[Timesink]

This could, theoretically, lead to Congress taking away our rights to use VCRs, or even Tivos, once all the TV stations in the country are forced to switch over to all-digital broadcasts.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I'm not worried: SCOTUS, I believe, has ruled on the Constitutionality of videotapes...this shouldn't be a threat.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

I've been watching this guy Tauzin for a while. There is no doubt in my mind that he has been in the pocket of the regional Bells (i.e SW Bell, Verizon etc.) and against the interest of the inter-exchange carriers (i.e. AT&T and others). I think this guy has a lot of power and a lot of clout and is for sale to the highest bidder. It looks like the recording and movie industries have just made a similar move to the Baby Bells. This stuff is of more than just passing interest as there are those that argue that the re-emergence of the Baby Bells at the explense of the inter-exchange carriers and the competitive local exchange carriers, has caused a good bit of the telecom wreck that we're all seeing. Tauzin may be a Republican, but I think he's an old fashioned influence peddler. I'd be happy for someone to prove me wrong, but I have yet to see anything that goes against that conclusion.

[Djarum]

The same possibilities for infringement exist now. The industry is only using DTV as an excuse to gain extraordinary protections for their business.

[hoosierham]

The push to digital TV is simply to regain control over the viewers AND force them to pay for every viewing.

Pay per program has been the long-sought dream of the entertainment industry for 50 years.

Software licenses and the continual "upgrades" have conditioned many people to forget what it meant to OWN a copy of a movie , book , etc. The industry wants you to pay every time you plunk "It's a Wonderful Life" in the vcr or read Grisham.

[HAL9000]

Although Rep. Tauzin says this legislation is obstensibly about Digital Television, that is probably a smokescreen to get legislation mandating Microsoft's "Palladium" initiative.

[steve-b]

Tauzin, who has been pushing for movement in the much-delayed transition to digital television

Frankly, the whole idea should be scrapped, and the bandwidth sold for some useful purpose. A 75fps, 1200x1600, 24-bit color image of imbecilic crap is still imbecilic crap.

[dheretic]

Share every song and movie you own. What drives those who act against your rights into bankrupcy is good for the soul in the long run. Every commercial program, every song, every movie, etc I own I am willing to copy for friends, especially ones that will buy them (unless the band is unusually good). Friends don't let friends pay for IP when that money will be used to buy members of Congress. Well actually the best way to do this is to send the army around DC to round up all of the lobbyists and their *ahem* wholly-owned subsidiaries in the civil body politic and send them to a gulag in Alaska.

[Greeklawyer]

"Tauzin, who has been pushing for movement in the much-delayed transition to digital television..."

HDTV came about to free the television frequencies for other use. I have read they are going to be ten years behind schedule. Consumers are voting with dollars that they do not have an driving urge to go to the new system. Once moved the old tv frequencies will be sold for other uses.

The problems with the move is:

1) The entertainment distributors are hesitating because they want eternal and absolute control of their product even in the consumers hand. (ie in future you don't buy a
movie, you lease the right to see it in a specific format for a specific number of times.)

2) The delay is costing the people waiting for the frequencies money.

3) The studio distributors wish to alter intilectual copyright to be even more controlling.

These politicians should allow the free market to find a solution. This just a political coercion in an area where the free market has failed to follow political directives.

[rdb3]

Tauzin said he had told his committee's staff to begin drafting legislation to create a copy-protection standard.

Hmmm... I wonder how long it'll take me to reverse engineer this new standard.

Probably an hour.