FCC Approves 'Selectable Output Control'

FCC regulators are endorsing Hollywood's efforts to let cable and satellite TV companies turn off output connections on the back of set-top boxes to prevent illegal copying of movies.

The decision by the Federal Communications Commission, announced earlier this month, is intended to encourage studios to make movies available for home viewing on demand soon after they hit theaters or even at the same time.

Bob Pisano, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said the FCC's action will give consumers "far greater access to see recent high-definition movies in their homes."

But critics warned that the FCC order could prevent 20 million Americans with older, analog TVs from seeing these new-release movies at all. That's because the order allows the studios to limit delivery of new movies to only those households with newer digital sets.

In addition, critics say the blocking technology could prohibit legal recordings on some video recorders and other devices with analog connections.

"We are unsure when the FCC has ever before given private entities the right to disable consumers' products in their homes," the Consumer Electronics Association said in a statement. "The fact that the motion picture studios want to create a new business model does not mean that functioning products should be disabled by them."

Public Knowledge, a public interest group, said the FCC "has succumbed to the special-interest pleadings of the big media companies."

What this means is if you watch HD content from a cable company provided digital set-top box, you better have the latest HDCP compliant HDMI standard connection on your TV. Older HDTVs with component connections will be out of luck if the component output is disabled. This causes further problems if you use a home theater receiver to distribute the audio/video signals, as many people do. Since older receivers didn't have HDMI connections, these people would have to change their hookups if they wanted to watch content that has Selectable Output Control enabled.

This is an attempt by the industry to close the 'analog hole,' whereby you could hook a DVD recorder or PC up to those analog outputs such as component video or S-video and make a real-time high quality (but probably not HD) recording. SOC will effectively throw a wrench in anyone using a VCR, DVD recorder, or DVR to time shift any content with SOC enabled.

The good news is, according to the current ruling, SOC would only be enabled on content for the first 90 days of availability, or until the content is released on DVD/Blu-ray, whichever comes first. Cable companies may also be hesitant to enable SOC, fearing customer complaints as well as numerous technical support calls. And this technology will only be implemented in future set-top boxes-not the one you have now.


Are these types of restrictions next to be implemented in our TVs and other devices? Only time will tell.
photo credit: Wired