ATSC 3.0 DRM Encryption

There is no viewer license fee to decode DRM protected channels. Under the rules that allow DRM stations are flat out forbidden from requiring a viewer payment or a broadcaster provided tuner/converter. A3SA uses Widevine DRM, the same DRM that is built into most Smart TVs, smartphones and is a free plugin that is automatically downloaded on most web browsers after you enable DRM playback and watch a video that requires it.


If you want DRM to be banned or at least reigned in until the A3SA stops dragging their feet and approves a method for internet-less playback on external tuners with guaranteed guardrails to allow recording and timeshifting, you have a better chance of getting them to pay attention if your comments to the FCC focus on the problems it is causing now instead of flooding them with what if scenarios their current rules already forbid. Like the A3SA letting broadcasters like Gray, Scripps, Tenga, Hearst, Univision, CBS and NBCU launch DRM before they even authorized it for a single external tuner, and have yet to approve a method for external tuners that doesn't require an internet connection. Even integrated tuners have problems if they default to using internet for the handshake instead of the built in method. If your internet goes out for any reason, you lose TV, which becomes a major issue during severe weather emergencies where electricity returns first and it could be days before your cable or telco/fiber provider completes repairs. For quick outages it usually takes several minutes before your modem reestablishes a connection, so you'll miss critical updates about a tornado warning.


Yes subscription OTA can be a thing with ATSC 3.0, but it is not unique to ATSC 3.0 and as mentioned above, each time it was attempted it failed. Even if the Big 4 wanted to convert to subscription only status, they would have a hard time doing it. The Big 4 networks only own a fraction of their affiliates, so companies like Gray and Sinclair would jump at the chance to launch replacement networks to take up the void. Most of the networks don't have the pay TV rights to 3rd party productions, while Nexstar's CW and Scripps' Ion don't outright own any of their programming, so they along with any replacement networks would be able to poach some of the most popular shows on TV and become the new "Big 4". Any network that switches to pay TV only would also lose their Sunday afternoon NFL rights and the Super Bowl rotation. Not to mention the mess it would get them in with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA as compensation for first run pay TV is much lower than first run broadcast programming.
 
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Hello,

I don’t think DRM is set up to be a subscription TV service. The concern is copyrights For example if I DVR’ed a moving say on CBS. Then the local station has the right to delete it at any time. DRM is also used for copyrighted game and music. For example if you read the terms and conditions it say to a game you purchased the game company has a right to delete even though you paid for it. And they have the right to do this without notification. For music you see that Vinyl is making a come back 17% of music sales to prevent the removal of a song you downloaded Apple has opened up their music library so you can copy it to your own personal hard drive so you can keep a copy.
With cord cutters the station owners have lost a lot of revenue and could possibly add a license fee for your viewing of a program. The is especially important since the failure for Balley Sports. I know that some station owners are looking to network local market games. This would require a special DRM license to view your over the air channel.
It always ticked me off, and still does, that you can subscribe to every sports program and still not be able to see all games because of someone who owns the "rights" to the programming. So, I don't subscribe to any of them and, obviously, I don't watch much sports anymore - the politics that has snuck in to sports is another factor.
 
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That has nothing to do with ATSC 3.0, and the FCC actually tried to block that from happening in the 70s with anti-siphoning laws, but it was overturned by Home Box Office vs FCC which let cable networks sign exclusive deals for sports rights and movie studio libraires and led to the first RSNs
i.e. what is now MSG Sportsnet was originally Cablevision's "HBO Sports 3". Fast forward another 25 years when digital cable became widespread so channel capacity was no longer an issue, you had everyone and their mother dangling the offer of team specific RSNs anytime local rights came up for renewal which drove the costs up for the incumbent RSNs, and now the streaming providers are getting in on it, which is why the Yankee's former package of weekly OTA games is now on Prime Video.
 
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There is no viewer license fee to decode DRM protected channels. Under the rules that allow DRM stations are flat out forbidden from requiring a viewer payment or a broadcaster provided tuner/converter.

TODAY!

Stay tuned for further corruption, err, “changes. “
 
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Reminder, this isn't the place to discuss political opinions of athletes or gov't corruption, that's what the pit is for.


If you want DRM to go away, focus your FCC comments on the stuff that would actually get them to intervene on the A3SA's lack of approvals instead of things that their rules already forbid. Like being able to get continuous real time emergency information when your internet is down/spotty, or certain broadcasters using a copy-never flag 24/7 when even cable systems don't use that outside of major PPV events on iNDemand.
 
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Again, if you want to discuss government corruption, go to the pit. This is NOT the place for it.
 
That has nothing to do with ATSC 3.0, and the FCC actually tried to block that from happening in the 70s with anti-siphoning laws, but it was overturned by Home Box Office vs FCC which let cable networks sign exclusive deals for sports rights and movie studio libraires and led to the first RSNs
i.e. what is now MSG Sportsnet was originally Cablevision's "HBO Sports 3". Fast forward another 25 years when digital cable became widespread so channel capacity was no longer an issue, you had everyone and their mother dangling the offer of team specific RSNs anytime local rights came up for renewal which drove the costs up for the incumbent RSNs, and now the streaming providers are getting in on it, which is why the Yankee's former package of weekly OTA games is now on Prime Video.

