[opendtv] Re: Broadcast Flag
- From: Tom Barry <trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 09:08:34 -0400
That bit they use for the broadcast flag has been defined forever as
something to do with content protection. A few years ago there were a
few reports on AVS from folks having problems in a couple areas
where stations had turned on that flag by accident.
I don't at all remember the details and have not heard anything
similar recently except this Samsung problem. But there may still be
other boxes out there that suddenly go south once the flag is turned on.
If they have to do this stupid flag thing then they should maybe do an
early test run, announcing all stations are turning it on for a couple
days (at night?) temporarily to see what hits the fan.
I think most people watching their box cycle on and off would be
annoyed. But it would at least give people time do do something about
it (before the election ;-) )
- Tom
John Shutt wrote:
> Let's parse your parsing.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Willkie" <johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
>>Let's parse it.
>>
>>1. If you don't do the upgrade, "you will not be able to receive
>
> protected
>
>>content". No problem there. But, that's well into the future, since
>
> there
>
>>is little to no interest RIGHT NOW among broadcasters to employ the
>>broadcast flag.
>
>
> If your current STB was designed to ignore the broadcast flag, you should be
> able to continue to receive protected content, since the content itself is
> not encrypted in any way. The fact that Samsung claims you won't be able to
> receive BF content tells me they have a software bug that chokes on the BF.
>
> As a broadcaster at a small market PBS station, I can tell you that the most
> likely deployment of the BF by us will to be to simply turn it on and leave
> it on, and we aren't the only ones who will do so. (As Ron Popeil says
> about his counter top rotisserie; "set it and forget it!" This probably is
> why Samsung is taking such pains now to get their STBs in for upgrade. They
> know that they will be hit with a flood of angry customers in the very near
> future.
>
>
>>2. "and may interfere with unprotected content" as well. This appears
>
> wide
>
>>of the mark, but notice the "may." I'd say "maybe" but unlikely.
>
>
> If the BF causes the box to lock up, then it would in a way interfere with
> unprotected content as well, until you rebooted the box with a power cord
> cycle.
>
>
>
>>There are at least three Samsung consultants on this list that I've had
>>contact with. Maybe they'll clue me in on the reality behind this. Makes
>>me wonder what else they're updating at the same time.
>
>
> Hopefully, they are also updating how some of these stupid boxes handle 608
> and 708 captioning.
>
>
>>Notice the "if the broadcast flag is broadcast." I haven't paid much
>>attention to the feature set of other PSIP generator manufacturers (to
>
> avoid
>
>>issues of copying, etc) in the past year or so, but I don't think that the
>>broadcast flag is used at all, due to it's legal newness, and the somewhat
>>thorny technical and marketing issues. Are the commercials flagged?
>
>
> The broadcast flag is in the PSIP data, so the BF is set on a program by
> program basis, without regard to commercials. Theoretically, you will be
> able to see which upcomming programs are protected, depending on how many
> hours' worth of program guide a station transmits.
>
>
>>Heck, how do the non-satellite STBs upgrade?
>
>
> With packing tape.
>
>
>>Can't wait until they do the announcements for "PSIP-E" and "E-VSB"
>>enhancements.
>>
>>Call is another "early implementation" issue.
>
>
> Those will most likely not be retrofit into existing receivers, which is why
> the ATSC took such pains to ensure backwards compatibility with existing
> receivers. As we see with Samsung's BF problems, even this is not
> guarenteed to be the case, now is it?
>
>
>
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