Dish Speaks on DRM on HBO and Cinemax

[Scott Greczkowski]

Just got this in my inbox a few moments ago.

DISH Network has begun to implement changes to receiver software that will comply with contractual and industry-wide copy protection requirements. The impact of this initial phase of implementation will have little effect on most customers and will only affect HBO and Cinemax content.

Going forward, any recordings of HBO/Cinemax content will adhere to these copy protection requirements. Customers wishing to transfer these HBO/Cinemax recordings to a PocketDISH will only be allowed to move that content, rather than copy it. Once this content is transferred to the PocketDISH, it will no longer be available on the DVR. This means that the HBO or Cinemax programming will reside on either the DVR or the PocketDISH, not both. When attempting to transfer this content, the customer will see a pop-up message that will inform them of this restriction and allow them to choose whether or not to continue moving the content. The pop-up also directs them to www.DISHNetwork.com for more Copy Protection information.

Again, this has now become a pay-TV industry standard and competitors, cable and other DBS providers, are currently or will be required to comply to the same standards as DISH Network. Information on future phases of this requirement will be provided as it becomes available. More information can also be found by searching for "copy protection" at www.dishnetwork.com.

The below links contain information regarding Digital Copy Protection. We have also attached an FAQ document for reference.

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/faq/copy_protection/index.shtml

http://www.pocketdish.com/protection.jsp

 

[DWS44]

If this leads to raising the HD PQ, that more power to it. I just wonder how long till they decided to lock down programming to prevent recording to DVR at all.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I dont know, but I suspect that after the final Sopranos episode airs on HBO, a lot of folks will be canceling HBO anyways.

 

[navychop]

If they kill DVRs, they'll be in court, I'm sure. They'll also kill off the golden goose. Frankly, I don't know that I'd keep satellite service, or watch much TV at all, if I couldn't time shift. Back to DVD recordable/VHS?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

One of the keys to this is that cable companies are also starting to do this.

 

[SpenceJT]

could this be a stepping stone toward the enabling of external USB storage devices?

Restricting DVRs to "Moving" content?

 

[DWS44]

In a way, this almost makes you feel the same as the first time you heard Napster might be headed for lawsuits to shut it down.

 

[kstuart]

Note that one cable company agreed to disable FF and skip-ahead during commercials on ABC & ESPN VOD content...

 

[abricko]

I don't think they'll ever not allow DVR'ing, it would kill them. They'll just keep restricting, kill commercial skips and the likes and eventually probably time limit how long a program can remain on a DVR.

Not allowing their content to be DVR'ed is a stupid move and will just KILL the their ratings as many people don't watch programs the time they are originally broadcast (we're all too busy doing things).

 

[Hall]

Where are people reading into this that it stops people from DVR'ing programs (from these providers) ??

 

[SatinKzo]

Yep, if the next steps become no DVR and it's capabilities(FF, REW, offload to disc/tape) or even if they start time limiting how long I can have them on my DVR and no point in my having any type of pay TV service (cable or sat).

 

[JMikeF]

I'm not surprised by this - we knew it was coming.
Hollywood wants one thing, and one thing only:
Pay Per View All The Time For Everything

 

[Hall]

If this leads to raising the HD PQ, that more power to it.

What's the basis for this ?? I saw it mentioned in another thread too.... Have the HBOs, Showtimes, etc reduced the bandwidth of the programming until ALL providers implement copy-protection schemes ?? That makes no sense.... They send the same signal to everyone. Once Dish (or DirecTV or TW or whoever) implements copy-protection, they still get reduced PQ until ALL other carriers do the same !

 

[abricko]

Your avatar is funny. Years ago I remember getting a monitor and scanning that warning which was on the plastic bag making posters and all of us in the office making fun of that warning symbol.

I always felt it was trying to communicate that you may Autoerotic Asphyxiate (because he's in front of the NO symbol)!

Yep, if the next steps become no DVR and it's capabilities(FF, REW, offload to disc/tape) or even if they start time limiting how long I can have them on my DVR and no point in my having any type of pay TV service (cable or sat).

 

[DishDave]

trust me on this folks you will never see external hard drive support for any receiver yes i mean the 622 and newer. No way no how. Do you think for one minute that we wouldn't already have it. If they we able to legally do it.

 

[mikew]

Better PQ? No DVR?

Talk about "the sky is falling"....

The DRM is ensuring the content cannot be copied to more than one device. If you want to download something from the DVR, it is gone. You only get one copy. Has nothing to do with improved PQ or disabling the DVR.

 

[waltinvt]

May as well bring the Pub thread into this one.

 

[TheForce]

trust me on this folks you will never see external hard drive support for any receiver yes i mean the 622 and newer. No way no how. Do you think for one minute that we wouldn't already have it. If they we able to legally do it.

Oh, I don't know about that. They ( meaning all thenay sayers like you) said the same thing about the 921 DVR before it was released. And even the old SD TIVO, before that it was VHS. and before that it was Betamax , guess you forgot about that one.


From what I see it is the copies vs. moving that is the issue and the Pocket Dish allowed this to work that way. What the DHCP and DRM will do is restrict the archival capability./ This means that say I record a favorite movie off of HBO onto my hard drive. Then I watch it. The ultimate DRM will be that I can watch once and when done that recording will be deleted. NO repeat watching. Of course this will really suck but hey. that's life and the only way to combat this is to cancel your subscription to HBO then to Dish or any provider in protest. What else can you do? The law allows DRM which means Digital Rights Management and that is not the viewer who manages, it is the content creator, the copyright holder. If HBO wants to play these games, then they will suffer great loss of subscribers, then to make up for it rates will go up and that will avalanche to out of business for HBO. Any business that tries to play hardball with their product line with their customers is really really stupid. Good business is playing hardball with vendors and competition. Bad business is playing hardball with your customers.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

EIA-608-B specifies meaning of the 7-bit field placed on the data lines. The bits 4 and 3 contain the CGMS-A values, the bits 2 and 1 contain the Analog Protection System (APS) value, the bit 0 is the Analog Source Bit (ASB) specifying if the signal originates from a pre-recorded material, bits 5 and 6 are reserved.

CGMS-A is signalled by 2 bits in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) signal of analog television broadcasts according to the following matrix:

0 0 CopyFreely Unlimited copies may be made of the content.
0 1 CopyNoMore* One generation of copies has already been made; no further copying is allowed.
1 0 CopyOnce One generation of copies may be made
1 1 CopyNever No copies may be made of the content.

- CopyNoMore was not a part of the original standard. The 0,1 value originally was "Reserved".
--------------------

Based on the current flags this is what they could limit

 

[BobMurdoch]

So then run analog inputs into a DVD recorder and bypass the problem.....

Are there THAT many people with PocketDishs anyway?

Do devices like Slingboxes still work with that content?