http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-5094610.html

Reuters -- U.S. regulators in coming weeks will adopt strict limits on sending digital television programs over the Internet to avoid the problems now plaguing the music industry, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

The Federal Communications Commission will likely adopt rules that will allow programmers to attach a code to digital broadcasts that will in most cases bar consumers from sending copies of popular shows around the world, said the officials, who declined to be identified.

The approval, expected as early as next week, are intended as another step along the long road to higher-quality, crisper digital signals, which have been slow in coming because of worries about piracy, high-priced equipment and limited programming.

An agency spokeswoman declined to comment on when the five commissioners would vote on the issue.

Consumer advocates have warned that consumers will have to buy new DVD players if they want to play programs that have been recorded on machines that recognize the digital "flag." But agency officials stressed that that always happens when new technology hits the market.

"It will simply prevent consumers from illegal piracy, from mass distribution over the Internet, which is the problem with the music file sharing," Kenneth Ferree, head of the FCC's media bureau, said.

The music industry has been plagued over the last few years with consumers illegally sharing and copying songs over the Internet, which has led the recording industry to sue music downloaders for damages up to $150,000 per song.

Consumers will still be able to make unlimited copies of their favorite shows and watch them in various rooms of their homes, but they will not be able to send them over unsecured networks until protections are established, the officials said.

"Why should anyone in the world buy if it's on the Internet," said Andrew Setos, president of engineering at News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group.

Initially, the FCC is aiming for a relatively open process for approving equipment that will read encrypted shows, officials said, and the agency will likely retain some oversight along the way to help ensure a fair review of new technologies.

Programmers had wanted a role in approving television equipment to ensure that security features were robust enough. But some technology companies, such as Microsoft, had worried they would be shut out from developing new ways to deliver protected digital content.

IBM has been developing technology so that some day consumers will be able to transmit shows over secured networks, such as between their homes and offices.

Television-set makers hope to begin installing the necessary equipment for the broadcast flag in TVs going on sale next year.

"As a solution for addressing the single narrow problem of Internet redistribution, this is a pretty good solution," said Dave Arland, a spokesman for Thomson, which manufactures RCA television sets.

But consumer advocates warn that it would make obsolete 50 million DVD players already in Americans' homes.

"If a consumer records a program on a new Broadcast Flag equipped machine and then tries to take that program and play it on Grandma's older DVD player, it's just not going to work," said Chris Murray, legislative counsel for Consumers Union.

can we say broadcast flag hacked? ill give it 2 weeks.

Hmmm Sounds like a way to force the masses in to buying new equipment.

when will it ever end!

don't thay get it we will not take this

we own them thay do not own us

we made them we can un make them we are more thay are few

we hold the money we hold the power

all thay have is big media in thair pocket

we still have the internet in ares for now we should start a revolt befor it's to late

:0(

gee, play it on a new DVD player, cable the signal into a VCR, record the show on the VCR tape then upload it into the computer fromt the anolog form then reencode it. wala it's ready to be shared. OOPS am I gonna get sued under the DMCA for saying that?

Easy. Use VHS. Record it yourself. End of story. I support this new broadcast flag, because it will keep them off our backs. I use VHS to record something I want to watch over and over, or record if I'm going to miss something. It's not that hard, people. If you're worried about having to get a new DVD player, then use VHS. If you WANT to use DVDs to watch TV programs, then I guess you'll have to sell your DVD player on Ebay or something. Deal with this, and it will give you no problems.

Besides, if you have such a shitty VCR that you can't get a good picture on tape when you record, then get a new one of those.

Don't share or download TV shows on the internet. That's just plain stupid.

undeath

I am not sure why you think it is stupid to share TV shows over the net. I would be willing to gamble that if you put some TV execs in room and told them there is a want for TV shows on demand, they would be all over it selling shows at the price of their choosing. They would be bouncing off the walls trying to obtain the means to deliver these shows to potential suckers (I like to call them citizens).

Sharing TV shows means that you (the viewer) bypass the commercials. That seems like reason enough to share the TV shows and it would appear to be a very intelligent decision. Or how about the fact you could view them anytime you want. Need I continue?

And I thought the TV industrys were above crushing free because of their own fear.

Can you say 'Cant compete with free'?

VHS is fine. Fast forward. Always there.

I don't have a problem with punishing TV pirates.

To be honest, I just don't see the connection between music "piracy" and other forms of piracy.

If we are talking about suing someone for disclosing how to get around technology.. YES, I have a HUGE problem with that.

But measures to punish people who steal cable are somehow wrong? Is cable overpriced? Are crappy sitcoms controlled by a corrupt and unnecessary middle man? Are the actors not getting paid? Please.

Let's maintain our focus. Better yet, let's try not to go off defending "piracy" in all of it's forms.

After all, if you copy someone else's software for your own use, that IS wrong. It's a product on the shelf just like everything else is. Just because you can copy it doesn't mean you should. Software pirates are also a problem. (Do I support palladium? F*** no. I'd rather die.)

I'm saying this: Stealing is wrong. If it's called piracy, that doesn't mean we automatically defend it because we have been called pirates. The music issue is a whooole different story.

