FCC orders anti-piracy tech for TVs

[remus174]

http://www.msnbc.com/news/989371.asp?cp1=1

Those FCC bastards

The government on Tuesday approved an anti-piracy mechanism to make it harder for computer users to illegally distribute digital TV programs on the Internet. In its order, the Federal Communications Commission told makers of digital television receivers that by July 1, 2005, their models must recognize an electronic marker that broadcasters can embed in their programs to limit piracy.

What does this mean for Snapstream?

[RobertH]

almost NOTHING until they support HDTv Tuners, the new regulations only affect those devices capable of storing the original digital signal from an hdtv broadcast, that includes things like D-VHS, new DVD-Recorder set tops, and most things that will hook up using the firewire ports found on the receivers. I dont think it even effects those devices that can hook up to the receiver at svideo resolutions but they may end up performing something like macrovision on the svideo out to thwart that, even though you would be recording at only NTSC resolutions.

[noodleNT]

...... and it will just get cracked anyway.

[RobertH]

Well the whole stupid thing about it is that HDTV signals arent encrypted so anyone with a capture device can take the signal in, this ruling was just so that if the "flag" is present in the stream data the video "shouldnt" be recorded or captured in any form, although im sure it has no precedence on svideo output since you would be degrading the signal. But this will get brought up in court and tossed around some more, it is basically the same arguement that came about when vcr's were first introduced. So technically all you have to do is "ignore" the flag and be happy, however if the hardware manufacturers start putting the hardware into the chips on the hdtv tuners to prevent capturing when the flag is present there isnt anything one would be able to do about it without signifigant reverse engineering.

[RobertH]

Probably wont happen because of the amount of tv's, settop boxes, transcoders, and other random devices that accept HD signals it would piss off too many people who have sunk a good deal of $$ into their systems to just up and say oops now becuase we want our broadcasts secure you cant use your equipment.