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Looks like Hollywood is making that trek up the hill again, Capitol Hill that is and you aint going to like what they are up to this time. It seems that the Broadcast Flag as restricting as it is planned, isn't tough enough for the movie moguls. No, they want to have additional control, as the Broadcast Flag only covered TV receivers. With this new proposal, any hardware with an analog video input would require Hollywood's blessing before it could be released. Not only that, but many rights that we enjoy now, such as time shifting, has been deemed by the filmmakers as having value and therefore we should pay them a la carte to use it. Here's a snippet from an article written at the Boing Boing website, that will hopefully wake up the consumer world.
1. You can "accept a contract" by changing the channel. If you change the channel from 3 to 4, and the show on channel 4 has a signal that says it can't be recorded, then by watching channel 4, you're "making an agreement" to waive your time-shifting right in exchange for the show. This is like a shopkeeper hiding a "I reserve the right to punch you in the nose" sign somewhere in his shop and then randomly clobbering his customers, answering any complaints by saying that you agreed to it when you came through the door.
2. Everything with value has a price-tag. Today you can rewind TV, fast-forward it, skip the ads, move it to another device in your house, or stream it to your web-browser on the road. Tomorrow all of these features will only exist if they are permitted, on a case by case basis. The studios will "enable the business-model" of charging you money for the stuff that you get for free today. Here's a quote: "Doing this stuff has value, and if it has value, we should be able to charge money for it." They do indeed have value: you currently enjoy that value. Under this proposal, the value will be stolen from you and sold back to you piecemeal.
Talk about the tail wagging the dog! It's about time that Hollywood figures out who is buttering their bread. If their films are so precious and they don't want them copied, then stop dangling them in front of us on television and on optical discs!
For crying out loud, they've already made a killing at the box office and nowadays they have additional outlets to skim the remaining contents of rest of the worlds wallets. It's time for them to be thankful for ways to re-market the same goods over and over again. It's gravy guys! To run around with these wrinkled brows and waving studies in front of government representatives about piracy is one thing, but to set the clock back 20 years with these draconian suggestions is another. Don't they realize that they will be putting their audience out of work with these proposals? Of course, we can't expect an industry so flush with cash, that they can afford to pay their employees 20 million dollars for a film, to understand the real world.
This
story is so far fetched, that we may have difficulty believing it's true. If it
is, then it's time to pull the plug on this bunch. Maybe the Hollywood execs should peruse their archives for the film "David and Goliath" then set down and watch it at their next meeting.
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Everyone is jumping on this bandwagon as profits slip. The new XBox will have 'value added' game content to nickel and dime you to death. Want to wear a new hat on your character, $.50. Want a turbo upgrade, that's $1.00. I see this being a complete failure, but what do I know.
Would you like to skip this commercial? That will be $2.00
You should be grateful, their finally giving the consumer a choice
I mean at the moment consumers must forward through adverts if they don't want to watch them, for the first time networks will be nice and give the consumer the ability to pay to get rid of the advert Of course there are no other options such as downloading ripped tv shows from the net....
Only in America, land of the rube, home of the fleeced.
And the best part?
They're stupid enough to let stuff like this get passed, which then goes off to attempt to infect the rest of the planet.
And before anyone starts crying "Foul!":
They passed DMCA, didn't they?
The American entertainment industry farts and the rest of the planet cops the stink. [edited by Roj on 02.11.2005 15:40]
So how long before these a$$holes get taken down with a RICO lawsuit? This is pretty obvious that they are trying to extort their customers, I am just surprised that the politicians would even listen to this tripe. Oh yeah I forgot this the group of elected officials we are talking about, that believe the people in their country are too stupid to realize they are selling their rights to every corporation.
I think it is time that the US people took back their government from the corrupt politicians, and brought things back to as they were, with equal representation.
sounds like what bandits do; taking money from everyone just because they are doing what they are entitled to do so like walking on the street or having business open.
as U.S. chose mr. bush TWICE, well, there is fat chance that it will be passed
if it is passed & the government would bug me as much as i think they woudl; i will ditch my tv & will read books until copy right cartel takes actions on the books
we are living in sad days, indeed
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAM"
There, that felt better.
I will not express the foul obsenities that come to mind when I read this.
I will stop watching TV if it comes to that level of freedom restricting control.
And for now I will keep downloading every TV episode that I watch regularily because the quality is superior to my cable provider's signal and all the commercials are already removed. [edited by ivid on 02.11.2005 18:57]
Since this is Capitalism's world.
You can't really stop it because everyone is casting the art of making money.
There is law of demand & supply in the works. So if ppl don't like it and they don't use it, obviously it will die.
If I was the Hollywood giant, I would do the same!
You most definitely can stop it. These laws get passed because people are sheep. In days gone by, young people were political and passionate and made a lot of noise when things happened that they thought should not. They effected change.
Now they drown in a sea of self-indulgent apathy.
If they remain sheep, the abortion will continue and they will be gently led to the slaughterhouse.
I would say that they deserve it but the rest of us do NOT.
When it comes to TV programming I'm begining to not watch first run shows anyway. I'm waiting for the DVD to come out. I then buy it, watch it, then sale or trade it. This way I can:
1. Watch at my leisure, not when the station dictates.
2. Watch without addvertising.
3. Watch 1, 2, or more eps. I don't have to wait until next week to find out what happened.
All the broadcast flag is going to do is force me to watch less TV not more. When there are other entertainment alternatives (games, books [you remember books don't you, the stories where you had to supply your own audio/video :-)], etc.) I think I can live without a TV (if I had to), after all our forefathers did. I agree with previous posts that it seems like we are traveling in reverse.
Besides my cat is more entertaining than most of the crap they put on TV anyway.
I mean at the moment consumers must forward through adverts if they don't want to watch them, for the first time networks will be nice and give the consumer the ability to pay to get rid of the advert 
Of course there are no other options such as downloading ripped tv shows from the net....
Just say "NO"!!! Say it with your money!! It's the only language they understand or care about.
Happy Birthday to you 