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Set-top boxes may put a lid on rewritable DVDs

The EE times has a great article up on how new PVRs that have DVD writers on them might be crippled by Hollywood.

It really astounds me that Hollywood copyright maximalists never learn from their own mistakes. They railed hard against the VCR, saying it would kill the movie business, and yet today DVD and VHS sales account for a huge chunk of their profit. Now people want to record movies and shows from their TV onto recordable DVD for playback later, and the studios are saying the same thing -- that people shouldn't be allowed to freely record shows. This time they want the playback to be limited to just that DVD drive that recorded it. So if your set-top box dies and you get a new one, or if you move, or change providers, those shows you recorded will be useless.

So we have customers that like TV and want to pay for digital cable. They would also like to "tape" things to DVD to save and share with family and friends. The cable companies are listening to their customers and want to provide exactly that. But Hollywood is getting in the way of what people want, seeing customers as criminals, and wanting to exert control of their content even in customer's homes.

by Matt Haughey April 5, 2004 in News

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