No Macrovision Copy Protection For DTV
Chairman Kennard: I recently was made aware of the proposal by the company Macrovision and the DVD Forum to eliminate any type of output (digital or analog) that have high quality video, for fear of piracy. The same goes for the threat from the MPAA of withdrawing software from any HDTV delivered by HBO, Showtime, DirecTV, etc. without some form of encryption. This cannot be allowed. Americans have come to expect, deservedly so, the right to record channels for their private use. This time-shifting capability cannot now be withdrawn, especially to protect the interests of a private company. I agree with the argument that the software (i.e., movie) providers have the right to protect their product from being mass pirated, but they are being paid by the channel providers (ABC, CBS, NBC, DirecTV, etc.) to broadcast the movies and TV shows, and indirectly by the American people via subscriptions to HBO, Showtime, and DirecTV, as well as the commercials we watch on broadcast TV. Their proposal is to degrade the quality of the picture to 600 lines from 1080, is completely unacceptable. This argument to protect copyrights has already been made, and dealt with. There are other ways to ensure that piracy does not happen, such as imbedding an ID number into the signal to identify the source of the signal. This can be done without encrypting it or decreasing the quality of the picture. This proposal goes against all of the hard work that has been invested to make American television the best in the world. I have invested in a very expensive HDTV projector setup, after reading all about HDTV for several years. Selfishly, the proposal would make my very expensive projector not work correctly. Other Americans that have invested in the technology as promised by the FCC would also be let down by the government. This proposal would obviously kill that investment, but more importantly for all of the American people, dumbing-down all of the advances that have been made in broadcast quality. This would be a very serious blow to our future. The high quality signal required for future education utilizing the very best possible picture quality is being jeopardized. Think of medical education that could provide such wonderful detail about the body, as well as many other applications that would utilize the high quality provided for by HDTV. It is bad enough that the previous FCC commissioner did not mandate that the broadcasters have to broadcast in true HDTV. Please do not allow your turn at the helm to be remembered for stripping away of the rights of the American people to record the TV shows and movies we have paid for, directly or indirectly. Please do not allow the Macrovision company, MPAA and the DVD Forum to put limits on future HDTV signal quality. Thank you in advance for your consideration for the issues raised in this letter. I am confidant that you will not let the American people down by allowing a few companies interests to take precedence over the rights of the American people.
William Earle, Glendale, Arizona
Editor-In-Chief Gary Reber Comments:
I fully agree with your views on the issues you raised. I hope others will write to the FCC as you have and voice their opinion.
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