How Crypto Won the DVD War - Via Threat Level:
Sony's victory in the DVD format wars was largely due to its embrace and Toshiba's rejection of a sophisticated anti-copying scheme that promises to be relockable should it be cracked at some point in the future.
Toshiba earlier this week announced that it will stop making HD DVD players, surrendering the field in a five-year battle with Sony's Blu-ray to become the disc format of the future.
Support from studios has been widely cited as the reason for Blu-ray's victory, but few consumers know that the studios were likely won over by the presence of a digital lock on movies called BD+, a far more sophisticated and resilient digital rights management, or DRM, system than that offered by HD DVD.
“The adoption of BD+ as part of the Blu-ray disc specification … was a key factor in our decision to publish on the format,” Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment executive Mike Dunn said in a 2007 press release. “This added layer of content protection gives Blu-ray yet another distinct competitive advantage.” read more... »
FCC Relaxes Digital-TV Transition Order - Via washingtonpost.com - Technology:
The Federal Communications Commission is planning to lay out a new, more flexible set of guidelines for broadcasters, cable companies and television manufacturers as they try to educate consumers about the coming switch from analog to digital programming.
The commission has been under pressure by consumer groups and members of Congress to take stronger steps in raising awareness about the transition. Broadcasters will stop sending analog signals and move to all-digital programming on Feb. 17, 2009. After that, TV watchers who rely on antennas to receive over-the-air broadcasts will need a special converter box. read more... »
FCC to cable: You must support analog TVs until 2012 - Published: September 12, 2007 - 12:39PM CT - Via arstechnica.
Cue the scary music. According to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, "If the cable companies had their way, you, your mother and father, or your next door neighbor could go to sleep one night after watching their favorite channel and wake up the next morning to a dark fuzzy screen."
Martin's talking about the digital TV transition that will happen in February 2009. While the federal government has worked out a plan to help buy digital-to-analog converter boxes for Americans who rely on over-the-air broadcasts and still have analog TV sets, the rules for cable operators were not finalized until yesterday. The FCC voted 5-0 to require that cable operators must continue to make all local broadcasts available to their users, even those with analog televisions. read more... »
Cable Industry to Standardize Under Tru2Way - Via Slashdot:
smooth wombat writes "In a move to stave off the FCC, cable operators have now agreed upon one standard to allow TVs and other gear that will work regardless of cable provider. This standard should allow the development of new services and features that rely on two-way communication over the cable network. read more... »
Slashdot | HD Monitor Causes DRM Issues with Netflix - Via Slashdot :
Jeremiah Cornelius points us to Davis Freeberg's blog, where he discusses his "nightmare scenario" of losing access to his DRM-protected purchases by upgrading his PC monitor. --- "When I called them they confirmed my worst fears. In order to access the Watch Now service, I had to give Microsoft's DRM sniffing program access to all of the files on my hard drive. read more... »
What is the digital television transition?
At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting. Digital broadcasting promises to provide a clearer picture and more programming options and will free up airwaves for use by emergency responders. read more... »
Rabbit-Ear Users Don’t Know the End (of Analog TV) Is Near - Via NYT > Technology:
In less than 14 months, any traditional television set still connected to its antenna will receive nothing but static, as the broadcasting industry cuts over completely to its new digital frequencies.
A recent poll by the marketing arm of the cable industry shows that most people still have no clue this is going to happen. read more... »
Vuze Petitions FCC To Restrict Traffic Throttling - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online : mrspin writes "Vuze, an online video application that uses the peer-to-peer protocol BitTorrent, has petitioned the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to restrict Internet traffic throttling by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Vuze has been keenly aware of Comcast and the "bandwidth shaping" issue. read more... »
DTV Answers : What you need to know about the February 17, 2009 switch to DTV. :
DTVAnswers.com is the official Web site of the National Association of Broadcasters' digital television (DTV) transition campaign. Launched in January 2007, the DTV campaign’s mission is to ensure that no consumer is left unprepared, due to lack of information, for the February 17, 2009 federally mandated transition from analog to digital broadcasting.
Industry Execs: HD Sets Lacking Picture Quality: "Industry Execs: HD Sets Lacking Picture Quality Panelists at high-def conference say the picture often gets diluted in the transmission process.By SwanniWashington, D.C. (October 10, 2007) -- Several industry officials said today that the average HDTV owner is not getting the best possible picture on his set.At a panel discussion today at the HD World conference in New York, officials from Scientific-Atlanta, Discovery, Motorola and SES Americom said the high-def signal gets diluted during the transmission process. read more... »