing a world wide WiFi network that isn't supplied or owned by ISPs, but is a collective non-profit organization.
2. Set up multiple membership levels with different requirements:
a. Standard users (just a regular WiFi access point to "catch the signal")
b. Operators (a bridging WiFi set up that connects several neighborhoods together)
c. Watchtower men (long range WiFi setups that can spam 20-50 miles to connect the Operators together)
d. Publishers (Centralized content hosting for free media perhaps in partnership with Wikimedia and the like)
3. Use this network to broadcast live and on/demand programming that is supplied and produced by any members
Ideally, this should really be multiple assocaited projects. The primary one being the non-profit that organizes the members of this wireless network. The other projects would be focused on creating content publishing software that would make it easy for anyone to publish video and audio, as well as education on creating media.
Barring any of that, a similar kind of network would probably grow tremendously if "Joe Average" learned that he could download the latest episodes of his favorite show using a WiFi peer-to-peer network...
So which is it going to be corporate America? Do you turn every citizen into a criminal, or do we find alternatives to your crap?
mirror dot (Score:2)
mirror [mirrordot.org]
meh (Score:5, Insightful)
Nothing different anti-CD copying measures, anti VHS copying measures, anti video-game copying measures, and so on.
Nothing new here, move along
Ween yourself from the Toob. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Ween yourself from the Toob. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Ween yourself from the Toob. (Score:5, Interesting)
But then we had a kid. When your wife it stuck at home, it only takes a few weeks for her to realize that there is only so much going on on the net in a given day.
Now, we did get satellite, and with it a DVR package. Fast forwarding through commercials, and being able to stockpile shows for days when I'm sick at home have eliminated my 2 major complaints about the tube.
The stockpiling is important. Most of my favorite cable channels... ok who am I kidding... the only 2 channels I watch tend to run the interesting stuff in marathons, with a long dry season in between. While I only average a few hours of TV a week, having 8 episodes of Star Trek, and another 6 "Tales of the Gun" are really handy for being home with the flu.
And having 5 or 6 hours of "Sesame Street" and "Jay Jay the Jet Plane" canned and ready to play is a life saver when you have a toddler. It means you can play their favorite video without it drilling your mind to the point you can recite the dialog by heart.
And to be fair, she is evenly split between wanting TV, mom and dad time, and bringing a book over demanding we read it to her. If anything, she prefers the books.
Re:Ween yourself from the Toob. (Score:3, Insightful)
I consistently download 8 shows a week, ranging from Sci-Fi to comedy, to drama.
Then I stream them to my PrismIQ. I have plenty of entertainment throughout the week, but feel no need to woprk around anybody else's schedule but my own. And I don't see commercials, to boot.
It probably won't last, but it works for me now.
i'm unvincible! (Score:2, Funny)
maybe I should break down and get one of those newfangled video to LP recorders...
Never fear! Underwhelmed is here! (Score:2, Insightful)
Not worry about it.
1-I doubt it's going to be widely available come July.
2-It's a bad idea that's going to quickly be realized as a bad idea.
I doubt it's going to last long, especially for programming people pay for.
wait and see what the courts decide? (Score:5, Informative)
I have no idea what you can do to try to sway the judicial system, as it's only 2 of 3 so far.
I guess you could contribute to the folks trying to take the FCC to court over this.
Good news for Mac Owners (Score:5, Informative)
"EyeTV 500 does not support the broadcast flag. Units bought before July 2005 will never support the broadcast flag. We will not update EyeTV 500 units bought before then to support the flag.
Thus, your EyeTV 500 will never support the broadcast flag. It will ignore flags, and not use DRM for any content. That means you'll have the maximum freedom possible with its recordings."
It's a little pricey, but it does the compression on the box. I don't have digital cable yet, but I may buy this come May/June just for the fuck of it since pre-July box prices will probably go up dramatically come July 2 (on the black market, of course, since the law bans all inter-state trade of these devices).
My own plans for the broadcast plan (Score:5, Funny)
Upon the day of the broadcast flag, I will be taking my family into the bunker along with a supply of food, air, and other needs to last 100 years.
When my great-grandchildren emerge into the world after society collapses, all the old books (which were deemed illegal during the Copyright Stealing Prevention act of 2050) are burned and all eyeballs gouged out during the Copyright Memory Prevention Act of 2075, when humanity has children born without R/M/AA approved Eyeball Extractors coming to remove their ocular sockets to be installed with DCMA III approved cybereyes (which shut down if it appears the looker is attempitng to actually remember what they see to replay it in their mind later, which of course is a copyright violation), then my great-grandchildren will be able to use these books and DVD's as barter.
