So, has the suspense been unbearable since last week’s cliffhanger? It sure has for me, and I even know what’s coming next. Let’s get to it.

We ended last time discussing the “Broadcast Flag”, a digital “flag” that will be embedded in the signal of broadcast digital movies and TV. Starting in July 2005, every TV sold in the United States will come equipped with an electronic circuit that will search all incoming signals for the presence of the broadcast flag. If your new TV detects the flag in the video signal, the TV will go into a special high-security mode and lock down its digital outputs. Now, you’ll still be able to watch the show/movie, as it is broadcast, in all its digital glory. The security lock down process is designed to prevent your TV from supplying that pristine digital signal to a digital recording device, like a computer or a digital video recorder (DVR). If you want to record a “flagged” TV show or broadcast movie, you’ll have to do so on an “ancient” analog VCR, or a special low-resolution DVD recorder.

Why all the fuss? As you’ll recall from earlier episodes in this series, the movie, TV, and recording industries have been tolerant of the “fair use” reproduction of their products, as long as that use came on “perishable” and low-resolution media, like the audio cassette and VHS tape. But technological advances are pushing “fair use” reproduction to its limits. Let’s look at a common scenario and see just how much times have changed.

It’s but a few years ago, Wednesday night, and the final episode of “The X Files” is about to air. In homes across the country, fingers are poised to push the “Record” buttons on VCRs. The show begins. After the first commercial, many distraught viewers who ambitiously pushed the “Pause” button to edit out the commercials discover that they forgot to restart the taping when the show recommenced. Around the water cooler the next day, tapes are loaned out to coworkers who were, oh, bowling, during the big event. Perhaps a “copy of a copy” of the episode was mailed to friend or relative living overseas, who normally wouldn’t be able to see the show for months. This scenario happened all the time, and the movie and TV industries didn’t do much to stop it.

Now, fast-forward to today. It’s Thursday night, and the much-anticipated final broadcast episode of “Friends” is but moments away. At precisely the moment the show begins, pre-programmed digital video recorders across the country awaken, and the episode is recorded in DVD-quality video. Within moments after the on-screen tearful goodbyes, enterprising devotees are loading the digital recording onto their computers. An hour later, the digital video has been compressed into a reasonably downloadable size, and is being “shared” across the internet, potentially by thousands, if not millions. This still isn’t that big a deal to the industry, as the resulting downloadable video file is so large in size that only those with broadband internet connections will be able to outlive the download.

Now step into the not-too-distant (like, starting next year) future. That final sitcom episode is now broadcast in high definition HDTV format. Digital video recorders, compression technology, and broadband internet connections advance to the point that recorded video can be transmitted via the internet with little loss in quality. The notion of every living room becoming a potential TV content distribution center prompted the Broadcast Flag.

Some question the ethical and legal “can of worms” the Broadcast Flag will open. More next time.

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski