Well, the MPAA is taking another crack at the issue, asking the FCC to grant it a permanent waiver from the SOC ban, to allow it to apply SOC to recently released movies that are being distributed to homes via video on demand. The MPAA's goal here seems clear: Increase its members' control over how you choose to watch their material. As the opposition we joined puts it, "Granting the waiver would put MPAA member companies on the path to controlling what types of connections will be used by all U.S. consumers, and to profiting from that control." The opposition offers this example of what this could mean:
A model of how this would work can already be seen. Sony Pictures recently announced it will be offering its new movie, Hancock, to some Sony television owners equipped with Sony’s Internet media connection before release on DVD and other home media. However, the movie will only be available to those who own the Sony box, and will only flow over Sony’s proprietary video connection to a Sony TV. This model could easily be extended to MVPDs by leveraging SOC controls - if the Commission grants this waiver.
Right now, your consumer electronics are designed by the consumer electronics industry, which reacts to consumer market demand in choosing how to innovate. That consumer-focused approach makes sense. But if the MPAA has its way, however, we'll be well on the way to a world in which every new feature to every home theater product has to be pre-approved by the content industry.
