Congressmen think FCC's set-top box plan is just like "Popcorn Time"
Theoretical concerns about piracy put pressure on Tom Wheeler's cable box plans.
Jon Brodkin - May 2, 2016 5:36 pm UTC
Descrier
The Federal Communications Commission proposal to boost competition in the cable TV set-top box market is facing opposition from some members of Congress who claim the plan will lead to copyright violations.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and ranking Democrat John Conyers (D-Mich.) described their concerns in a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Thursday, as noted by Politico. The letter echoes arguments made by cable lobbyists and some groups representing copyright holders.
Obama supports cable box competition and—surprise—cable lobby is angry
"Creators have shared concerns that under the FCC's proposed rule, future set-top boxes or their replacements could purposely be designed to distribute pirated content obtained from sources that primarily offer stolen content," Goodlatte and Conyers wrote.
The Goodlatte/Conyers letter doesn't provide any evidence that the FCC plan would enable piracy. Instead, they point to "apps such as Popcorn Time that focus on providing access to piratical content [and] have tried to match the format and ease of use of legitimate apps to mask the theft of copyrighted content." New set-top boxes "could incorporate apps such as Popcorn Time or its functionality or otherwise lead to the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works," they wrote.
Popcorn Time, which made it easier to download copyrighted works from torrent sites, is nothing like the FCC's set-top box idea, however. Certainly, set-top box hardware could be configured to use services that aid in piracy, but that isn't what the FCC proposal would do.
The FCC's plan would require the cable TV industry to create a software-based replacement for CableCard, letting makers of any third-party device or application build a service that displays the TV channels a cable customer has paid for. Just like the existing CableCard system that supports devices like TiVo, there would be security mechanisms ensuring that consumers could only watch the channels they subscribe to.
"Copyrights and licensing agreements will remain in place, and copyrighted content will be protected from piracy much as it is protected under the existing CableCard regime," Wheeler's proposal said. "Similarly, the proposal honors the limits on the use of programming agreed upon between cable companies and content providers (e.g., ability to record content)."
Last week, Wheeler said that a new Comcast partnership with Roku and Samsung proves that TV channels can be passed to third-party devices without violating copyright.
A CableCard replacement could help TV customers avoid renting set-top boxes from cable providers, and the initiative has received support from some Democrats in Congress and President Obama. Wheeler's plan has received mixed reviews from other politicians, though. Members of the mostly Democratic Congressional Black Caucus argued that the plan would "cause irreparable harm to independent and minority programmers by allowing third parties to strip programming from visible channel placements and relegate it to the bottom of the pile." (The FCC argues that competition in navigation interfaces and search functions "will make it easier for consumers to find and watch minority and special interest programming."
Groups representing copyright holders and content creators are also split. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and other content industry groups say they're concerned about "the lack of guarantees for copyright holders" in the FCC plan.
But the Writers Guild of America, West backs Wheeler, saying that the plan will help lesser-known video creators reach a wider audience by putting online video and traditional TV channels on the same devices. This would "benefit content creators because it will make more programming available on TV sets and limit the gatekeeper power of television networks and distributors who have long controlled what content reaches consumers," the group wrote.
The Writers Guild is part of a "Consumer Video Choice Coalition" that supports Wheeler's proposal. Opponents including cable companies set up the "Future of TV Coalition" to oppose it.
(UPDATE: An MPAA spokesperson contacted us to point out that there are more groups representing content creators who oppose Wheeler's proposal than who support it. Including all people who have weighed in with the FCC, Future of TV says there are 70,000 opponents of the plan while the Consumer Video Choice Coalition says more than 100,000 support it.)
The FCC is likely to institute new set-top box rules before the end of the year. A 3-2 party line vote in February set off a public comment period that is scheduled to end on May 23.
fryhole Ars Tribunus Militum
Other technology that caused "piracy":
8-tracks -- cassette tapes -- CDs / DVDs / blu-rays -- VHS / Betamax -- black and white copiers -- color copiers -- 3D printers -- cameras -- scanners -- fax machines -- hard drives -- silk screen printers -- inkjet printers -- laser printers -- mimeograph machines -- iPods -- microphones -- ink pens -- pencils -- carving tools ....
