Satellite TV to FCC: we're special, don't make us open up: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.
If you've tried to pump your fully-paid-up cable connection into, say, a computer running Windows Media Center, you've probably come up against the closed nature of pay-TV and the severe limitations of CableCARD. And what about satellite TV? Don't even think about it.
The FCC wants to blow open the market for third-party video devices, scrapping some of the current (failed) CableCARD rules and adding satellite providers to the list. read more... »
Predator drones use less encryption than your TV, DVDs: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.
What three-letter Internet acronym best fits the bizarre news out of Iraq and Afghanistan that militants there have been intercepting US Predator drone video feeds using laptops and a $30 piece of Russian software: LOL, WTF, or OMG? read more... »
Judge in Murdoch Hacker Trial Admonishes CEO - Via Threat Level:
A California judge overseeing the trial against a Rupert Murdoch company for allegedly hacking a competitor and helping pirates steal pay-TV content, admonished the CEO of the Murdoch firm for leaving the court without testifying. As a result of the CEO's action, the judge suggested that if his company loses the trial it could face shareholder lawsuits.
Multichannel News reports that U.S. District Court Judge David Carter made the comments on Friday after temporarily halting the trial in mid-testimony and dismissing the jury. read more... »
Hacker in Murdoch Trial Acknowledges Receiving Money from Murdoch Firm - Via Threat Level:
An American hacker who is at the core of a piracy trial against a Rupert Murdoch subsidiary, testified this week that he created pirating software for the company but did not use it to sabotage the company's rivals.
Earlier this week I laid out the case against NDS Group, a UK-Israeli firm and a majority-owned subsidiary of Murdoch's News Corporation. The company is accused of reverse-engineering access cards created by competitor NagraStar in order to provide pirates with counterfeit cards. EchoStar's Dish Net used the NagraStar cards, and the counterfeit cards allegedly allowed pirates to access Dish Network pay-TV content for free. read more... »
TiVO Patent Upheld, Dish May Have to Disable DVR - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online: I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a ruling by a lower court that Dish Network DVRs infringe upon TiVO's patent on a 'multimedia time warping system'. According to some analysts, this could not only make Dish liable for damages, it could force them to shut down their DVR service, harming their customers. read more... »
Satellite TV Hacking Illegal But Not a $100,000 Offense, Court Says:
Users of illicit decoding technology who have hacked into DirecTV satellite signals are not liable under a certain provision of the Federal Communications Act that calls for hefty, $100,000 fines, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said section 605(e)(4) of the act cannot be charged against individuals who have altered or purchased reformatted smart cards to acquire DirecTV for free. That statute, the court ruled, was meant to financially injure companies that produce and sell such pirating technology and was not directed at end users as DirecTV alleged read more... »
Getting Disillusioned With HDTV: "I have had a HDTV in my home for almost five years now, and must say that I have been getting very disillusioned with it and the technology behind it.
I will say that when I first got the TV I had Comcast digital service with the HD set-top box. At that time the picture was spectacular considering the relatively few HD programs that were being broadcast. We watched whatever was on in HD, and enjoyed it immensely, even showing it off to friends and neighbors.
What has changed?
First was the pixelating and picture freeze-ups that occurred frequently. Comcast said it was the fault of the broadcasters, and the broadcasters said it must be the fault of Comcast. read more... »
Television History - The First 75 Years: "One of the greatest 20th century inventions.
Learn about the history of TV-set design, development and marketing."
Slashdot | Zap2It Labs Discontinuing Free TV Guide Service: "QuijiboIsAWord writes 'Zap2It Labs, which provides free TV listing data for personal use, has long been the main source of program guide information for users in the US and beyond. They've announced via their webpage that, due to abuse of the service, data will no longer be available after September 1st. read more... »
Weather Channel's HD Snow Job: "Weather Channel's HD Snow JobThe network reveals that its high-def channel will not include a real HD picture until 2008. By Phillip SwannWashington, D.C. (April 28, 2007) -- The Weather Channel has boasted this year that it will launch a new High-Definition channel this September. However, the network has now revealed that the 'HD channel' will not deliver real high-def pictures until next year." read more... »