THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY April 16, 2004 broadcast flag
_____________ SPONSORED BY: PC Lifecycle Info Center Visit the new PC Lifecycle Info Center on SearchCIO.com. You'll find news, tips, Webcasts, white papers and targeted Web resources focused on all aspects of managing the PC lifecycle - from purchase to retirement. Get valuable advice and insight on how your IT organization can make smart PC investment decisions. Topics covered include PC replacement cycles, patch management, ROI, mobile workforce management, desktop security, data backup, wireless LAN -- and much more! http://ttarget.adbureau.net/adclick/CID=000042040000000000000000 ______________________ TODAY'S WORD: broadcast flag See our complete definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci959980,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 The broadcast flag is the Advanced Television Systems Committee's proposed copy protection encoding for broadcast digital television (DTV) signals. The flag, which was developed to prevent unauthorized redistribution of digital programming, has two values, true and false; if the flag in a signal is set to true, a compliant recording device will prevent digital output. According to some reports, the broadcast flag would only allow recording of flagged content to tape or special low-resolution DVDs. The encoding would only be included in broadcast signals; neither cable nor satellite transmissions would be directly affected, although those services could be legally obligated to protect rebroadcasts of digital transmissions. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that all digital recording devices produced after July 2005 must have the capacity to recognize and comply with broadcast flags. In a TechTV article, Cory Doctorow wrote that the broadcast flag was developed because the U. S. Congress wants to convince people to buy digital television sets, so that analog transmissions can cease and the associated spectrum can be sold to cellular networks. Analog broadcasts are scheduled to stop in 2006, as long as 85% of American households have purchased digital sets. It's thought that consumers would buy DTVs to watch digital movies, but the movie industry won't release films for digital broadcast unless people can be prevented from making digital copies for distribution over the Internet. Doctorow and others have noted that people could still connect analog outputs on their receivers to their computers, which is how pirated programming is usually captured for Internet distribution in any case. Although you would still be able to record protected programming on a compliant device, you wouldn't be able to watch it on a non-compliant device. Another concern is that the broadcast flag technology could be used to restrict viewing in other ways. Simson Garfinkel, writing in MIT's Technology Review, claimed that similar encoding could be used to prevent people from time-shifting programs or skipping commercials. A media release from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the broadcast flag "an ineffective solution to a non-existent problem" that would "raise the cost of DTV devices while reducing the value that they represent to consumers." ______________________ RELATED TERMS: broadcast http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213709,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 DTV http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci339456,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 DVD http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213923,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 spectrum http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212045,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 cellular http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci211763,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 Electronic Frontier Foundation http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci213929,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 ______________________ SELECTED LINKS: MPAA provides a broadcast flag FAQ list. http://www.mpaa.org/Press/Broadcast_Flag_QA.htm Doctorow's TechTV article is about "Understanding the Broadcast Flag." http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/opinion/story/0,24330,3396268,00.html Technology Review's article is called "Losing Control of Your TV." http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/wo_garfinkel030304.asp _____________________ TODAY'S TECH NEWS: PILOT PROJECTS, SUCCESS STORIES GROW AROUND LINUX DESKTOP Attendees at the Real World Linux Conference and Expo are regaled with tales of the impending wave of Linux desktops in the enterprise. http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid39_gci959862,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 MICROSOFT ADDS TO ITS LIST OF FREE XML SCHEMA Microsoft has added the DataDiagramML to its program of royalty-free XML schema. http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid26_gci959924,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 AIRLINE CUTS SKY HIGH COSTS WITH VTL JetBlue Airways is keeping IT costs down by using a virtual tape library for disk-based backups. http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid5_gci959824,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=480762 >> Catch up on all the latest IT news at http://searchtechtarget.techtarget.com?track=NL-34&ad=480762 ______________________ FAST GUIDE | Spring cleaning -- IT Style Winter is over and it's time to clean out your car, your closets and yes -- your computer. 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