No Broadcast Flag = No Emergency Alert System? Not exactly...
posted Jul 5th 2005 11:15AM
There are actually some semi-legitimate reasons for supporting the
Broadcast Flag, like that it
makes it more difficult for people to share copies of digital TV broadcasts online (though obviously you know full well
where we come down on this issue), but possibly the most baffling justification we've heard yet comes to us courtesy of
Jeffery Knauss, who argues in the July issue of Communications Engineering & Design that the recent
court decision overturning the Broadcast Flag rule is going to mean the end of the Emergency
Alert System. Why? Because the court ruled that the FCC had no authority to impose specific requirements on TV
receivers other than those already mandated by Congress (like requiring closed caption decoding, etc.), which means
that as television moves from analog to digital, they have no authority to require televisions to display emergency
alerts, either. Seems like most manufacturers would be down with adding support for the Emergency Alert System anyway,
but couldn't Congress just mandate compliance with the Emergency Alert System or give the FCC the authority it needs
for this? Is there a reason why the Broadcast Flag has to get all mixed up with this?
[Via TechDirt]
He's probably quoting an opinion paper ~helpfully~ written for a lawmaker by a lobbyist which was then faxed to him when he called said lawmaker for information.
(lawmaker == regulator == etc)
Hey, there's nothing better I like than starting up a show I've been looking forward to from my Tivo's Now Playing list and sitting down to watch a half-hour of thunderstorm warnings for counties I've never even heard of.
Emergency Alert Systems Are Not Worth a Damn
Haven't you seen War of the Worlds?
There was also a study conducted regarding 9-11. Those who listened to officials were killed - those who didn't follow instructions were saved.
Go figure.
I don't understand this argument at all.
Isn't the emergency broadcast system independent of the device? I always had the impression it was something handled by the broadcasters.
If my understanding is not accurate can someone please elaborate?
It's perfectly fine if the Emergency Broadcast system wasn't used anymore. It's not like it gives out important information.
The argument says that because the fcc cant mandate digital flags for copy protection they also dont have to add digital flags for emergency broadcast systems. to be honest what broadcast company wants an emergency test going off every week.
I'd rather not know the bombs were coming. Spending the last 40 minutes of my life worrying and paniced is far less enjoyable than being snuffed out in the middle of a fascinating action packed episode of MXC. As for storms.. if you're dumb enough to not prepare than you should be weeded out.
I'd like to see the study regarding paying attention to emergency broadcasts. Had the tsunami victims had had an effective early detection and warning system, countless lives would have been saved.
August Jackson is spot-on here. The FCC can clearly control what is transmitted on the air. No one is disputing the validity of the their censorship, or public-service mandated time.
More spin from the lobbyists. It's a shame that necessary and useful things like the EAS have to ge their name mixed up in all this.
Unbelievable, truly unbelievable. They must be crazy, I mean, it's America. The second something happens and there wasn't an emergency broadcast they're going to be drowning in lawsuits.
I watch TV through a time shift device, so TV emergency alerts are not useful to me anyway.
Emergency alerts have been on my mind this year. I don't want interruptions in my phone service, and an SMS message would probably be treated as spam. since I don't watch live TV that wouldn't work, and somehow taking vontrol of my TV or turning it on wouldn't make me happy. I only listen to radio while in my car.
I've decided big horns outside are the only thing that might be helpful. Similar to air raid sirens or tornado warnings in areas where tornados are common.
The only natural disasters that are likely to affect me at home are earthquakes and fires. I have a fire alarm, and there's no earthquake warnign yet.
MXC is the best show ever
Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship for president
MXC is the best show ever
Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship for president
The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) is a set of requirements on the broadcast license holder and the transmission system, not the receiver. Ignoring what is possible today, as originally conceived, EBS content is indistinguishable from any other content at the receiver. At my college radio station, the EBS equipment was a proprietary radio receiver that was inline between the mixing board and the transmitter. When it picked up its master signal it cut into the transmission path and fed instead the signal it was picking up. No impact on the receivers at all. So with respect to existing EBS technology, Knauss is wrong.
However, there may be plans to make digital televisions treat EBS content differently, like un-mute, turn up the volume, prevent you from changing channels, control your mind or whatnot. That may indeed run afoul of the FCC's authority.
While most Americans have never needed the EBS in places where tornados are common people know to turn on the radio or TV and pay attention. Regardless of how you feel about the advice it carries, people need the EBS on both radio and TV.
I want to confirm that to my knowledge, the existing Emergency Alert System is not at all based on requiring any equipment to be installed or included on the receiving end. The only FCC mandated equipment is required to be installed by the broadcaster (or cable system) as a provision of their license. And that is legal.
There is one new TV out so far (from RCA, AFAIK) that has a feature that will automatically turn on the TV or change the channel in response to an EAS activation event, but, again, AFAIK, this is something RCA has voluntarily released, presumably because they think there's a market for it. No FCC rule requires it.
As for digital TV sets - I think market demand can dictate whether manufacturers include an EAS feature in TV sets. I would bet that eventually most of them will, because it would probably be very cheap to add to a chipset that will already have to support closed captioning, digital TV streams, etc.
Furthermore - anyone who wants EAS alerts is perfectly free to go out and buy a weather radio that will automatically activate when an alert is issued. To avoid being alerted for "this is just a test" or weather events that don't affect your locality, look for the SAME feature in weather radios - it allows the end user to program their specific area and their specific situations they want to be alerted of (weather, biological/chemical attack/accident, etc.).
yes, limits on the fcc!