FCC gives content industry more control over your TV

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

You may not have noticed it, but a division of the Federal Communications Commission made a decision earlier this month that could have a big impact on your TV viewing.

On the positive side, many pay-TV customers may soon be able to watch recently released movies from the comfort of their couch long before they are available on DVD.

But many other consumers, especially those with older TVs, won't be able to watch those films at all. For the first time, the FCC will allow cable and satellite TV operators to switch off outputs on set-top boxes, making them unable to transmit video signals over older, generally analog ports.

This limitation will affect more than just owners of older TVs. By shutting off those ports, pay-TV operators will make it impossible for consumers to record the first-run films on external media recorders to watch them later on other gadgets, or to use devices such as a Sling Box to watch them in places other than where their pay-TV set-top box resides.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/twitter/ci_15120168