I always through that MSG came from over the air broadcast Prism. This equipment was a microwave feed to the cable company blocking other providers from carrying it.


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MSG Sportsnet was Cablevision's SportsChannel/FSNY/MSG+ and until the mid-90s MSG was their direct competitor, so for much of the 80s MSG had an on and off dispute with Cablevision.

PRISM dates back to 76, but from 83-85 it took over SelecTV's distibution on what's now WPSG in Philly. It was also sister stations with SportsChannel Philadelphia, but after 1997 Comcast got 100% control of the local Philly sports rights, bought the networks from Cablevision/Rainbow, merged them and used PRISM's microwave distribution to launch CSN Philly, which kept local Philly sports off of DIRECTV and DISH.
 
MSG Sportsnet was Cablevision's SportsChannel/FSNY/MSG+ and until the mid-90s MSG was their direct competitor, so for much of the 80s MSG had an on and off dispute with Cablevision.

PRISM dates back to 76, but from 83-85 it took over SelecTV's distibution on what's now WPSG in Philly. It was also sister stations with SportsChannel Philadelphia, but after 1997 Comcast got 100% control of the local Philly sports rights, bought the networks from Cablevision/Rainbow, merged them and used PRISM's microwave distribution to launch CSN Philly, which kept local Philly sports off of DIRECTV and DISH.

Wow I did not know that WPSG had both select TV and then prism. As a collector of old over the air boxes the encryption were somewhat different. prism used the Blonder Tong design similar to ON-TV’s Select Tv ‘s had a tag pulse that did video invert similar to Zenith


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WGN-TV 9 had dedicated WGN subscription boxes made, since Chicago, Illinois was one of the last markets to fully adopt cable TV. These boxes delivered the WGN superstation schedule to subscribers in Chicago (the local schedule had a different program schedule compared to their cable superstation version of the same channel).

1731
 
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WGN-TV 9 had dedicated WGN subscription boxes made, since Chicago, Illinois was one of the last markets to fully adopt cable TV. These boxes delivered the WGN superstation schedule to subscribers in Chicago (the local schedule had a different program schedule compared to their cable superstation version of the same channel).

1731

Did not know that. Fascinating.
 
WGN-TV 9 had dedicated WGN subscription boxes made, since Chicago, Illinois was one of the last markets to fully adopt cable TV. These boxes delivered the WGN superstation schedule to subscribers in Chicago (the local schedule had a different program schedule compared to their cable superstation version of the same channel).

1731

Not sure about that. Chicago had three over the air subscription TV channels:

1 ON-TV which was carried on WSNS ch 44 which was owned by Video 44 at that time.
2 Spectrum which was carried on WFBN ch 68 owner by Focus
3 Sports Vision which was carried on WPWR ch 60
Now I know in the late 60’s both WBBM and WLS experimented with over the air subscription TV as well but that never went anywhere.
The unmarried of broadcast over the air to Satellite feed did not take place until the mid 80’s So at that point Chicago Cable was forced only to show the over the air broadcast and not the satellite feed of WGN. But Sindex laws were something that came about in the mid 80,s


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Not sure about that. Chicago had three over the air subscription TV channels:

1 ON-TV which was carried on WSNS ch 44 which was owned by Video 44 at that time.
2 Spectrum which was carried on WFBN ch 68 owner by Focus
3 Sports Vision which was carried on WPWR ch 60
Now I know in the late 60’s both WBBM and WLS experimented with over the air subscription TV as well but that never went anywhere.
The unmarried of broadcast over the air to Satellite feed did not take place until the mid 80’s So at that point Chicago Cable was forced only to show the over the air broadcast and not the satellite feed of WGN. But Sindex laws were something that came about in the mid 80,s


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WLS-TV Channel 7 also had TELEFIRST aka Tele1st overnights for an limited time
 
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Not sure about that. Chicago had three over the air subscription TV channels:

1 ON-TV which was carried on WSNS ch 44 which was owned by Video 44 at that time.
2 Spectrum which was carried on WFBN ch 68 owner by Focus
3 Sports Vision which was carried on WPWR ch 60
Now I know in the late 60’s both WBBM and WLS experimented with over the air subscription TV as well but that never went anywhere.
The unmarried of broadcast over the air to Satellite feed did not take place until the mid 80’s So at that point Chicago Cable was forced only to show the over the air broadcast and not the satellite feed of WGN. But Sindex laws were something that came about in the mid 80,s


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
...but for some odd reason, WGN-TV 9 started distributing descramblers manufactured by Oak Entertainment...maybe they were for some of the paid premium programs not seen clearly on the main VHF feed, if there were any, as the knob had two indicators, one for VHF channels "2-13" and one for "PREMIUM," as in sports or movies they possibly aired as they were scrambled and discolored for non-subscribers on those VHF channels...
 
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...but for some odd reason, WGN-TV 9 started distributing descramblers manufactured by Oak Entertainment...maybe they were for some of the paid premium programs not seen clearly on the main VHF feed, if there were any, as the knob had two indicators, one for VHF channels "2-13" and one for "PREMIUM," as in sports or movies they possibly aired as they were scrambled and discolored for non-subscribers on those VHF channels...
WGN-9 did not scramble at any time
 
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Coax to HDMI??

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