US: Stop Congress from making iPod or VCRs illegal

[Fyron]

Gandalf Parker said:
You pay for television service? Television is free. Like radio.
Gandalf Parker

Broadcast television of a handful of syndicated network channels, yes. There are a lot of stations for which you have to pay for cable, satellite, etc. acces to see... such as Comedy Central and Sci Fi channel.

[Raging Deadstar]

In the Uk we actually have "Television Liscenses" which is basically paying for even 'terestial' television. Then we pay extra for "satelite" television.

[dogscoff]

In the Uk we actually have "Television Liscenses" which is basically paying for even 'terestial' television. Then we pay extra for "satelite" television

I consider this a good thing. This means that the BBC is not influenced by advertisers or by governmental sponsors (in theory, anyway.) We get the best of both worlds- we get the bbc, which has a world-class reputation for producing some of the best tv in the world, and we also get channels funded by advertising, and then we can also opt-in to subscription channels if we wqant/ have the technology. With set-top digital boxes at fifty quid a go, there's not much excuse not to have the technology. And the license fee is ~10 pounds a month, (approx $15-$20US) which is a round of drinks.

[Alneyan]

Dogscoff, do I read you right? Did you mean that the BBC is ad-free because of this tax? Or am I just daydreaming?

We have one similar tax in France, but "public" channels still have to rely on ads to fund their programmes. Granted, the channels that do get the government funding may have slightly fewer ads than the others, but I would say the difference isn't too important.

[Randallw]

When I went to work in England a few years ago I bought a portable television. I thought the authorities would never find out but twice I received letters warning me about watching TV without a licence. As a paranoid, dictator I find it fascinating that a democratic country has vans driving the streets detecting illegal tv watching (and I still can't figure out how they can detect you "receiving" transmissions), similar to the Gestapo in Occupied Europe detecting resistance radio.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

The US congress wants to make Ipods and VCRs sick!

[Kamog]

They can detect you receiving TV transmissions because a TV receiver contains a local oscillator that is used to downconvert the television signal from high frequency to low frequency. You know, when they broadcast the signal, they use a carrier that is much higher frequency than the original video signal, and when you receive the signal, you have to convert the frequency down again to be able to watch it. The oscillator in the TV receiver leaks out a signal that can be picked up by antennas on those vans driving by.

[magnate]

Alneyan - yes, the BBC is completely free of commercial ads (it does show some ads for its own shows and products). It's great - it means those "one hour" american shows only take 45 minutes to watch!

Seriously though, this anti-piracy garbage makes me puke. Give us reasonable prices and we won't "steal" IP. Screw us for US$30 for a music CD and $60 for a PC game and we start to think about it.

CC

[Instar]

Supreme court will strike the law down, given the precedent set by the "Betamax" decision. Then again, this is a conservative court, being the Rehnquist court.

[Mephisto]

Alneyan said:
We have one similar tax in France, but "public" channels still have to rely on ads to fund their programmes. Granted, the channels that do get the government funding may have slightly fewer ads than the others, but I would say the difference isn't too important.

In Germany the public stations which are funded are ad-free after 8 PM.