nbc

Users of Windows Vista Media Centers who were blocked from recording two NBC shows last week are eager to learn why Microsoft is taking marching orders from broadcasters.

Microsoft is soon expected to explain why it inserted technology into its Vista operating system that blocked digital-TV viewers from recording their favorite shows. Their current excuse--that Microsoft adheres to regulations proposed by the Federal Communications Commission--makes little sense, as the only rules on controlling recording from broadcast TV were struck down by the courts in 2005.

The controversy began last week, when some Vista Media Center users trying to record from … Read more

Three of the largest broadcast TV networks have sent a cease-and-desist letter to RedLasso , a little-known but rapidly growing video syndication site.

Fox News Network, NBC Universal, and CBS sent a letter on Monday, accusing the company of "building a business based on the unauthorized syndication of" the content owners' news, sports, and entertainment shows.

RedLasso records TV shows and then indexes clips so users can find, pull, and embed them on other Web sites. Reporter Liz Gannes over at Newteevee.com saw this one coming. Two weeks ago, Gannes noted that RedLasso had grown from 2 million … Read more

A week after some users of Vista Media Centers were prevented from recording two NBC Universal shows, the network acknowledged Monday that it inadvertently blocked some people from recording the shows.

The owners of Windows Vista Media Centers were prevented from recording American Gladiators and Medium last Monday. At the message board The Green Button, Vista users gathered to complain about receiving a prompt that informed them that the broadcaster had "prohibited recording of this program."

"We made an inadvertent mistake," an NBC spokeswoman said in an interview with CNET News.com. "We're not … Read more

Microsoft has acknowledged that Windows Media Centers will block users from recording TV shows at the request of a broadcaster.

"Microsoft included technologies in Windows based on rules set forth by the (Federal Communications Commission)," a Microsoft spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail to CNET News.com. "As part of these regulations, Windows Media Center fully adheres to the flags used by broadcasters and content owners to determine how their content is distributed and consumed."

The software company was responding to questions about why some users of Windows Vista Media Center were prevented from recording NBC Universal … Read more

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has begun investigating why Microsoft Vista Media Centers were blocked from recording two NBC Universal shows Monday night.

The group, which advocates for Internet users, said indications are that NBC sent a "broadcast flag" that triggered the block. But Danny O'Brien, EFF's international outreach coordinator, said the block couldn't have occurred unless hardware and software makers honored the network's request to prevent users from recording the shows. It appears Microsoft may have obeyed NBC Universal's broadcast flag.

NBC Universal and Microsoft said they need time to look into the … Read more

Last week NBC quietly released a learning tool called iCue in conjunction with MIT. (See coverage on CNET TV's Loaded.) It's been designed as a "learning environment" using a large collection of news clips taken from NBC's video archives to enable anyone to catch up on news coverage and current events. This archived footage is put into context, as long as viewers are willing to acknowledge that the content is coming only from one source (NBC), and for now only with the focus on the U.S. presidential elections.

To get going, users can simply … Read more

Update at 7:10 a.m. Wed., May 14: A correction was made to this story. See details below.

Some users of Windows Vista Media Center say they were blocked from recording the NBC Universal TV shows American Gladiator and Medium on Monday night.

"Restrictions set by the broadcaster and/or originator prohibit recording of this program," the error message read.

At Thegreenbutton.com a message board popular with DVR enthusiasts, those affected tried to figure out what was causing the block. When this kind of thing happens, people immediately question whether TV and cable networks are trying … Read more

Several HBO shows debuted today on the iTunes Store, but the big news was that two of them--Rome and The Sopranos--will retail for $2.99 an episode. To date, Apple had insisted on flat pricing of $1.99 per episode of any TV show added to its download roster. Indeed, the company's refusal to allow variable pricing was said to be the primary factor in NBC pulling its vast library of shows from the digital retailer in 2007.

Blogger Dave Zatz points out two big stumbling blocks to the larger issue of TV shows on iTunes:

Apple may be getting ready to announce a content deal that would put old episodes of The Sopranos on iTunes.

Citing HBO insiders, Portfolio reported on Monday that Apple and HBO are getting ready to announce a partnership deal within the next two weeks (coinciding with the release of the Sex in the City movie?) that would supposedly involve Apple breaking its pledge to have the same pricing structure for all content sold on iTunes.

The report doesn't specify exactly how much Apple would charge for old episodes of HBO shows, but it notes that HBO insiders think that … Read more