MPAA still trying to close the analog hole: Now with new, more inane arguments
The MPAA can't stop, won't stop trying to cut out that pesky analog loophole, and it has returned to the FCC's gates once again requesting permission for selective output control: the ability to disable consumers unprotected (read: HDCP-less) video outputs at its discretion. According to Ars Technica the new argument is that the Consumer Electronics Association and everyone else who hates this idea are simply holding back technology, which the studios would love to use to provide a glorious utopia of early release films available via video on-demand. The request has been smacked down more than once before, but this is the first time it's come up with the new administration so it's anyone's guess what will happen, but we'd keep those petition signing fingers at the ready, just in case. [Warning: PDF read link][Via Ars Technica]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
oversight68 @ Sep 4th 2009 4:22PM
The MPAA and it's sister organization (RIAA, etc) simply need to die. When will they realize that treating their customers like criminals does not further their cause?
Josh @ Sep 4th 2009 4:47PM
I agree 100%, the MPAA and RIAA are fowl. These two "crime organizations" have left me hating the motion picture and music industry.
HaZaRd @ Sep 4th 2009 5:19PM
Peacocks or quail?
Brian D @ Sep 4th 2009 4:54PM
If you don't like them then stop using their products. THAT is the way to show your dissatisfaction with their practices. It is their content that they paid to produce and make a profit on. It is not up to you to decide how much profit they can make on their property.
There is plenty of free content without the restrictions on the internet.
Of course most of it is garbage,but hey you get what you pay for.
Mobile Phone Diva @ Sep 4th 2009 6:11PM
How about the fact that people who actually AREN'T pirates, but just want to view or use content they purchased for PERSONAL USE keep getting viewed as potential pirates by these 2 organizations? Not everyone is uploading content to the internet for piracy, but they just want to USE the content they purchased on their own personal devices without all these restrictions. You almost can't do anything with your own purchased content without these 2 companies pushing some type of DRM on everything!
That's what bothers me about these 2 organizations, everyone's a pirate in their eyes and fair use doesn't seem to apply to much of anything in their view.
Evan @ Sep 4th 2009 9:22PM
The people who pirate HD video for online distribution will find modded or grey-market hardware to get around any locks. The only people this will hurt are average consumers who don't have the analog HD capture hardware anyway.
antihd @ Sep 4th 2009 11:41PM
I agree with Evan, they cannot win the technological war. The only casualties are the average consumer aka collateral damage.
Piracy exists for the same reason that every black market exists. There is a demand for a certain product that legitimate companies are unwilling to provide.
Movies, music, alcohol, drugs, guns, cars, etc... as long as there is a demand someone is going to fulfill said demand. Of course there are those that will take it a bit too far as well as those who simply want things for free, but the vast majority of consumers will be willing to pay for a product that is of good quality and fits their wants/needs.
DavidB @ Sep 5th 2009 2:00AM
This won't stop anything. There's terabytes of un-encrypted video being streamed by the phone and cable companies through thier distribution systems that unscrupulous employee's can make perfect copies of at any time.
This is all a bunch of MBA's that think they have the power to tell people what they can do.
Michael R @ Sep 5th 2009 1:47PM
I take the analog audio output from my cable box to feed an audio amplifier hooked to my loud speakers. Will this become illegal?
chuckdaly @ Sep 5th 2009 2:41PM
Movie disc sales are up inspite of piracy, yet the hollywood is slow to do away with film distribution to local cinemas. The cost of producing film stock and distributing it internationally is significantly higher than revenues lost by piracy. If the movie Waterworld had been digitally distributed to theaters, it wouldn't have been a lost to Universal. It probably would have produced a small profit.
siva @ Sep 5th 2009 5:12PM
Let's say that their fear is warranted about people pirating. I am honestly wondering how many people pirate using the analog loop hole!! People rip their DVDs and Blurays they don't take it out of the 1080i/p component out and redigitize it using high bandwidth encoders. Am I missing something? Are they spending money and time on the wrong fix that only inconveniences legitimate uses.
sylinen @ Sep 5th 2009 7:57PM
You know what the stupid thing about this is? If the MPAA manages to get this rammed through, they will be slapped with a HUGE class action from everyone who bought their home theater equipment in the good faith that it would support 1080i/720p down conversion from Bluray. Hopefully that will bankrupt them.
DavidinCT @ Sep 7th 2009 1:08PM
Yea, I'm one who back in 04 picked up a 65" 1080i that still works perfect (do people remember the HDTV turn over was going to happen back in 06 but, was extended out ?). Think of the millions of HD TVs out there that only have analong video in.....
If MPAA wants to do this, go for it but, I expect them to buy me a new 65" HD set. Otherwise they can get lost.
Pirates will always find a work around for anything, HDMI/HDCP has been cracked, you can buy a little device for $159 that will give you component/optical from a HDMI/DVI-D port.
Copy protection only hurts honest people. It's dumb and needs to go away.
Nick @ Sep 6th 2009 3:18AM
Didn't I see a converter on here a while back that will take HDMI and toss out component? If I recall correctly, the little thing even had HDCP support. There is no way to close the analog hole, and even if they did, who pirates that way anyway? That crap ended when VHS died. Everyone pirates digitally now. When will these people take their thumbs out of their brown holes and realize that things dont work the way they want them to work, no matter how much they want them to?
blackacex2 @ Sep 7th 2009 11:10PM
Just because someone can easily break your window and get into your house illegally, doesn't mean you may as well just leave the door unlocked so they can walk right in.
Why should movie studios go ahead and leave the door wide open and make it so easy for people to steal their content? I'm sorry but they have a right to try and make as big a profit as possible.
For the most part, movies that are newly released to theaters are hard to download at full HD quality on release day from bittorrent. If they allow every 100 million dollar film they make to be EASILY downloaded and distrubuted at full HD quality online right away (for free), it WILL hurt their profits. The reason I go to the theater is because it's too much of a pain in my butt to deal with the crappy "cam" versions of the movies on bittorrent. If they are offered at full HD quality before the DVD hits the shelves, even I will be too tempted to steal it as opposed to pay for it.
Garst @ Sep 8th 2009 12:31AM
When the MPAA starts "breaking" the equipment I own is the day I stop paying shit for the crap they put out. Then when they come at me with false accusations of "pirating" their garbage, I'll counter with, "I'm not replacing everything I own so I can line your pockets. And you did hear me call what you produce crap? While real crap has some value because you can use it for fertilizer, yours doesn't." Then they'll likely start calling me names like "litigious" and "pirate," which will likely let me get a mistrial. Then I can get people to rally behind me to have the court to disband the MPAA.
All that because the MPAA says it can't make progress while the analog "hole" is there. Entertainment isn't a boat, it's not going to sink because a few people want to move content around in their own home. The studios can't even keep movies under wraps before the movies make it to theaters. We all remember the Wolverine movie fiasco. Now they're calling attention to their issue that most people won't think or even know about. They even expect us to think that there's some sort of technical reason they can't make progress in delivering their goods. Who sounds like the theif? WHO?!