Paul Gluckman

Thomson has reviewed the CGMS-A/VEIL proposal incorporated into draft legislation to close the analog hole (CED Nov 3 p4), “and we believe this solution to be a viable option,” a senior company executive told House Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chmn. Smith (R- Tex.) in a letter dated Nov. 2, according to a copy furnished by Thomson to Consumer Electronics Daily. A day later, MPAA Chmn. Dan Glickman, testifying before Smith’s subcommittee in an oversight hearing on digital content protections, defended CGMS-A/VEIL as a technology endorsed by IBM and Thomson (CED Nov 4 6).

Legislative drafts on broadcast flags for audio and video and filling the analog hole were debated at an oversight hearing Thurs. of the House Intellectual Property Subcommittee. Chmn. Smith (R- Tex.) said in his opening statement that the subcommittee’s aim was to learn effects that the measures might have on consumers and the content industry if enacted, and whether there was room for “common ground” among the sharpest opponents in the debate. At the hearing’s end, Smith said he was surprised at the level of disagreement among subcommittee members, let alone the witnesses.

CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro decreed a “big victory” when the FCC voted Thurs. to speed its final DTV tuner deadline 4 months to March 1, 2007. The Commission also expanded the rule to sets smaller than 13”. Shapiro said those commodity-priced TVs will become “an endangered species” because adding a costly DTV tuner will price them out of the market.

“VEIL” (for “Video-Encoded Invisible Light") technology figures prominently in a discussion draft of Hollywood-backed legislation for plugging the analog hole, according to a copy of the draft we obtained. The draft, for a measure that would be called the Analog Content Protection Act of 2005, is one of 3 prospective bills -- along with broadcast flags for video and audio -- scheduled to be discussed today (Thurs.) at a House Intellectual Property Subcommittee hearing, where leaders of the content and CE industries are to testify, along with key consumer groups.

A nervous CE industry awaits the outcome Thurs. when the FCC decides whether to advance the deadline by which all TV sets 13” and larger must contain a DTV tuner. If the FCC does speed the deadline by 6 months to Dec. 31, 2006 (CD June 10 p2), CE makers would have only 13 months to comply.

The FCC’s plan to accelerate the DTV tuner mandate deadline is scheduled to be taken up at the Commission’s next open agenda meeting, Thurs. The Commission has proposed that the deadline be moved to Dec. 31, 2006, from July 1, 2007, when all sets 13” and larger must have DTV tuners built in. CE has said March 2007 is the earliest date manufacturers can meet, while broadcast interests have urged the Commission to adopt deadlines as early as Nov. 2006, so analog-only sets no longer could be sold for Christmas next year. Broadcast and CE interests lobbied hard at the FCC in the days immediately preceding publication of the agenda item. Regardless of how the Commission rules on that deadline, several CE makers urged the FCC not to change the July 2007 date when so-called “peripheral TV equipment” -- such as VCRs and DVD recorders -- must also have DTV tuners built in. Maintaining the July 2007 date on peripheral devices “is appropriate in light of technological limitations,” CE makers told the FCC in a position statement. The state of technology for DVD recorders and DVD/VCR combos “has not yet advanced” to HDTV program recording “because of uncertainty surrounding a high-definition disc format,” the statement said. “Such uncertainty is expected to persist for a year or more.” CE also said House DTV legislation doesn’t mention peripheral equipment when it calls for sets larger than 13” to have DTV tuners by March 1, 2007 -- the date preferred by the CE industry. Meanwhile, CEA Vp-Technology Policy Michael Petricone declined comment on plans by Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) to include an import ban on analog sets as a component in a forthcoming DTV policy bill. Supporters of such a ban say it would reduce the need for large expenditures on DTV converter box subsidies. Sen. Ensign (R.-Nev.) cited such a proposed ban among reasons he soon would introduce an amendment reducing the $3 billion allocated by the Commerce Committee for converter box subsidies (CD Oct 27 p1).

“Significant progress” is being made “assembling the key elements” needed for an XM commercial launch in Canada, CEO Hugh Panero told analysts in the company’s 3rd-quarter conference call Thurs. XM Canada has begun hiring senior management and is mapping plans for studios in Montreal and Toronto and a nationwide terrestrial repeater network, Panero said. XM Canada also is working on “key distribution arrangements” with prominent retail partners in Canada, including Best Buy’s Future Shop and the Source by Circuit City, the former Intertan chain. Panero gave no timetable for a Canadian launch.

The House Commerce Committee voted 33-17 for a DTV bill that allocates $990 million for DTV converter boxes during a contentious day-long markup session Wed. The bill faced dozens of amendments from Democrats, who wanted to boost the funding level for converter boxes, among other changes.

To the certain delight of consumer advocates like Public Knowledge and Consumers Union, CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro wrote the Senate Commerce Committee leadership urging that any DTV legislation omit broadcast flag amendments promoted by the content industry. That includes the so-called catch-all policy bill due to be considered as early as this week.

Cable and CE negotiators have met more than 40 times the past several years -- most recently Oct. 6 -- to hash out an agreement on bidirectional plug & play devices and, while much progress has been made, much remains to be done. So concluded a joint CEA-NCTA report filed at the FCC Fri. -- the first in a series to be required by the Commission every 60 days on the status of negotiations toward an accord on “interactive Digital Cable Ready” devices ("iDCRs").