All Articles Tagged Digital Rights

Julie Jacobson | 01/05 07:31 AM, 0 Comments

When it comes to digital rights and freedom of expression, nobody does it better than the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The organization just posted its "2011 in Review: Watershed Moments in the Fight for Free Speech, Privacy, and Fair Use," listing 12 top issues from WikiLeaks to Arab Spring to Internet blacklist legislation. Below are EFF's 12 key issues, with snippets from each. For more "Year in Review" lists from around the Web, see our "Top Technology Trends, Stories, Products of 2011: A Compilation." 1. The Year Secrecy Jumped the… View this story

Tom LeBlanc | 07/07 08:31 AM, 9 Comments

The impending so-called “analog sunset” has been touted as the next big thing affecting the custom electronics industry. Whether or not that’s hyperbole, it’s certain that there are things integrators need to know about restrictions being imposed by the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) licensing agreement — especially in regards to Blu-ray playback. If savvy clients haven’t already begun asking questions about whether or not they should throw out their component cables, they soon will. Integrators need to know what to tell them and how to react. Right now integrators… View this story

Steve Crowe | 01/05 09:12 AM, 0 Comments

A Boston University grad student ordered to pay $675,000 to record labels for illegally downloading music has asked for a new trial and a reduction in damages. In July 2009, Joel Tenenbaum, 25, was ordered to pay $22,500 for each of the 30 songs he shared on Napster and Kazaa back in 2004. In a motion filed on Jan. 4, 2010, Tenenbaum's lawyers say Judge Nancy Gertner came down too hard on Tenenbaum, adding that he is one of millions who have downloaded and shared music. "The fact that digital… View this story

Tom LeBlanc | 11/13 08:28 AM, 2 Comments

Remember how "maverick" became a buzzword for John McCain's presidential campaign? It culminated with Tina Fey (as Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live") spoofing its overuse: "We are not afraid to get mavericky in there." That term, "mavericky," actually does describe Maverick Integration's approach to custom electronics. The integration company isn't afraid to "get mavericky" either: "We call up our clients and ask them if they're interested in something — like an Apple TV. Talking about that $300 box sometimes turns into a $10,000 upgrade," says Dennis Jaques, president. That… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 10/11 09:06 AM, 0 Comments

RealNetworks cannot sell its $30 RealDVD ripping software until the legality of the software is determined by the courts. That was the ruling made by U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel in August, when she upheld an earlier court's preliminary injunction against sales of RealDVD. Now Real is appealing that decision, according to CNET. Real is being sued by the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA), for breach of contract. The DVD CCA claims that it is a violation of its licensing agreement to make products that enable the copying… View this story

Tom LeBlanc | 09/25 09:50 AM,

Following the legal battles involving RealDVD and Kaleidescape, Envive has re-launched its media servers to avoid the legal fray. During CEDIA Expo 2009 the maker of TheaterStation media servers launched its Multi-Zone Digital Media Management System and TSClient Mini. Envive CEO Chris Bortner — even though “I’m not a lawyer” — says he dashed many legal concerns from CE pros during CEDIA Expo by explaining the differences between TheaterStation and Kaleidescape. “The difference between us and Kaleidescape is that our system is open,” Bortner says, referring to the fact that… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 09/24 12:47 PM, 10 Comments

If you have Verizon FiOS and Windows 7, you can stream HBO, Starz and Showtime throughout the home network and even over the Internet (after installing the 1.19 firmware update for ATI Digital Cable Tuners). That comes courtesy of Microsoft's new support of Copy Freely (CF) a designation assigned by content providers. Before WMC's support of Copy Freely, you could only stream CableCard content to Media Center Extenders, not to other PCs. With Media Center, everything looked like it was copy protected, so you couldn't even stream local news from… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 09/23 07:08 AM, 6 Comments

Our Windows Media Center maven Derek R. Flickinger just upgraded his ATI Digital Cable Tuners to the new 1.19 firmware. "It looks like all of the FiOS channels are showing as unprotected (Copy Freely)," he says. "This could be awesome!" Microsoft announced during CEDIA Expo 2009 that Windows 7 Media Centers would support Copy Freely (CF), one of the designations applied to TV programs by their providers. (The other tags are Copy Once and Copy Never.) In the past, Media Center did not recognize the CF tags, so no CableCard… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 09/09 04:44 PM, 5 Comments

Microsoft is making several announcements at CEDIA Expo, but this one's the biggie: Users will be able to add digital cable tuners (DCT) to off-the-shelf Windows 7 PCs. In the past, OEM PC makers had to jump through hoops to be certified for CableCard. "Customers [consumers] should be able to do this on their own," says Ben Reed, senior product market manager, Windows Media Center. Not all Win 7 PCs will necessarily qualify for this feature, but it's darn better than the Vista alternative. Reed explains: A new tool will… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 09/01 12:16 PM, 7 Comments

Escient has discontinued its line of Vision media servers, but not for digital rights management (DRM) issues, as some have speculated. "DRM wasn't our concern," says Bob Weissburg, president of D&M Holdings NA, which owns the Escient brand. Other DVD servers from Kaleidescape and RealDVD are facing legal battles against the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA). No, the reason for dropping Vision is much more mundane: "With the engineering power we have, we wanted to focus on high definition," Weissburg says. The Escient Vision line comprised media servers/players, external… View this story