Hm - I wonder how much food they'll be able to buy with a copy of "Cryptonomicon". Maybe I should get another copy....
Re:My own plans for the broadcast plan (Score:3, Funny)
About a pallet load of "Cap'n Crunch".
Purchase recommendation (Score:5, Insightful)
The 4-step "Who cares, TV sucks" program (Score:5, Interesting)
Step 2: Cease to care whether or not you can legally record them.
Step 3: Cancel your cable/satellite service.
Step 4: Download the 2 or 3 shows you really enjoy watching.
Re:The 4-step "Who cares, TV sucks" program (Score:3, Informative)
No *real* way out of it without getting in it (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, you can stock up on pre-broadcast flag HDTV cards, and you can do all sorts of other tricks, but to do what you talk of for long-term goals, you're gonna need to work from the inside of the "system". Like others have said, big companies can spend all they want on re-election campaigns, but they still get elected by those who vote.
What most people forget about American democracy is that it is designed to work well in facilitating peaceful revolutions- when people care and vote. The blame for the sorry state the American government is in lies with nobody save every last American citizen who is currently enfranchised (older than 18, etc.). And I write this as an American citizen.
This may be a solution (Score:5, Insightful)
Once the broadcast flag becomes standard, can't the FCC be sued for violating the Supreme Court order [virtualrecordings.com] mandating fair use in the Sony Betamax case? It would seem to be a slam-dunk of this argument is used.
Packet sniffer/transformer (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Packet sniffer/transformer (Score:3, Informative)
Now to write up this explanation for a third time in less than a year... maybe I should save it.
A digital television transport stream is a stream of binary data divided up into 188 byte packets (the ATSC standard at least). Each packet has a PID stamped on it, and the broadcast flag is carried on a packet with a specific PID (sorry, but I don't have time to drag out the ATSC specs (A/65B in this case I believe)... it would be pos
Stop time (Score:4, Interesting)
Sorry, that's a small jab. We can't predict what the future will bring. I can tell you this though...
If you want to be able to do things with bits that the powers that be try to stop you from doing, your best bet will always be had in the hobyist (read free software / oss) areas. This is because companies who want to compete and cooperate to get your money will b forced to play by the rules imposed by those would deny digital rights. Individuals will not bend to this, so the free stuff, while admitedly slower on the curve, will be your best bet, if freedom is your motivation. This means invest in your PC.
If you want digital input to your TV, go over DVI, but be sure that any set you look at will play non DRM encoded stuff. I believe the MPAA is attempting to mandate the broadcast of digital signals in a format which will limit rights. There are two types of digital interface on a television. My memory is sketchy here, I bought my set over 18 moonths ago. I do know though that there are a couple of different interface/protocol types, some of which use only the protocol which the MPAA is trying to define (in their favour). Be careful of that.
Sticking you head in the sand helps nothing! (Score:5, Insightful)
Broadcast flags are utterly evil for two reasons.
First, they are contrary to our fair use rights to record programming via Universal v. Sony.
Second, they create perpetual copyrights. Under the current rules, broadcasters will even be able to stop recording of public domain programming. Why do broadcasters get greater rights than the creator?! That makes no sense. And what's so hard to understand about the phrase "for a limited time"?!
Merely sitting on the sidelines and ignoring the problem will NOT help! If and when broadcast flags succeed, similar systems will become even more commonplace.
Simple (Score:5, Insightful)
But it's not that simple, after all. Because the problem is TUNING the content you want to record, e.g., from a satellite provider or cable operator. And since more and more of the digital content is encrypted, and is only able to be tuned by devices sanctioned by the provider, and all such devices will respect the Broadcast Flag, the answer is to "What can I do to prepare for the Broadcast Flag?" is "Not much."
Unless, of course, you don't mind recording from an analog connection, such as composite video, S-video, or component video. But the FireWire ports that are, for example, also mandated on all HD/digital cable set top boxes after 1 July 2005 will be mostly encrypted. One might ask the question, if they're encrypted, then what the hell good are they? Indeed. But what can you do in the face of a cable provider whose call centers don't even know what FireWire is, or who argues that "technically" the FireWire ports are "functional" (as required by the FCC), even though their output is encrypted.
The real answer, of course, is that these ports will interact with OTHER 5C-compliant FireWire devices that also respect the Broadcast Flag. There's no way around it unless you go analog. And that INCLUDES all the nice things on the EFF's page. Sure, you can tune over-the-air HD channels and record them. And that's great. In some markets, that may account for a lot of content. But you won't be able to digitally record content that is flagged as Record Never that you're paying for from a cable or satellite operator, because you need THEIR EQUIPMENT to tune to those channels. (Or, something like a CableCard in - guess what - another device that respects the flag.)
