In Japan, a Battle Brewing Over the Right To Record 4k and 8k Broadcasts (itmedia.co.jp)

AmiMoJo writes: Japanese broadcasters have indicated that 4k and 8k broadcasts may have recording disabled via a 'do not copy' flag [via Google Translate], which receivers would be expected to obey. Now the Internet Users Association (MIAU) and Shufuren (Housewives Federation) have submitted documentation opposing the ban. The document points out that the ban will only inconvenience the majority of the general audience, while inevitably failing to prevent unauthorized copying by anyone determined to circumvent the protection.

Comments

Evil bit again?

[gstoddart]

And, once again broadcasters and copyright assholes want veto power over technology, and the evil bit of "thou shall not record" has reared its head.

Every new piece of technology immediately gets co-opted as corporations tell us what we're allowed to do because they apparently feel the world exists to serve their fucking business model.

Oh, and of course if ratified the TPP will make this entrenched in law -- so you could spend life in prison for recording a show to watch later.

This time...

[taiwanjohn]

Unlike past efforts, our NEW copy protection scheme will totally work.

By the way, by any chance, would you happen to be in the market for a bridge?

Re:This time...

[gstoddart]

You know the scary thing? As I pointed out above, if the TPP is ratified, then the copyright cartel will have even more clout to do this.

ISPs and pretty much every piece of technology on the planet would be made subservient to the demands of the copyright lobby.

It won't "work" in the sense of actually stopping anything, but it would suddenly carry much harsher legal penalties, and both ISPs and governments would be responsible to police this on behalf of the copyright holders.

The TPP is written in such a way that pretty much everybody works on behalf of the IP groups ... which probably means they're feeling quite emboldened these days.

Because if it comes into law, they'll pretty much hold all of the cards.

Reason number 9,862 why that TPP is a terrible idea, and will only help multinational corporations instead of the actual citizens.

this is quite normal, said the panda-fish-robot

[Pseudonymous Powers]

Japanese broadcasters have indicated that 4k and 8k broadcasts may have recording disabled via a 'do not copy' flag [via Google Translate], which receivers would be expected to obey.

Wait, they're demanding that their content receive special legal protections solely on basis of its resolution? Wow, I thought I couldn't be any more disgusted with IP lobbyists, but as usual, Japan is always finding new ways to surprise me.

No recording=no timeshifting, shooting foot?

[PeterM from Berkeley]

Seems like the broadcasters are shooting themselves in the foot! If you can't record, you can't store up a bunch of shows to watch later.

This means that people won't watch broadcast at all, but rather will default to streaming services for convenience of watching when they want.

Seems like they've got the wrong solution. Instead of "do not record", it should be "do not copy the recording you make to other media"--which, guess what, is what most people do anyway with their DVRs.

Best,

--PeterM

Business as usual

[m76]

Most copy protection devices only achieve the task of annoying the living crap out of legitimate users, while doing nothing to prevent grand scale piracy.

In Japan

[Pikoro]

In Japan, most TVs and DVD/BR players contain the ability to record. It is fairly entrenched to record shows for later viewing, especially things like daytime dramas, hence the housewives outcry. This will affect millions of daily viewers.

Re:'do not copy' flag

[Anne Thwacks]

No. They are renaming the "Evil" bit.

Re:A big problem everywhere, not just Japan

[Dutch Gun]

The premise is right that restrictions inconvenience users who aren't interested in piracy and probably drive many of them to piracy.

Yep, and it's not just the DRM. I've found that legitimate channels are often worse than illegitimate ones in many ways. Hulu is a fantastic example of this. You pay monthly and are still subjected to advertisement. Even at the highest paid service level with (mostly) no ads, Hulu insists on plastering a damned watermark of the local affiliate station (essentially an advertisement) over the stream for the entire duration of the show. Actually, calling it a watermark is a stretch, because it's not even translucent - it's nice and bright and in your face for the entire show. It's very distracting to me.

Moreover, Hulu doesn't provide past seasons of many shows, so if you haven't been watching for the past few years already, you can't catch up. What's the point of an on-demand streaming service if they don't provide a full catalog so new subscribers can catch up? I could rent those shows, but the prices are outrageous. That's old-school broadcaster thinking for you. Idiotic.

On the other hand, I could easily download every show I currently watch on Hulu via bittorrent with better quality encoding and no distracting watermark, and I can download all past seasons of any show with no hassle. Why am I being a chump and paying Hulu for the privilege of a degraded experience? Well, because I want to support the shows I like, I suppose. I've honestly been considering cancelling Hulu, as I already subscribe to a few other streaming services. This is what happens if your legitimate offering is worse than pirating.