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Controlling the Content

As seen on ARS Technica… The next generation of High-Definition (HD) content will be significantly harder to crack and may require a commercial license to be playable on a device or computer. A technology called High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) will encrypt the signal at the last point of transmission to the television or computer screen. Hardware will have to support HDCP to be able to play the content, and any cracked keys can be revoked so no future content will play. Unless some company decides to try selling a commercial video player to Linux users, the next generation of High Definition DVD content may not play at all on operating systems other than Windows and Mac OS X. Likewise, most of us would have to purchase a brand-new television or computer display to be able to see the content at its native resolution. Additionally the encryption system in the next generation of DVD technology is being designed to be very difficult to crack. All of this doesn’t bode well for our rights to fair use as consumers. Maybe these developments will provide an opportunity for independent content developers to gain a foothold in the industry, but most people will still just want their Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez.

One reply on “Controlling the Content”

This is an interesting challenge. On one side you have the television and movie industry trying to protect their content by forcing us to purchase equipment to help them solve their problem. I am not willing to purchasing technology that could possibly limit me in my choices. If we are pushed in that direction we will see a new revolution take place similar to what is happening today with the use of podcasting. With podcasting we have moved to an entirely new world of broadcasting that is currently out of the controls of the media industry. I know I have come to a point where I now listen to very little radio as I find great content available on my own time schedule through the use of podcasting.