John is correct. Many DTV stations (especially CBS and FOX network) assertthe rc_descriptor in their bitstream. However, I've only seen it in PMT's, never
in PSIP. I believe that this is just a hangover from encoder upgrades done right before the "Broadcast Flag" was to be adopted. Oddly enough, it's been found that all Motorola cable STB's with IEEE1394 output "honer" the rc_descriptor when deciding to encrypt the 1394 outputstream. This means that in the clear local DTV stations that have the rc_descriptor enabled are not recordable from 1394 to a PC. It's a silly penalty, since these
same stations can be recorded over the air and the QAM stream on cable is usually also in the clear (and recordable). I notified the EFF of this situation last year. They told me that there's no law preventing equipment from honoring the rc_descriptor and to complain toMotorola. Clearly the issue was too obscure for them. It only affects hobbyists
who have connected their PC to the STB 1394 output. This time around, it's affecting a Microsoft product, so there's much more interest from the press and the EFF. Ron Adam Goldberg wrote:
We don't know whether it was the BF that caused the recording problem, though it's certainly true that news reports have concluded such. If it was the BF, and if what John has said about certain PSIP generators, then why haven't we seen this before? In any case, I do not believe it matters whether it was the BF, some CGMS-A, or other settings which caused this (incorrect) behavior. There is no law, regulation or otherwise which requires or obligates MSFT to obey "do not record" commands in over-the-air broadcast content. Indeed, there are significant pressures on broadcasters to not even attempt any such control. There may even be law or regulation prohibiting (one of the tradeoffs for using 'our' public property to convey the commercial service). Furthermore, there is no 1201 violation in stripping whatever caused this behavior, as it is in no sense an '/effective/ technological protection'. Nor is CGMS-A information Copyright Management Information viz 17 USC 1202(c), as any 'do not copy' information is null due to the public right to record (at least analog, at least for time shifting) see Sony v. Universal. Finally, the Broadcast Flag was -->>> NEVER INTENDED TO PREVENT RECORDING <<<<----. Please don’t dispute me here, as to do so, you must have been in the room. What MSFT products do is either a bug or an intentional behavior, but in no case is it a reasonable interpretation of the Broadcast Flag. Adam
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