All in all, we'll be able to do less with our current (i.e., digital) equipment than we could do with equivalent equipment (i.e., the VCR) 30 years ago. And most of the operators won't shoulder any of the blame. They'll just point the finger at laws or at the content providers. And then what is a customer to do? The only thing you really *can* do is write your elected officials, and provide feedback to the FCC. Or, not buy any flag compliant devices, which might ultimately prove to be a very hard thing to do.
In sum: anything you buy now won't guarantee you recording of ALL content you might legitimately have access to, unless you're ONLY concerned about OTA recording.
Re:Simple (Score:3, Insightful)
The more I think about all of this, the more I think it may all come back to really bite content providers. I believe many people will be less likely
Screw them. (Score:4, Interesting)
Screw them.
If the broadcasters insist upon making me not the master of my TV, PVR, and DVD player, then I shall not consume their product - I'll read a book, I'll work on my car/computer/house/physique, and generally be better off than I am now.
The manufacturers of HDTV sets aren't seeing quite the volume they want - guess what guys, if you continue to make things less friendly to the consumer they will not consume as much!
Perhaps we shall see a rise of "GPL TV" - people creating shows for download (Considering the success of Homestar Runner, this may not be as far-fetched as we might think). Imagine - a Star Dreck^WTrek that has somewhat sensible science and stories! A rendition of Starship Troopers that is actually faithful to RAH's vision!
But no matter what - if my TV does not recognize me as its lord and master, then it shall be summarily expelled from my castle.
Write Letters? Lot of good that will do (Score:4, Informative)
Broadcast Flag (Score:5, Insightful)
But suppose you know where those bits are, and what they mean, too. Why couldn't you simply flip the ones you don't like and then record or whatever? All you would need is a serial to parallel converter to turn the serial stream into a 16 bit parallel bus (for example) and them suck those bits into a DSP, where you do a little bit bashing. Then run them into a parallel to serial conervter to reconstruct the transport stream as seen by your digital disk recorder? If you have a commercially made unit, it will be looking for the flag bits, so it will know what it can or cannot do, but your freshly set bits tell it that this program is OK to record and play as long as you like.
I think such a device is likely to appear as a small plastic box with 2 firewire ports and a wall-wart, selling for $20 in a year or two.
Remember Macrovision on VHS? Do you know how easy that was to defeat? All you had to do was to make your VCR run with fixed video gain instead of AGC all the time. A little hardware hacking was all that was needed. This shouldn't be much worse. But don't try bit bashing after the compressed video is expanded. The data rate there is likely to be upwards of a gigabit, and most folks don't know how to make PCBs to handle stuff going that fast. This is precisely why the DRM folks want the interconnects to be 1 gigabit or faster. But remember, the "broadcast flag" must be readable in the 19.3 megabit transport stream.
Re:Broadcast Flag (Score:3, Informative)
That's illegal, according to these guys. DMCA and all that. Defeating their encryption scheme is against the law.
"constitutional fair use rights" ? (Score:3, Interesting)
you seem to be talking about the generally held
us freedom-loving people have had it high on the hog with the centralisation of power under a liberal government (except for gun rights). now that this centralised power is under conservative control we're shocked (shocked!) when the interpretation changes to our disliking. boo fscking hoo.
if we want a lasting right to fair use, to privacy, or whatever, we had better get it
if we don't want a powerful central government dictating law to us from their corporate puppeteers, then massive decentralisation of that power or, at least, less corrupt influences on that power, are needed. seriously, is there a more sure recipe for corruption than to put as much power in as few hands as possible? guess what, the Constitution never outlined plans to vest this much power in Washington, DC, but a rampant-running series of
It's being challenged in court (Score:5, Informative)
Re:It's being challenged in court (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It's being challenged in court (Score:3, Informative)
In the Lexmark case they only apparently filed amicus briefs. In the DVD-CCA one they funded and coordinated the defense. In the last one they filed a complaint against the
Let hollywood fuck themselves... Who cares really? (Score:4, Interesting)
I think the real shame is that as a result of this broadcast flag, Hollywood will simply fuel an entire underground HD-TV show swaping network on the internet.
There will be 10x the amount of traded HD-TV shows being swapped online. There will be a huge demand for those who can provide recorded versions of your favorite tv show.
Dont these companies realize that the more they squeeze the people, the more willing the people are to fuck them back?
