Philips, HP Copy Protection Ready for New FCC Rules

The system could mean that users will have to buy all-new DVD+RW gear.

Nancy Weil, IDG News Service

LAS VEGAS--Philips Electronics and Hewlett-Packard have developed a Plus-format DVD copy-protection system that allows users to record digital TV broadcasts under the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) broadcast-flag regulation, which takes effect in July, the companies announced Wednesday at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show here. Products that incorporate the new technology will be available soon.

The Video Content Protection System (VCPS) recorders will be able to identify digital TV broadcasts that are copyright-protected via the broadcast flag, a code embedded in future broadcast streams so the content can't be redistributed illegally over the Internet. VCPS is designed for use with DVD+R (recordable), DVD+RW (rewritable), and DVD+R DL (double-layer) optical discs; and it encrypts anything carrying the broadcast flag that the FCC regulation mandates.

Sporting events, which are the property of their respective leagues such as Major League Baseball or the National Football League, are among the broadcasts that will be protected. Similar regulations also govern digital broadcasts via cable TV systems.

It's the Law

TVs and DVD recorders with digital tuners sold after July 1 2005 must be able to recognize the antipiracy broadcast flags. Products that lack this ability won't be able to record or play back content that contains broadcast flags. VCPS will allow video recordings to be played back only on "trusted players" that prevent recorded content from being transmitted over the Internet. VCPS will also introduce a "copy once" video function intended to prevent users from making additional recordings. Early VCPS discs, which will be released soon, will be compatible with existing DVD+RW recorders and drives, according to company representatives.

The FCC regulations could prove costly, however, to people who want to record digital TV broadcasts: Existing products--apparently including PCs, laptops, and even blank discs for recording--won't be compliant and so will have to be replaced. During today's session, hosted by the DVD+RW Alliance of more than 70 companies (among them, Philips and Hewlett-Packard), representatives dodged questions about costs and consumer confusion related to VCPS.

Hardware vendors might use firmware upgrades to make PCs and laptops compliant with the new regulations, but that will be up to individual companies, representatives said.

Also unclear is precisely how the regulations will affect users and whether VCPS--which is in place in Japan, too--will become an international standard. The European Union has been moving toward copy protection as well.

High-Speed Media This Year

DVD+RW Alliance representatives made no specific product announcements related to VCPS, but they did announce that high-speed rewritable and double-layer Plus-format media, recorders, and drives will appear this year. DVD+RW 8X products will be out in the first half of the year, the alliance said, with DVD+R DL 8X to follow.

The DVD+R DL 8X format can record up to 8.5GB of digital video, images, or data--the equivalent of up to 11 CDs--with storage for thousands of digital photos or about 4 hours of digital video. Recording 8.5GB of material takes less than 16 minutes. Even speedier DVD+RW 12X products should be available later this year, said members of the alliance.

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