Aelrik Ars Centurion
azazel1024 wrote:
Carcass666 wrote:
"...apps such as Popcorn Time that focus on providing access to piratical content [and] have tried to match the format and ease of use of legitimate apps to mask the theft of copyrighted content"
I don't know, I think they have this exactly backwards. The abomination that is the Frontier FIOS UI for retrieving on-demand videos is much harder than finding content on "pirate" sites. The major difference is that copyright holders (understandably) do not put fake content up on FIOS to impede its usability. Improving the horrible user experience in set top boxes will make paid-for content easier to get to, and present a stronger value proposition for paying for it in the first place.
Yeah, odds are good I'll spend a lot more money on the content creators.
Oh, hey, look I can stream all my stuff to my tablet, awesome! Wait, I can choose a product who's UI I like, oh, I can pull out my phone and start searching using the app on my phone connected to MY STB and in 3 seconds I found the movie I wanted, or the TV series, etc. Setup a recording only takes 5 seconds and now the entire series is recording with all relevant recording options?
And a lot less on cable providers -- their tears are so sweet.
THavoc wrote:
rick*d wrote:
Dear Congress and the FCC: Televisions and computers can be used to view pirated television shows and movies. You should work to ban the sale of television sets and computers in an effort to eliminate piracy.
Instead of that, I propose all video be a black screen and audio is just white noise.
Wouldn't that be audiovisual racism?
Hemlocke Ars Scholae Palatinae
All of you Arsians are part of the problem, not the solution. Cease and desist from the piratical behavior!
PRMan Ars Tribunus Militum
Congressmen think...
I'm not so sure those two words should be used in the same sentence.
Congressmen never think.
Ars_100987
ten91 wrote:
I wonder if I can not pay my taxes citing concerns it's going to idiots.
Only if you like having your property taken and doing hard jail time. Don't fuck with the IRS. If you don't like your congressman got have a few options.
Petition to have them impeached.
Run for their job and win.
(Usually Illegal) Kill them.
Not paying the U.S. Federal government will only end badly, and that is coming from a guy who listed a felony as softer alternative.
I honestly feel like you'd get in more trouble for not paying your taxes then murdering a congressman, I'm not talking justifiable "enactment of the second amendment"; I'm talking crime of passion or maybe you just didn't like them murder.
But obviously you should pay your taxes and not needlessly harm people.
Personally speaking I see no reason to lay for a service when its a pain to use. You have that show I've been wanting? Great, it's a shame out drains my will power just to use your crap UI. This is why I an avid Kodi(formerly xbmc) user attempted to get cable once until I found out EVERY SINGLE FUCKING CHANNEL IS COPY ONCE (meaning useless for Kodi and all none CableCard authorized devices) in my entire state with TWC. Well instead of paying them for their content and their services I have found alternatives to paid TV. Not to say I don't have Netflix, hulu, and Amazon prime video.
You want to decrease piracy? Give is the choice to watch what we want on what we want as long as we pay for out that's good enough.
zrobl Smack-Fu Master, in training
Just don't understand the fuss, for $30 you can buy an Android box that allwos you to replace one of your settop boxes with not only an app for watching all of your Cable channels...including any premium ones you subscribe to, but also gives you an app for netflix, Hulu, amazon Prime etc. You can add a external harddrive and a PVR app which basically replaces your $10-$20 a month settop box...and it is available now. To be able to replace all of your settop boxes it only requires registering your devices MAC address with the cable company which is basically how they control things today....
1 post | registered May 2, 2016
JamesBrickley Ars Centurion
Popcorn Time is not what they need to battle... They are gonna be pretty hard pressed to beat the ability to just perform a quick search on a mobile device, tag some content and being able to, in short order, view that content over the mobile device or when you get home on the big screen TV. Also virtually ALL content is available without restriction of DRM, border boundary, licensing agreement, nor advertising, etc. All typically within an hour of broadcast or weeks before it even hits on demand or rental distribution networks. Frequently it's an overseas movie release a few weeks before it hits the US or EU.
To make it that easy they also have to make it affordable. But they have to completely change their entire industry and their distribution model in the process. I would gladly pay if it was as easy and reasonable. HBO Now is taking my money. It offers complete access to their entire catalog of content. Want to watch Deadwood or Soprano's easy peasy. Want to just subscribe for Game of Thrones and cancel out of season when you are caught up, go for it. Is HBO Now available everywhere? Not yet and maybe not ever. So GoT will continue to be the most pirated show in history.
