John Corn
01-06-03, 05:45 AM
Hollywood wants every new digital set to include technology that would stop people from putting its shows on the Net. Bad idea
While the economy and stock markets struggled, 2002 was a golden year for the silver screen. Thanks to blockbuster hits such as Spider-Man, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, ticket sales hit $9.3 billion worldwide, a remarkable 13% rise over 2001's then-record receipts. So much for claims that piracy threatens Hollywood's livelihood.
Yet studio execs remain on the warpath. As movies are increasingly broadcast and sold in digital format, Tinseltown execs are panicked that consumers will make infinite numbers of perfect digital copies and share them over the Internet.
That's why the entertainment industry's honchos will once again journey to Capitol Hill when Congress convenes a new session later this month to ask lawmakers and the Federal Communications Commission for more protection. However, if Hollywood has its way, consumer privacy -- not piracy -- will pay a heavy price.
...OR ELSE. Case in point: Hollywood wants a digital broadcast "flag" built into every new digital-TV receiver. This would allow content owners to track and/or designate which movies -- or any programming, for that matter -- could be copied, how often, and by whom.
In July, a consortium of Hollywood studios, high-tech companies, and a consumer-electronics trade group called the Broadcast Protection Discussion Group issued a report asking the FCC to mandate that "robust" and "flexible" copy protection be integrated into every digital-TV set. Without it, the studios say they'll refuse to license their movies and other programming to broadcasters, slowing the already-glacial transition to digital TV.
Rest of the story (http://www.businessweek.com:/print/technology/content/jan2003/tc2003013_2538.htm?tc)
While the economy and stock markets struggled, 2002 was a golden year for the silver screen. Thanks to blockbuster hits such as Spider-Man, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, ticket sales hit $9.3 billion worldwide, a remarkable 13% rise over 2001's then-record receipts. So much for claims that piracy threatens Hollywood's livelihood.
Yet studio execs remain on the warpath. As movies are increasingly broadcast and sold in digital format, Tinseltown execs are panicked that consumers will make infinite numbers of perfect digital copies and share them over the Internet.
That's why the entertainment industry's honchos will once again journey to Capitol Hill when Congress convenes a new session later this month to ask lawmakers and the Federal Communications Commission for more protection. However, if Hollywood has its way, consumer privacy -- not piracy -- will pay a heavy price.
...OR ELSE. Case in point: Hollywood wants a digital broadcast "flag" built into every new digital-TV receiver. This would allow content owners to track and/or designate which movies -- or any programming, for that matter -- could be copied, how often, and by whom.
In July, a consortium of Hollywood studios, high-tech companies, and a consumer-electronics trade group called the Broadcast Protection Discussion Group issued a report asking the FCC to mandate that "robust" and "flexible" copy protection be integrated into every digital-TV set. Without it, the studios say they'll refuse to license their movies and other programming to broadcasters, slowing the already-glacial transition to digital TV.
Rest of the story (http://www.businessweek.com:/print/technology/content/jan2003/tc2003013_2538.htm?tc)