The federal government may be shut down and more than 1,000 FCC staffers remain on unpaid leave, but that hasn’t deterred individuals from submitting comments on GN 16-142 — authorizing the permissive use of the “Next Generation” broadcast TV standard known as ATSC 3.0 — on the Commission’s ECFS.
Even on Friday, filings tied to the future of broadcast TV in the U.S. were being filed, with Geoffrey Gould and David R. Sutter becoming the latest individuals to chime in on the proposal.
What’s the gist behind the filings? “Please stop allowing DRM on ATSC 3.0,” writes Gould. “DRM incompatibilities and operating behaviors of the A3SA have prevented me from purchasing and using innovative devices like HDHomeRun, which would have allowed a single high-quality antenna to serve my entire household.”
Gould adds that it “would be impractical, expensive, or impossible” for him to attach a high-quality antenna to every device on which he wants to consume over-the-air television — like the basement TV, or my portable tablet while sitting outdoors — as required presently by A3SA DRM policies.
“I am most concerned that DRM could prevent me from receiving emergency weather updates from OTA television unless I have a working internet connection, which will not be working during the severe weather conditions,” Gould concluded.
For Sutter, similar sentiments were shared in the ECFS filing made on October 10. “The local TV stations are supposed to free for over the air viewing as they always have been,” Sutter writes. “With the move to ATSC 3.0 and DRM I will no longer be able to watch my local channels on my HDHomerun devices which have worked flawlessly for years. DRM is the problem! The HDHomerun devices are secure way to watch TV in my own home! When the locals started broadcasting ATSC 3.0 the picture and sound were an obvious upgrade! Then came the DRM, so now I won’t be able to watch my local channels when the switch over takes place. These are public airwaves! Please take this into account!”
A total of 11 commenters have submitted their thoughts to the FCC since October 7 on DRM issues. Lon Seidman believes it is good to see the FCC “focusing on the consumer experience and looking into the DRM issues more closely.” And, his filing focuses on one immediate idea he’d like the Commissioners to consider at the planned October Open Meeting, pending the reopening of the federal government.
“If the simulcast requirement is removed and stations are free to transition ahead of formal cutover date, those ATSC 3.0 broadcasts should be required to be in the clear without DRM,” Seidman says. “This will accelerate the production of lower cost ATSC 3.0 receivers that will not have to go through the opaque, private A3SA regulatory process and speed the adoption of the standard. I believe such a measure will demonstrate to this Commission that DRM has been the adoption roadblock and why DRM should not be a part of the standard moving forward.”
