Friday, March 26, 2004
PC World: "Whose TV Is It, Anyway?"
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 05:37 PM
"If you're old like me, you remember the voice-over at the beginning of The Outer Limits: "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling the transmission...." Well, it turns out they weren't kidding. The conversion to digital television (DTV) has led to a spitball fight between users and the movie industry. The issue: who controls how you receive and record digital TV.
The thought of Napster-like sharing of movies (which is already happening on a small scale) has Hollywood's collective boxers in a bunch. As a result, all new digital-cable-ready TVs and set-top devices must have copy-protected FireWire or Digital Video Interface ports. But older gear, including millions of early HDTVs, have analog connections that lack copy protection. Owners of such sets could take a digital TV feed, output it to a VCR, digitize it on their PCs, and then share it with 4 million of their closest friends. So Hollywood has come up with ways to close the "analog hole" and control DTV..."
Interesting article, and none of the proposed changes sound very appealing to me as a consumer. I wonder how things will shake out?
The thought of Napster-like sharing of movies (which is already happening on a small scale) has Hollywood's collective boxers in a bunch. As a result, all new digital-cable-ready TVs and set-top devices must have copy-protected FireWire or Digital Video Interface ports. But older gear, including millions of early HDTVs, have analog connections that lack copy protection. Owners of such sets could take a digital TV feed, output it to a VCR, digitize it on their PCs, and then share it with 4 million of their closest friends. So Hollywood has come up with ways to close the "analog hole" and control DTV..."
Interesting article, and none of the proposed changes sound very appealing to me as a consumer. I wonder how things will shake out?
