CE Pro Sneak Peek: Defy Broadcast Flag, Build Your Own PVR.

http://www.ce-pro.com/default.asp?NodeId=3117

In the April issue of CE Pro magazine, editor-at-large Julie Jacobson
uses here editorial space to take a stand against the FCC. Here is an
edited down excerpt. For the full editorial, check out "Industry
Insider" in the upcoming April issue of CE Pro...

Andrew Finkel of Diversified Technologies, an integration firm based
in Westminster, Md., has a Comcast PVR connected via FireWire (IEEE
1394) to a JVC D-VHS to offload shows when the PVR fills up. "The
problem is there is no indication in the cable program guide as to
whether the show has a flag that restricts recording," he says. "So I
have to record the first two minutes of the show I want to dub, and
then stop and rewind the D-VHS machine to check if it allows dubbing,
i.e., to see if a picture is present. Then I have to reset everything
and actually perform the dub."

He adds, "Oh, and by the way, when the copy flag is present the D-VHS
locks up and has to be hard-rebooted from the wall to be able to play
legal D-VHS tapes again. It's pretty Draconian if you ask me, and I
know the work-arounds. Imagine Joe consumer trying to figure this out.
It makes you wonder how well HD-DVD recorders will work or if they'll
be able to record anything at all besides home movies."

Well, Andrew, it's only going to get worse.






"Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's game
because they almost always turn out to be -- or to be indistinguishable from
-- self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free time."
- Neil Stephenson, _Cryptonomicon_