Cable glitch shows potential power of copy-blocking
By Dawn C. Chmielewski
Mercury News
Some subscribers to one of the nation's largest cable systems are unable to make digital recordings of television shows in what the company labeled an unforeseen technological glitch but consumer advocates called a chilling curb on home recording.
An industry newsletter reported that Cablevision has invoked copy restrictions on all unscrambled digital TV programming delivered to its 3 million subscribers in metropolitan New York. It renders a range of cable shows -- from late 1970s sitcoms like ``Diff'rent Strokes'' to Formula One racing on Speedvision -- unrecordable on certain types of devices.
The incident shows how easy it is for cable providers to block recording, consumer advocates said. Even if what Cablevision did was inadvertent, they said, it is a example of how copy-blocking can be used to set limits on how individuals use the most ubiquitous of technologies -- the television set.
``The trend here is if Hollywood has its way, this is what the future looks like,'' said Joe Kraus, co-founder of dig italconsumer.org, an advocacy group. ``The future looks like the world where you press record and it doesn't work and you don't know why. You no longer control the media you pay for.''
The blocking affects a small number of subscribers who use an advanced digital recording device.
Cablevision, the nation's seventh-largest cable company, said it didn't deliberately suspend home recording. Rather, it blamed an unexpected clash between its conditional access system -- which makes sure subscribers see only the TV programs they've paid for -- and the software inside Sony's television set-top boxes.
This software conflict somehow triggered a copy protection scheme known as 5C, which is designed to prevent mass duplication of television shows and movies. It labeled all digital programming off limits to copying.
For now, the glitch prevents viewers from digitally taping any cable show using a next-generation digital videotape recorder called DVHS, the HDTV Insider newsletter reported. These devices recognize the programming as copy-blocked -- and turn off.
Cablevision said it is scrambling to eradicate the bug, identified three weeks ago.
But it notes the problem only affects subscribers who attempt to record programming through the IEEE 1394 interface, a high-speed digital connection known as Firewire or iLink found on high-end digital televisions manufactured by Mitsubishi, RCA and Hitachi, certain set-top boxes and DVHS recorders.
Cablevision says it does not prevent recording on more familiar consumer devices, such as a videocassette recorder or a Tivo-like digital video recorder.
Advocacy groups said the rollout of 5C's copy-protection scheme -- together with the entertainment industry's attempts to extend copy-protection to over-the-air television broadcasts -- are eroding home recording rights, with little consumer input.
``The content industry denies it will affect how consumers watch, enjoy and record television,'' said Kraus. ``But the Cablevision example goes to prove these technologies impact consumers dramatically.''
An attorney for the consortium of technology companies that developed the 5C copy-protection technology said just the opposite is true. He says rules are designed to reflect home use -- while addressing piracy fears that prevent Hollywood from releasing more high-quality content.
Cablevision violated strict licensing agreements when it imposed copy bans on generic cable programming -- shows that consumers should be entitled to copy freely, said Seth Greenstein, a Washington lawyer who negotiates 5C licenses for the consortium.
The only time 5C licensing rules allow copying to be prohibited is with special categories of paid programming, such as on-demand movie services or pay-per-view events, like the Oscar de la Hoya and Fernando Vargas prize fight.
And the movie studios and broadcasters ultimately get to decide what shows to protect -- the cable and satellite operators act as distributors, who honor the rules. They're not supposed to impose copy bans unilaterally.
``We have to figure what happened here,'' said Greenstein. ``5C worked awfully hard to put these encryption rules into its agreement to achieve a certain level of consumer recording rights. Having fought for it, we don't intend to relinquish it.''
