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TiVo OS Update Adds Content Protection
generic-man writes "According to PVRBlog, TiVo's new operating system update enables content protection flags on a per-show basis. On some programs, notably syndicated shows, a red flag appears to indicate that the copyright holder has requested that TiVo devices not save a program past a certain date and that the program may not be copied to a PC using TiVo to Go. TiVo users were told to expect this style of flag only on pay-per-view and video on demand programming, and as such are upset that TiVo has restricted the capabilities of the receivers they bought and subscribed to use. The TiVo Community boards have some screen shots and firsthand accounts."
There's something wrong about selling a device to do something, and later limiting the ability of the device to do what it was designed to do.
...it's another example to use when explaining to people exactly why they should be opposed to DRM and the Broadcast Flag. It's good that it will spread awareness of the issue, so that we have a better chance of stopping it before it becomes mandatory by law.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
But the age-old argument holds: this won't work for (just an example) my parents.
In the past, Tivo employees have been very helpful in helping users work around these types of issues - they don't really care if you record the show, install larger hard drives, pull video off to your computer, as long as they get their subscription fee.
Hopefully a workaround comes out and makes it to the forums.
Mooniacs for iOS and Android
People will continue to plunk down cash for these products and services, because most people don't care about DRM. Even this won't really affect them, why do you think you can buy the Superbowl on DVD, or the World Series on DVD? People shell out $$ for seasons and seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. So they DRM the shows on your Tivo after a month.. by then people have either wiped it, or bought the damn thing on DVD.
Then there is the minority, who are not media consumers, who remain unaffected by this.
Before the tinfoil hatters come out, and blame the ??AA or the Government, think: when was the last time you watched one of those old Star Trek episodes you taped 15 years ago "in case you ever wanted to watch them again"?
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
TIVO has attempted to suggest the flags are a bug. While TIVO admits to making the technology available and active, not a single content provider is using it. That said: I do think it's a bad idea.
As a TIVO owner, I have to insist that TIVO needs to remove this technology because content flags that require a time frame within which to watch the show defeats the purpose of my purchasing a TIVO in the first place. I'm their customer because I could timeshift on my terms. NOT theirs. Not Fox's. Not NBC's.
I also want the ability to transfer it to another medium. If I lose that, TIVO loses me as a customer and no amount of lifetime memberships and HDTV versions of TIVO at a discounted rate will prevent me from leaving.
If TIVO does not remove this feature, I will reconsider remaining a TIVO Customer, and both TIVO and all the content providers lose a "captive" audience member.
"Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important." (Lisa Hoffman)
What happens when people don't read the fine print on service agreements and that all important clause which says TiVo can change the terms of usage at any time without prior notice.
And this is supposed to be so much better than taping? The time shifting abilities of PRV's are great when watching live shows, but really the only people for whom the PVR experience is "revolutionary" are folks too stupid to program their VCR's to begin with.
This and digital cable continue to be examples of consumers choosing wiz-bang technology simply because it's new and not because it's better. Few users have the TV's or proper audio equipment to enjoy "the digital difference" but they all lap it up because of all the stations they can't get otherwise, few of them seem to think about how much more difficult exercising fair use rights becomes because of the converter boxes needed for digital cable.
...if you have no way of knowing what you bought.
The most insidious thing about DRM-enabled devices is their ability to change the deal long after you've made your purchase decision.
No doubt there is a legal fiction that you agreed to some fine print somewhere that says, in effect, "I know I'm buying a pig in a poke."
We need a "truth-in-DRM" law. If there were a conspicuous sticker saying "Warning: this device may not actually record the programs you want to record. There is no way for you to know in advance which programs you can or can't record. The fact that you can record your favorite programs now does not mean you will be able to record them in the future," then purchasers would know what they were buying and the free marker could operate.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
Just because it's triggered in error doesn't mean it's not a cause for concern.. This is just exposing capabilities they built into the product before they were ready to force it on their customers.