Of course if you punish cable pirates in a way that is truely invasive to privacy or violates the constitution, then yes I obviously have a problem with that.

I thought I'd make sure to come back and say that. But I get the feeling that too many of us here hop on the "defend piracy" bandwagon. I have witnessed people saying it's ok to pirate software. It isn't. ..trying to make myself more clear.

Allow me to interject something into all of this.

Things I want to watch aren't available on the channels in my area. Indeed, they're not available in this country half the time. So yes, there's a good reason to want to be able to share TV shows.

But more than that, if I record something on vhs, and lend it to a friend, what is the big freaking difference than beaming it to them over the net? Especially if it's on bradcast, anybody-can-get-it TV anyway?

Now if I were SELLING it, then yes, that's tee-totally wrong, and I'd deserve anything I had coming to me.

I don't understand some of the arguments posted this time around. But this does sound like another way to control what we watch, how we watch it, and what we do with it. If we're not doing anything illegal, then we should have the freedom to do as we please so long as there's no harm in the almighty profit margin, which so far I have yet to comprehend on this particular matter.

Three words: Video Capture Card.


Morons.

Since they need a network for their programs, what about the foreign market?

I guess no one wants to see the Italian version of "Who's line is it anyway..."

And why should we deprive people all over the world of crappy music, comedies that arent funny, dramas that are funny, and generally assinine programming? No we shouldnt be so selfish

Scratches head, this is a problem. I don't know anyone that does this. Granted, It is possible, but the only thing worth going to the effort to broadcast on the internet, is cspann, maybe even the discovery channel.

Spending my bandwidth to reproduce 3's company, with commercials, come to think of it, they should be paying us.

but hey, if you wan't to download your tv shows before you watch them, knock yourself out. Get a good defragmenter program.

If you would like to contact the FCC and let them know that you do not want a broadcast flag visit the two following websites and sign their letters to the FCC.

http://www.digitalconsumer.org/bcastflag/

http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2801

~Twinke will rule you

Remove the from those two links I posted. I'm sure everyone here knows how to do that considering you have to do it with just about every link.

That was supposed to be a br from the links. These message boards are messing with my head.

I hate to post again but I gotta take issue with what alot of you are saying. To me it doesn't really sound like any of you care. With a broadcast flag anyone who is in charge of the channel can just up and say well I don't want anyone to record this show or movie for any reason so I am not going to allow it.

Someone also said use a capture card but the broadcast flag is probably going to be looking to communicate only with devices that have a broadcast flag which means it will probably be in your capture card so it probably won't work.

This all comes back to control and our freedoms. Companies want to tell us when, where, and how long we can do something. While yes I do think that if this passes someone will crack it and there will be mods but why let it go that far? Why let the MPAA do this to us?

When I envision the future of this country I am disgusted. We as people we let the little things slide and say it's no big deal and then we let something else slide and then more and more and more always justifying that it's no big deal or someone else will solve the problem.

I may be paranoid but I really do believe that our government wants us to live in a world just like that in the book 1984 but they can't do it all at once or people will revolt so they do it a little at a time and get people to accept it and live with it before they do something more. We are just like the frog in the pot. If you throw it in boiling water it will try to get out but if you heat the water slowly it will sit in there and boil to death. That is what we are and that is where we're going.

I feel really hopeless.

1. A capture card will allow recording of flaged programs, but only as analog. That means 480i only, pathetic quality. The systems authenticated: Any digital capture cards capable of recieveing flaged content will be firmware-programed to disable when the flag is detected. Hacks are a posibility, but firmware hacks are very hard to make and spscific not only to one model of device, but one revision of that model.

2. The main reason the studios and labels are worried is the possibility of high-quality (not capture-card) TV shows and films, espicially HDTV, spreading over the net. The fact that I download DVD rips of tv shows doesn't seem to have been noticed. But thats not the only reason. They also dislike the idea that people can access their TV without watching the advertisements, and they arn't too pleased about viewers who collect whole series, thus lowering their potential for reruns and boxed sets.

3. I am not familiar with the details of the broadcast flag technology, but to be effective its going to require broadcast protection technology (unauthenticated), an authenticated interconnect (HTCP or DVI I expect) and encrypted storage at least. Chances are, one or more of those components will be hacked. But not immediately.

"Consumer advocates have warned that consumers will have to buy new DVD players if they want to play programs that have been recorded on machines that recognize the digital "flag." But agency officials stressed that that always happens when new technology hits the market."

Funny how they LOVE new technology when it allows them to force their agenda.

Japan is eons ahead of us in HDTV programming. Does anyone know if they implement any type of protection? Maybe their programs suck so bad they don't need it. Then again, so do ours.

Cable piracy is an incredibly FLIMSY excuse to force everyone to have to buy new 'compliant' hardware. Yeah alot of hardware geeks are going to be able to bypass it with no trouble but you have to remember the overwhelming majority of people aren't going to know how to do that and be totally screwed by this new legislation.

Has anyone caught the announcement they keep airing during the World Series to the effect that you will burn in Hell for etenity if you copy or distribute the game?