--Cord Cutter
Akemi Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
JamesBrickley wrote:
Would also be nice if we were given options regarding audio and video quality for digital rental/purchase/streaming. Why do I have to settle for low quality lossy audio if I buy a digital copy on-line or legal streaming vs the Bluray? Both are digital, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to get the same audio and video quality if I'm willing to D/L a large file vs a smaller typical digital copy, or have the available bandwidth when streaming.
I didn't invest in an 11.2 channel Atmos pre-amp and amp to play lossy 2 channel or low quality lossy 5.1 AC-3 audio. Likewise, I don't want over-compressed video with banding and pixelization on my nice HDTV's. Yet, when it comes to downloads and streaming, there's not a lot of choice. And if I want a bargain, I just buy used Bluray discs - very legal, but guess who makes no money when I go that route. So, why no choice?
HeadlessRoland Ars Centurion
Wait a minute guys, what if Congress knows something that we don't? What if they know that the proposed boxes could absolutely be hacked?
JumpNDesign Ars Centurion
The worst part is that this is all really a giant fight over ads.
The cable/tv industry is just scared of not having to lean on ad revenue to fund their shows. TV shows are almost entirely funded through live and first day ad revenue. The following week after airing draws some residual ad revenue from maintained interest in the show and thusly the channel, but after that its about maintaining ratings and numbers. That's the reason they fight unbundling so much. As soon as some of those channels get unbundled, many will cave. Regardless of how good their content is, TV is purely about viewership numbers and ad revenue.
You can point to netflix and hulu, and go but they can do it. But here the cable/tv companies are really just double dipping. They already broke even or turned a profit from the ads. Reselling distribution rights to netflix and hulu is just free money. Money they never would of seen otherwise. Money that also doesn't really go back into the shows themselves. The reason netflix can finally create their own content, is because they've milked enough profit from redistribution, that now they can funnel their own profits back into new content, which creates a self sufficient cycle. Netflix is essentially the first unbundled and ad-free cable channel ever.
But for the entire cable industry to go this route, it would mean completely abandoning their current ad supported business. Which means less profits. Even in the short term, taking a loss has become like a death flag. Someones almost always getting fired for taking a loss, even if it means a long term gain. Taking a loss has become the greatest of corporate sins, regardless of how it sets the company up for the future.
374 posts | registered Dec 19, 2012
UnnDunn Ars Praefectus et Subscriptor
alohadave wrote:
Feniks wrote:
I see the lobby machine has been activated to protect the scam!
A cable card costs only €2 per month here. But then we're all communists.
https://www.ziggo.nl/televisie/mediaboxen/
How much to just purchase and own one?
You could buy one, but good luck getting your cable company to provision it on their network.
By law, cable companies must provision any cable box that is compatible with their network. Any cable box that accepts a CableCARD will work on any cable network in the US (except for Uverse, Google Fiber and a handful of other non-standard systems).
However, if you buy your own CableCARD (yes, it is possible to buy CableCARDs), it must match the headend you're using; a DigiCipher (Arris/Motorola) headend requires a DigiCipher CableCARD, a PowerVu (Cisco) headend requires a PowerKey CableCARD and a VideoGuard headend requires a VideoGuard CableCARD. If you know which headend you're on, that's great. But not many people would know or care, so for those people, it's probably best to rent a CableCARD from the cable company to guarantee compatibility.
Of course, there's only one company that sells cable boxes at retail, and that's TiVo. The rest--Cisco, Arris, Samsung, Pace, etc. all sell their boxes wholesale to cable companies, and they really aren't interested in supporting you if you buy one as an individual.
Corporate Serf Ars Scholae Palatinae
Congressman think what they are paid to think
937 posts | registered Mar 19, 2012
Discoveryellow Seniorius Lurkius
Bob Goodlatte select top financial contributors in 2016:
#2 Comcast Corp
#4 Time Warner
John Conyers:
#2 National Association of Broadcasters
Although to be fair Conyers even by a fraction is not as much in debt to donors as Goodlatte.
Source: openseecrets
20 posts | registered Feb 2, 2013
Rosyna Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
Why is this astroturfing group trying so damn hard to paint Apple (via iTunes) and Google as the bad guys? iTunes Music gave consumers more choice as they no longer had to buy the entire album just to get the popular song du jour and eventually resulted in all purchased music on all services being DRM free.
traumadog Ars Praefectus
Wait... If a hard-coded, locked to the cable company box is the only way to provide "legal" transmission of content, then why hasn't the MPAA sued to close Roku (or Google's Chromecast, for that matter) - because it's a huge source of piracy(!!!), right?
neodorian Ars Tribunus Militum
The funny thing is that you can already configure other devices to pull from infringing sources and currently that's our only option since you can't tie them into legit ones.
