Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (0)

When Congress outlaws ADCs, only outlaws will have ADCs
December 22, 2005

In the latest bit of government inanity, the US Congress is considering a measure that would outlaw the manufacture or sale of electronic devices that convert analog video signals into digital video signals, including PC-based tuners and digital video recorders.

The goal seems to be to plug the analog hole, which allows a pirate to take a copy-protected digital source, suffer the analog hit once, and redigitize without copy protection. The effect, though, could be to make illegal a host of legitimate machine-vision systems.

Ready to give up your analog frame grabbers?

I've argued before that US legislators have a sorry record dealing with technology. If you're a US citizen, it's not too early to urge your representative to kill the Digital Transition Content Security Act.

Posted by Rick Nelson on December 22, 2005 | Comments (0)