September 17, 2009

Call for Freeview HD to be encrypted

It hasn't launched yet, but there are calls for EPG encryption on the forthcoming Freeview HD set top boxes when they finally arrive. According to a report in The Guardian:
The BBC wrote to Ofcom asking it to consider whether the digital television HD signal could be encrypted via a so-called "broadcast flag" so that only selected PVRs will be able to record over Freeview.
The actual audio and video won't be scrambled, but the standard EPG data tables that set top boxes use would be encrypted so that only manufacturers that sign up to a new licence will have access to the right code, which is needed for recording.

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