Microsoft denies Windows Media blocks digital broadcasts

Microsoft says that there isn't anything in Windows Vista Media Center that would have stopped users from recording two NBC Universal shows earlier this month.

Microsoft said in an e-mail to CNET News.com on Wednesday that Media Center honors flags sent to protect against the recording of pay-per-view channels or video on demand (VOD). The company said that it doesn't prevent the recording of over-the-air digital or QAM digital broadcasts.

"Windows Media Center currently supports and adheres to CGMS-A," a Microsoft spokeswoman said in the e-mail. "Content distributors use CGMS-A in very limited circumstances, such as to protect programs intended for video on demand. Please note that Windows Media Center does not support Broadcast Flag, sometimes referred to as Digital Broadcast Television Redistribution Control, on ATSC and clear QAM."

A controversy began on May 12, when people who attempted to use Windows Vista Media Center to record digital broadcasts of NBC Universal shows American Gladiators and Medium received a message saying the copyright holder had blocked recording of the shows.

This isn't supposed to happen. Television viewers have the right to record shows (that aren't pay per view or video on demand) for personal use. NBC Universal later acknowledged that it accidentally flagged the shows, but what irked some Vista users is that the block couldn't have been carried out unless Windows adhered to the flag.

NBC Universal also said Wednesday that it had discovered that the flag it sent out was CGMS-A.

"It was a CGMS-A flag, not a broadcast flag, that was inadvertently set on those programs," wrote an NBC spokeswoman. "We're not aware of any other issues since then, and the flags were simply mistakes, not a change in policy here."

So where does this leave us? Right back to where we started, with a major media company and the world's premiere software maker denying blame. On the bright side, if you can call it that, the situation has illuminated just how much control over home recording broadcasters have as the country moves from analogue to digital broadcasting.

"This shows the dangers of having these technologies baked into your devices," said someone who deals with such issues and who asked for anonymity due to potential dealings with the companies involved.

Microsoft's response comes a week after saying it had built technology into Vista that adhered to "flags used by broadcasters" that allowed them to "determine how their content is distributed and consumed."

This set off warning bells to some because it looked like Microsoft was obeying an FCC proposal that would have required software and hardware makers honor restrictions on recording digital broadcasts--or flags--issued by TV networks. The courts threw out the FCC's plan in 2005 so Microsoft wasn't required to adhere to such restrictions.

More than a week later, Microsoft says what it meant was that Vista Media Centers adheres to flags for analog broadcasts. CGMS-A is copy protection for analog TV signals and they aren't supposed to be able to block digital signals. But If nothing in Windows Media Centers was designed to block digital broadcasts and NBC Universal never sent a flag to block digital recording, then how were the shows blocked?

Is there a glitch that Microsoft doesn't know about that can be triggered by a CGMS-A flag that prevents the recording of digital broadcasts? Why has Microsoft chosen to adhere to CGMS-A flags?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation isn't waiting for NBC Universal or Microsoft to hand over information. The group that advocates for Internet users has has begun looking for the causes of the block and has asked for help from Vista users to shed light on what's happening.

EFF staffer Danny O'Brien wrote on the group's blog:"We're looking to obtain raw data dumps of the ATSC stream next time your copy of Vista chokes on an over-the-air digital TV feed."

[Imalittleteapot]

So, this is the analog version of a broadcast flag. You can Google CGMS-A. It does almost the same thing except for analog signals. So, let me sum this up for everyone real quick. Microsoft just told us that Media Center doesn't support the broadcast flag. Instead Media Center supports something else that does the exact same thing as the broadcast flag. Thanks MS for clearing that up.

[Lerianis]

Well, this thing is something that they ARE FCC required to support, so I can give Microsoft a break on this. However, I cannot give NBC a break on this, because as far as I know..... they run NO video-on-demand or pay-per-view channels that they would have even had the capability to activate this flag with.

[Imalittleteapot]

Alright, maybe MS deserves a break, but I just don't like the idea of tech that purposely limits itself even when it is perfectly capable of doing something. It's frustrating because it is not the way to go. Pirates will hack it nave all the content they want, but the average user who does things legally is punished by kirks in their equipment and software. Plus the frustration of not understanding what's going on or why something isn't working.

[Imalittleteapot]

Qwerks I meant, or however it is spelled. Very late night :).

[Imalittleteapot]

So, this is the analog version of a broadcast flag. You can Google CGMS-A. It does almost the same thing except for analog signals. So, let me sum this up for everyone real quick. Microsoft just told us that Media Center doesn't support the broadcast flag. Instead Media Center supports something else that does the exact same thing as the broadcast flag. Thanks MS for clearing that up.

[aka_tripleB]

Is it possible that Microsoft is telling the truth, and that broadcasters were testing if they could use CGMS-A on ATSC and QAM broadcasts? And for the record, I have been prevented from recording a rerun of "Maximum Exposure" on WCIU, a Chicago OTA broadcaster.

[Lerianis]

That is extremely possible, if not probable. The television companies were probably trying to do this test on a show that they thought most people would not watch, but they found out differently: that many people who watch American Gladiators are also the same people who are likely to be 'techies'.

[effingdanny]

AKA -- was that an ATSC broadcast? If so, could you get in touch with me at EFF ([e-mail]). As the article says, we're looking to collect data on this problem. Thanks!

[guilhermepfgsantos]

NBC states that they issued a CGMS-A flag, which is - as Microsoft said in its statement - supported by Media Center to block the recording of pay-per-view and video-on-demand. Where's the big deal? NBC made a mistake, and that's it o_O

[Stormspace]

The problem here is that the "Broadcast flag" is the name of something that was shot down, however an approximation of it's effects is being implemented using different names. So MS can say it doesn't support the BF while still adhering to technology that does the same thing.

[bobby_brady]

This is one reason why I have no plans to downgrade from XP MCE to Vista. Too much DRM is infested in Vista. All I want to do is record TV to watch at a later time, just like I could if I had a Tivo.

[Dalkorian]

This is getting funny, both NBC and M$ are whining that neither of them are at fault here when the FACT is they BOTH are. NBC "accidentally" tested whether or not the flag works and whether or not people would scream and M$ honored the flag even though they have no legal obligation to do so. Winblows users learned another painful lesson - fista has "stolen" your computer and handed control of it to the Bill. It does not matter if you like it or not, that's why they call it RAPE.

[pvrguy]

Call it CGMS-A or call it Broadcast Flag - It's the same thing. DRM is annoying and its actually going to harm the content providers themselves. no one else.

I don't think MS is to blame. They want their technology to penetrate the main stream however the restrictions imposed by the content providers (i,e, the studios) is forcing MS to comply with their obnoxious requirements.
Without the studios blessing, Media Center - as cool as it is - would not be attractive as it would lack the content.

Unfortunately for MS, this is a double-edge sword. As long as Media Center constraint the user from legally distribute their content among their devices, Media Center would not get the popularity it deseves.

It's time for the studios to let their old traditional business models rest in peace and look for a more creative ways to generate revenus without all these unnecessarry DRM restrictions. One way may be to lower the price to the level that higher precentage of the population would rather pay than download.

The music industry was the first to get hit but they still charge $15 for a CD. I have no doubt that if a music CD was priced at $5, less people would be interested in "stealing".

[benjaminstraight]

Then why has it happened?