The “Break it Down” Blog

In an effort to make sure that consumers don’t enjoy their content too much, the MPAA is trying to push the adoption of Selectable Output Control (SOC), which would allow the MPAA to remotely decide when a movie could or couldn’t be recorded by our DVR. The point of contention came when the FCC stepped in and said “No, consumers expect their hardware to perform a certain way, we can’t cripple that”.

Naturally the MPAA has decided to fight this to their dying breath. The MPAA states that if consumer viewing environments were completely locked down and secured (via secure HDMI connections from the set top boxes to the TV) and SOC would implemented, then the MPAA would go ahead with much faster release cycles for new movies; making the time between a movie being in the theater to it being available on TV in-home much shorter.

The FCC has stated that before any decisions are made, they want our feedback on the subject. For more information about the SOC and contacting the FCC, please see:

• The MPAA’s Petition for Expedited Special Relief to the FCC
• File a comment with the FCC on this issue here. The docket number for field #1 (”proceeding”) is 08-82.

Thanks Ars!