I don't want to invest $1,000 in a HD-Tivo, only to later find out that programs I record are forced to expire beyond my control. Not to mention the commercials it records automatically, popups on the screen offering more advertising, etc..
What's next? Disable 30 second skip (yes, they are getting pressure to do this)?
No thanks, my MythTV box works great, and will never be forced to obey a company's decision before mine.
Nice taking that one post on a blog out of the context of the rest of the posts. The problem is not that something triggered it, the problem is that it exists to be triggered in the first place. Most people don't like purchasing a box/service to allow them to "take back control" of their TV viewing, only to had said control taken away again.
I don't know what kind of crack I was on, but I suspect it was decaf.
TiVo website blame macrovision and even go so far as to say "Please do not contact TiVo Customer Support regarding copy protection related issues" is a total cop-out.
I think every TiVo owner should precisely be contacting Customer Support about this. Jam up the telephone lines. How else is the company every going to know how their customers truly feel.
Old saying: If you don't take care of the customer, someone else will.
update: I just wanted to reiterate that yes, this was the result of a mistake on the part of the station providing syndicated shows.
Don't consider this an update -- consider a warning! Your local stations already have this switch in place, and all they need to do is flip it now!
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
He's not saying the problem is that they are selling boxes that then you have to buy service for.
He's saying that they are selling boxes and then expect you cannot modify the boxes in any way you see fit.
It's like cell-phone companies (to use your example) locking a phone to one service - users have figured out how to unlock many phones, or activate features the carriers do not want you do have.
In the case of a cable modem, you bought it and can modfy how it does routing as you see fit. Yes you have to pay a monthly service to get a connection through it, but you can still modify the box.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
So if you purchase your cable modem from your cable provider, you shouldn't have to pay for monthly cable service? It is, after all, your cable modem. You should not have to pay to keep using something that you already own.
You're muddying the waters here. There are two items being sold a Tivo and a subscription, just like a cable modem and a subscription to cable internet. Your analogy breaks, however, because if I buy a cable modem I can do whatever I want to it, and the cable company cannot. They can't come over and fill the USB port with glue and they can't remotely turn that USB port off.
The problem is, in addition to changing their service, they are remotely disabling features in the hardware box they sold you. They are stopping you from using a specialty computer you bought by remotely turning off functionality. That is called hacking most of the time.
The second problem is that if you sell a service, especially when you sell a lifetime subscription to that service, it is unethical and probably illegal to remove parts of that service from customers who have already paid.
Of course as soon as Tivo started to introduce this DRM crap and tech-savvy user should have known this crap was coming. When a company starts introducing anti-features that make things harder for their customers (because they want to get an account with big cable company and sell bulk) then they have sold you out. That is one of the main reasons I did not buy a Tivo. The interface was nicer and the guide was easier to use than the EyeTV unit/old computer solution I did go with, but I can still record, store on my hard drive, burn to DVD, or transfer over the network anything I want. I archive my favorite shows to DVD, just like I used to save some on VCR tapes. I bought my hardware and while software updates from the vendor may be useful, I won't install any that remove functionality.
As for a subscription, I get my guide information from TitanTV. It is free (banner ad supported) and if I ever need to I can go with a competing service.
you can use Tivo without the guide.
The question is not whether you can use the Tivo without the guide. The question is can you use the Tivo without the guide and store any program you record indefinitely or will it automatically delete via this DRM software they just loaded onto your bought and paid for machine, without your consent?
What's wrong with wanting an appliance to be easy to use?
It has nothing to do with pretty buttons, and everything to do with having an intuitive user interface. My six year old daughter figured it out in no time flat, and she barely even knows how to read.
TiVo is also trivial to set up. Before I bought my TiVo, I spent a couple months studying my options for building a MythTV or similar box, and finally concluded that I didn't have the spare time or the patience to build one.
I wanted a box that I could just plug and have it work. TiVo came within 99% of meeting this goal. Nothing else that I have seen even comes close. I will worry about the DRM capabilities when a broadcaster or studio actually intentionally uses it.