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roscowgo wrote:Wasn't there a big hooplah about recordable cassetes when they came out?

There most certainly was. Congress tried to pass a blank media tax around 1983 which was buried inside the whole PMRC (parents music resource center) boondoggle. The PMRC hearings attracted numerous musicians in protest. Most notably, Frank Zappa, Dee Snyder, and John* Denver. This is and was the most interesting broadcast C-SPAN ever had.

I'm not sure if that legislation [for the blank media tax] passed at that time or not. I do know the "audio home recording act" did pass in 1992. Thus, taxing blank media and the devices that can play them. IF you care for more details on this see;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Home_Recording_Act

Note this only applies to the United States.

Canadiens currently pay a blank media tax on CD-R's. The United States hasn't gone that far yet.

*edited name

zarakand wrote:Wait till we start going to HD broadcasting singals for everything in the next five years. One of the hidden aspects of it is that they can preven people from recording on to VHS or DVD from television, thereby forcing you to subscribe to their monthly DVR service. Hmm, what ever happened to the electronic freedoms we took for granted?

Its gets far more insidious than that. The media companies have been trying to pass legislation for the "broadcast flag" for a while now. At first the FCC declared it to be required on all new playback devices. The US courts struck that down saying the FCC doesn't have the authority to make sweeping mandates like that.

Now they have gone to their paid and owned congress critters trying to get it passed as riders on other bills. So far, they have not been successful. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) has been on top of it. Sending out alerts to their members whenever it pops up.

As I understand it the "broadcast flag" is embedded in media [possibly limited to TV] and the playback devices are looking for this flag. If the flag is not present the media won't play. Also, the flag can identify where the broadcast came from. This can be used in numerous nefarious ways against the consumer. For instance, I record a TV show on Fox 5 New York. I send it to a friend in Miami but wait his playback devices are not authorized to play content from Fox 5 New York.

What happens if I buy devices in New York then later move to Florida ?
Do I have to buy new devices ? Do I have to get authorization from some central authority ? Do I have to pay for that ?

No matter how they get there the ulitmate goal of media companies is they want us to pay for everything everytime we see it. If the RIAA could tax us for singing a song in our head they would. If the MPAA could tax us for quoting lines from movies they would.

If this ultimate goal comes to be I will give up on all media and go back to reading books. Unless they figure out a way to control that too.

MrGompers wrote:If this ultimate goal comes to be I will give up on all media and go back to reading books. Unless they figure out a way to control that too.

Don't you know soon everytime anyone sees a book, they'll call the firemen...

zarakand wrote:

MrGompers wrote:If this ultimate goal comes to be I will give up on all media and go back to reading books. Unless they figure out a way to control that too.

Don't you know soon everytime anyone sees a book, they'll call the firemen...

LOL I just hope my wife isn't the one who turns me in.

Absolutely Gompers...couldnt agree with you more.

On the music topic...

http://www.oddtodd.com/message541.html

NorthernPete wrote:On the music topic...

http://www.oddtodd.com/message541.html

LoL we do get carried off-topic on a regular basis don't we?

Once or twice.....Ive been known to swerve a thread into oncoming traffic on occation myself....