US editors: Look at what is going on in congress (IMPORTANT)

[mikestrife]

hmm, yeah good points.

Hopefully this crazy law won't pass, but like someone said earlier they've passed stupider.

[Pwolf]

Something else I'd like to bring up:

This affects what the PC fundamentally is. It will no longer be open for you to tinker with, because that introduces the possibility of contaminating the pure, locked-up system. Think about what that entails.

this only effects analog to digital conversions right? most of us do digital to digital anyway... doesn't hurt us that much

This means:

(1) your monitor and video card will have to be certified, as well as all related software components
(2) your speakers, headphones, and sound card will have to be certified, as well as all related software components
(3) any recording devices you may use will have to be certified, as well as all related software components

It hurts you A LOT. All AMV tools fall into one of those categories.

ok, thanks for clearing that up... but does this mean i have to buy new hardware in a year?

Pwolf

[risk one]

Something else I'd like to bring up:

This affects what the PC fundamentally is. It will no longer be open for you to tinker with, because that introduces the possibility of contaminating the pure, locked-up system. Think about what that entails.

this only effects analog to digital conversions right? most of us do digital to digital anyway... doesn't hurt us that much

This means:

(1) your monitor and video card will have to be certified, as well as all related software components
(2) your speakers, headphones, and sound card will have to be certified, as well as all related software components
(3) any recording devices you may use will have to be certified, as well as all related software components

It hurts you A LOT. All AMV tools fall into one of those categories.

ok, thanks for clearing that up... but does this mean i have to buy new hardware in a year?

Pwolf

I'd say it means you have to do as long as you can with your current hardware, to avoid this stuff (especially if you consider how this overlaps with 'trusted' computing).

[Pwolf]

so in otherwords... i should upgrade my computer if this bill is passed and hope it lasts a long time...


Pwolf

[rubyeye]

It would be wise to keep an eye on this, and, when the time comes, write your representatives asking them to oppose this ill-concieved roadblock to future innovation and creativity.

And say what, exactly? "Please don't pass this bill because it will prevent me from ripping DVDs, editing my own videos, and practicing being an editor, which in turn will prevent me from ever making a kick ass demo reel to break into the video editing/movie making business?"

Really, what would I say to convince my "representative?"

[celibi87]

And say what, exactly? "Please don't pass this bill because it will prevent me from ripping DVDs, editing my own videos, and practicing being an editor, which in turn will prevent me from ever making a kick ass demo reel to break into the video editing/movie making business?"

Really, what would I say to convince my "representative?"

sounds good to me

[SQ]

Do you think, if this bill is passed, it may also effect the new format DVDs(whichever format they chose to go with? BluRay or ... HD)?

I'm a dumbass, I've read this whole thread and I'm really not understanding.

Analog -> Computer is like tapes to computer, but then you guys said it would affect more.. X|

[Coderjo]

By the way, the EFF article I linked to has a link to the draft, but if anyone needs that link, it is here. This is still a draft, not an actual bill. But discussion begins tomorrow.

[staces]

Bear in mind trythil's weapons analogy. It'll probably be illegal under this law to import devices that circumvent it, just like the 1986 machine gun ban also covers arms built in other countries since '86.

And unlike the case with "pre-ban" weapons, the analog->digital gear we have right now may be invalidated by changes to the capturable formats to come later. Sure, there will always be a torturous process to get through the analog hole, but as the level of difficulty increases, doing so will be possible only for commercial pirates, rather than people who don't have the prospect of criminal resale as an incentive.

--K

How the heck are they supposed to know know what sort of imports you get off of ebay? Rather than buy new software, (in the event that this bill were to go through) why don't we all just buy import anime?

[Kai Stromler]

How the heck are they supposed to know know what sort of imports you get off of ebay?

For the record, before I state anything more about the various fields of illegal or dubiously-legal stuff that I know about, all of this information was gathered while researching for entirely legitimate purposes, like academic papers and writing fiction for publication. I don't organize black-market import/export or build illegal weapons in real life.

eBay is somewhat below the radar, but online auctioneers have been previously ordered by courts in various countries to block listings of items that are illegal to sell or possess in that country. The index case involved Yahoo!, France, and Nazi memorabilia; if this bill passed, there would probably soon be an injunction on similar lines to prevent people on US IPs from looking at circumvention hardware. (If I screwed up the facts of this instance, please correct me, and the thread.)

You could, of course, just buy from a distributor in another country that, by being small, tries to stay under the radar. The disadvantage is that you still have to go through customs, and they do occasionally open packages. When they find contraband, they destroy it. On about every rightist music distributor/label's site, you'll see warnings that while they do ship to Europe and take best precautions to conceal the contents, they are not responsible for any merchandise seized or destroyed.

Does it seem nuts that someday importing a capture card will be as risky as sending a skinhead CD to Germany? Sure does, but if the industry is serious about closing the analog hole, it may well be the case within 5 years of this retarded bill passing.

--K