[mythtv-users] Slightly OT - Hollywood after the Analog Hole again

[Michael T. Dean]

Dewey Smolka wrote:

>But to try to bring it back on topic -- the legality/illegality of
>water pipes is quite irrelevant so long as glass, plumbing fixtures,
>and pocket butane torches are legal. This comes back to the topic
>because even if cature devices are illegal, the components used to
>make them are not.
>  
>
But, if the law succeeds, purchasing the components without a license 
from Hollywood would be illegal.  The A/D- and D/A-converters could only 
be purchases by unlicensed parties if enclosed in a closed, proprietary 
system designed to prevent compromise.  Licensed parties can purchase 
"unprotected" components but would be required--by law--to enclose them 
some DRM- (or would that be ARM- :) enabled device.

>...
>As long as there are legitimate uses for audio/video capture devices
>(and there are plenty), I don't think it's possible to ban the devices
>because they could be used for illegal purposes. That doesn't mean
>that our friends in Hollywood won't try, but I'm pretty sure it's not
>going anywhere.
>  
>
I agree that it's unlikely to get anywhere, but I'll be watching just in 
case.

>The thing to worry about, as I think someone else noted, is that this
>ridiculous proposal can set the groundwork for a 'compromise' in the
>future that makes the **AA look like they're giving something up.
>  
>
Definitely true.

>Either way, there's a joker in the deck we're forgetting about: In the
>US there's tens of millions of people with hundreds of millions of
>hours of home video on tape, and many of those people want to convert
>those tapes to DVD. If they are prevented from doing that by law,
>there will be a serious consumer backlash.
>
But they could still do that by buying licensed products from licensed 
vendors.  And, most consumers don't know the difference between Windows 
Vista, the DRM-enabled, licensed to copy according to Hollywood's rules 
OS, and Windows Vista, the thing that makes my computer work.

Mike