TV Taping -- to become extinct?

Studios nearing anti-copying tech for TV

Included are excerpts relevant to people who videotape broadcast and cable TV only
The entire article can be found here

..As broadcast TV turns digital this year, studios are looking for ways to control how shows are recorded and traded, and they are proposing technologies that could ultimately bar consumers from freely recording TV programs from the airwaves..
..Studios are worried that broadcast TV signals, which are not scrambled the same way that cable or satellite feeds are, could become a source of piracy as people copy and swap TV shows and broadcast movies...
...The newest plan, which has not been streamlined into actual selection of technology, revolves around inserting an invisible, inaudible "flag" into a digital broadcast. Information contained inside this marker would indicate whether the broadcast could be copied, stored or shared.
For this to work, the watermark would have to be read by devices receiving a TV signal, which could range from TV sets to DVD players, TiVo-style digital video recorders, or even PC cards that let shows be recorded onto a hard drive. [They didn't include VCR's but they should have]
...While the current proposal is limited, watermarking technology ultimately could wind up barring consumers from copying their favorite shows or movies off the air, as they are routinely able to do with VCRs or digital video recorders such as TiVo. Proponents of the plan note that the technology wouldn't necessarily bar copying but would allow content owners such as studios to create new business models such as charging for the right to copy or share with friends.
[A] 1980s Supreme Court decision that originally gave the green light to VCRs, saying that people could legally tape TV shows.
That doesn't necessarily mean broadcast companies have to provide shows in a format that can be taped and distributed online, however. 
...with a federal deadline bearing down in early May that could require most stations to begin broadcasting digital signals, the anti-piracy group has little time to settle technology disputes...
See more articles related to this topic at The Big Picture

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