Each week Stephen Speicher contributes The Clicker, a weekly column on television. Last week
he discussed why there are so many damn standards for HDTV, this week he pokes a stick at the Broadcast
Flag:As we approach the July 1, 2005 deadline of "Broadcast Flag," I am beginning to hear more and more chants of
"Michael Powell is the Devil."
While I can neither confirm nor deny FCC-Chairman Powell's status as Lucifer, Satan's doppelganger, or even a man who
likes to wear little red horns, I can say that the FCC's decision to mandate the Broadcast Flag has somewhat unfairly
become the lightning-rod for all matters regarding content protection. I can also say that it gets "credit" for a lot
more than it should.
Now, if, on the other hand, your hatred of Powell stems from his treatment of Nipple-gate and its effect on the 2005
Super Bowl half-time show (which had, let's face it, the excitement of an evening of Scrabble with Bea Arthur), I can
hardly blame you. Feel free to chant away.
So what exactly is the Broadcast Flag?
In November of 2003, bowing to pressure from the MPAA and hoping to speed the nation's transition to digital
television, the FCC approved a system (the Broadcast Flag) designed to curb Internet distribution of
digitally-broadcasted TV shows. The FCC's rationale, as twisted as it may be, was that content owners would be more
likely to put "the good stuff" on the air if they didn't fear that perfect digital copies of their content would be
spread over the Internet. In turn, consumers would rush to the stores and buy digital televisions. Hey, like I said:
"twisted."
The Broadcast Flag is a system? Yes, the Broadcast Flag is best viewed as two different pieces. First, as a
technical piece its a tiny bit of data (the flag) that is inserted into a stations digital stream. This flag lets
digital receivers know the protection level of the content. The flag itself is rather benign. Its a little like the
sign in the candy story that says No Sampling. Its just there. Its not encrypting the data. Its not stopping
existing receivers from receiving the data, and much like a kid whos too young to read will walk into the candy store
and ignore the sign, so too will todays receivers ignore the flag.
The more controversial aspect of the Broadcast Flag is the set of regulations revolving around how future receivers
will treat the content. Beginning July 1st all new devices will be required to protect marked content with an
authorized technology. The purpose of these authorized technologies is to limit ones ability to distribute the
content via the Internet or other mass methods while simultaneously allowing the consumer unfettered access to his or
her content.
In theory that sounds just hunky-dory, but, as you know, the devil is in the details. As most detractors of the
Broadcast Flag will tell you, what starts as a way to prevent mass-distribution often leads to situations where
consumers are prevented from viewing their recorded content.
Lets look at an example:
Lets assume that we are using 5Cs EPN as our authorized technology. EPN (encryption plus non-assertion) allows users
to make as many copies of their content as they would like. You can copy any 5C EPN content from one 5C-compatible
device to another. You can even make copies of copies (and copies of copies of copies, etc.). 5C relies on the fact
that its handshake (a method of determining if both devices are 5C-compliant) must take place locally. Unlimited local
copies and no mass-distribution is exactly what they were hoping for.
So far this sounds great. The problem is that once you place your data within the 5C framework you can never get it
out. From then on you are limited to 5C-compliant devices. That new video-enabled cell phone might not be a
5C-compliant device. It might use a different method to protect that data. This method might also be acceptable.
However, much like the different audio-protection schemas out there (AAC, WMA, etc), transferring from one camp to
another is often a process fraught with frustration and futility.
This will be the case with all methods of distribution protection. Unfortunately, its nearly impossible to protect
content without limiting it. Therein lies the crux of the problem and the meat behind most peoples complaints.
At this point you might be thinking So, hes locked up our data and foisted unnecessary copy-protections upon us.
Why, again, isnt he the devil? Hmmm. At this point in the column Im starting to wonder the same thing.
The answer is that many people have come to use the term Broadcast Flag as a generic term. Its important to remember
that the July 1 deadline only really deals with over-the-air digital television. Below are some common questions:
Q: I have a PVR from my cable company. Does the broadcast flag mean that I cant time shift my
content?
A: No, the only purpose of the Broadcast Flag is to limit mass-distribution of content. Unlike other
types of conditional-access systems there is no provision to limit how the content is used. For instance, there is
nothing in the broadcast flag that limits copying locally. Likewise there is nothing that expires content making it
unwatchable after a set time.
Q: Recently HBO began encrypting its shows and now Microsofts Media Center Edition (MCE) wont let
me copy them with impunity. Surely, I can blame the Broadcast Flag for this, right?
A: Again, no. First, youre referring to the recent inclusion of CGMS-A. As the A indicates this is
an analog technology. While CGMS-A has similar concepts (e.g. terms like copy-never), it isnt the same thing. The
Broadcast Flag in question is a) purely for digital content and b) only intended to regulate content thats sent OTA
(or retransmitted versions of that signal).
Q: Is it true that the Broadcast Flag is the reason that neither TiVo nor MCE work with
high-definition cable?
A: Once again, no. Both TiVo and MCE have only tackled OTA HDTV because, unlike a standard TiVo which
encodes the analog signal, an analog HDTV signal is way too big to encode at a cost-effective price. The recent
roll-out of Digital Cable Ready (DCR) support by the cable companies should mean an acceptable path for stand-alone HD
TiVos.
Those are just a few of the questions that unfairly get tied to the Broadcast Flag.
For feedback or column suggestions email
theclicker@theevilempire.com. Until next week save my seat!