I said it in another thread and I'll say it again: I pay Comcast for internet service *and* cable TV (possibly despite my better judgment) and I also use apps like Popcorn Time (through VPN of course) because Comcast either blocks legal network apps from authorizing on my devices or doesn't offer anything of their own.
I only use the "pirate" sources when I can't use the legit ones I've already paid for.
No, renting a second shitty cable box for my Android TV is not an option. It's already capable of tuning all kinds of sources and running network apps for streaming (HBO, SyFy, Fx, etc) but Comcast doesn't offer a way to decrypt their cable nor will they authorize those apps to run because they seek to block any content on a TV that isn't through one of their boxes. They only want you to run streaming apps on "second screens" like mobile devices and laptops.
Hopefully Smarter Ars Tribunus Militum
Members of con guess should be forced to wear sandwich boards that show the contributions from lobbyists ranked from highest to lowest every time they appear in public.
clamo Seniorius Lurkius
like I have said in the past. it won't matter if piracy goes away or not. they will still bitch.
5 posts | registered Mar 5, 2015
hannibal1209b Seniorius Lurkius
This is yet another example of why we need congressional term limits. If they spent time actually doing their jobs, instead of holding out their hands for free re-election money, these types of "observations" wouldn't happen nearly as often! I am so sick and tired of lobbyist-written statements and laws that do nothing but stifle competition and gouge the consumer! There is NO reason, outside of "but our profits would fall" for STBs to work like they do today.
ReaderBot Ars Praefectus
I wonder if Wheeler is going to have to walk them through how stupid they're being.
The technology to do such a thing already exists; its just a question of someone setting up a service to provide the content.
What the FCC wants cable companies to do is create an application that lets people connect to the cable companies for their service.
They don't know or care how stupid they're being. They just want the campaign graft.
graylshaped Ars Legatus Legionis et Subscriptor
jbrizz wrote:
We already have phones, desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, smart TVs, streaming devices such as Apple TV, Chromecast and built in casting, Smart TV apps, game consoles and dedicated HTPCs. If anyone wanted to pirate, they can use any one of these. What difference does it make having yet another device that can play unprotected videos?
The difference it makes is $10/month/TV. That's a huge difference when you add up all the TVs. How many millions of customers does Comcast have? Even if each only springs for one STB, that's tens of millions of dollars a month that they stand to lose when the new regulation kicks in.
We tried to cut the cable and failed. Seemed Verizon wanted to keep its customer base before handing it off to Frontier, so I wound up with 75/75 Mbps service (measured at 83/85) plus a local-only channel package at $10/mo less than the internet-only 50/50 service. No set-top boxes, and when I asked if I had to use their crappy router/modem, was told the Quantum Gateway G1100 was included "at no charge" with my bundle.
Plugged the coax into an HDHomerun, get local channels and DVR through MrMC running on an existing media server and Apple TVs, and are saving $1200 a year. Of that, close to $700 is the savings on the equipment rental. I spent time configuring the channels coming in once, then discovered they routinely shuffle them around--apparently just to f*ck with people like me.
I am wholeheartedly behind this FCC proposal, and am testimony to why the cable industry and their shills will show no shame in attempting to stop it.
superb361 Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
If Goodlatte and Conyers are this convinced that apps lead to piracy, they are NOT going to be happy when they learn about smart TVs and pretty much any phone made in the last 5 years...
164 posts | registered May 5, 2011
psiclone Ars Centurion
NickN wrote:
Apparently if these new cable boxes don't exist there will be no place for the pirate enabling apps and they'll just wither and die.
Do you mean the apps or the Congressmen?
So, when it comes to content on your encrypted phone, (YOUR CONTENT), it's a freebie, go all in decrypt cipher unlock BS, but when it's a cable box, oh no!!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Nauip Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
I keep saying - stop voting for incumbents. They've proven time and again they can't be bothered to keep up with technology and are only concerned with getting the lobby money and getting re-elected to keep that lobby money coming in.
nijave Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
Wait, so I'm pirating content by watching Netflix on Roku?