We're a country of rebelling bastards, its what we do best
So let the corperations continue to own and control our government. It's nothing new. We've already lost that war years ago.
Hollywood, say hello to the larger than ever, more elite than ever, more unstoppable than ever, and more right than ever... underground HD-TV show scene that you have created. Way to learn from the past, you fucking morons (hollywood).
Here are good options (Score:5, Informative)
pcHDTV 3000 from here [pchdtv.com]
Air2PC from here [mythic.tv] or here [cyberestore.com]
2. When you're ready, build a computer for MythTV. Use this guide [wilsonet.com], look here [miami.edu] for HDTV tips, and ask questions on this mailing list [mythtv.org]. You can also search for answers on the mailing list archive [gossamer-threads.com].
3. You say that Myth isn't all you want. I think you're wrong. Here's what it can do:
It can record analog content from cable, satellite, and over-the-air broadcasts.
It can record digital content from over-the-air broadcasts, including HDTV.
It can record unencrypted digital content over firewire from some digital cable boxes.
Using free tools that come with MythTV, you can cut commercials and export any recording from MythTV to a number of different formats, including Divx, Xvid, VCD, SVCD, and DVD.
4. Here's what it can't do:
Myth can't record encrypted digital content from digital cable or digital satellite. Keep in mind that no PC-based solution can do this. The only possible ways to do record content from these sources in digital format are to use a black-box solution (usually) provided by the cable or satellite company or to put on your black hacker hat and crack the encryption. If you choose the former, odds are slim and none that you will be able to export the recordings.
Wait a sec... look who we are talking about here.. (Score:3, Insightful)
This is the same industry who let the CSS decryption code leak out.
This is essentialy the same industry who tries to copy protect XBOX and PS2 games, only to have $10 chips start showing up a week after the machines come out, or, better yet, loading a save game file that creates a FTP server you can log in to by way of a buffer overflow in a font package.
I don't think we have anything to worry about here, folks.
Let them make their piddly little broadcast flag. Give it a week and you will see a story here on Slashdot that says, "HD Broadcast Flag stripped from content with 2 lines of Pearl."
Re:lemme get this straight. (Score:3, Funny)
I think you are incorrect (Score:5, Insightful)
Your assesment is kinda wrong.
You've never experienced things like a state tax filing amnesty? librariers that have fine amnesty?
never heard of realtors trying to close deals before laws change so they can be grandfathered in and legal?
the Question is,
"HOW BEST CAN I PREPARE MYSELF FOR SOMETHING THAT IS LEGAL"
not, how can I circumvent the law.
the advice being sought is in fact, ON THE SIDE OF LAW and wholly valid, I'm glad to see the topic, I was thinking about snapping up some hardware myself.
As I understand it- and I'd LOVE to be courteously corrected, the law only applies to products moved across state lines (or into the country) so a product manufactured, marketed and sold in the same US state, is actually still a possibility.
(fabrication facilitys then needing to be built in each state of course)
Re:Move (Score:5, Insightful)
As a Libertarian, my vote never gets anyone elected, even in local elections. So I am used to that. I have a comfortable chair.
This country used to be known as a country of individualists and, yes, anarchists to an extent. 'Tis no longer true of course, but I stand by our proud tradition of thumbing our noses at our government, poking fun at our ratlike leaders and ignoring laws and any other rules that I don't agree with. This is what makes me an American.
Re:Move (Score:3, Funny)
OK, I did that.
After I made love to your wife, my wife got rather annoyed with me. And she really got pissed when I kept at it after our first child was born.
I ended up having to move to Canada, and I already knew there
Re:Move (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:And let's not forget about OS X (Score:5, Informative)
Intro to HD PVRs [eff.org]
Broadcast flag info and list of HDTV cards [eff.org]
And BTW, the Elgato eyetv 500 [elgato.com] is the answer to your question.
Re:You people make me laugh (Score:4, Insightful)
The constitutional issue present is whether the government can impose prior restraint on that speech (which is exactly what the DMCA does), and whether computer software is, for the purposes of the 1st ammendment, protected speech. The US Supreme Court has yet to rule, however at least on the 2nd half of the argument, the 9th circuit had ruled that computer software was speech in the first ammendment sense. The 9th circuit was set to re-hear the question en banc when that case (this one was about export regulations on encryption software) was made moot.
In short, no, you do not have the right to insist that copyrighted works be made "easy" for you to use. But I believe that the copyright holders do not have the right to prevent anyone from documenting the steps necessary to access their works. And if I am right, then any copy restriction regime is nothing more than a waste of everyone's time.
(IANAL, of course, but I play one in my mind)