The FCC is now taking public comments on a petition
from TiVo seeking a waiver from regulations regarding
video set-top box devices. At issue are regulations requiring analog tuners or consumer
information about analog tuners. As the FCC's notice states: "TiVo claims that these requirements as applied to its
set-top boxes hinder innovation, increase costs to customers and serve as an
unnecessary barrier to the market for all-digital video recording
devices."
TiVo's claims are difficult to dispute in
this digital era. Analog is increasingly outdated. The DTV transition for
full-power TV broadcast stations was completed on June 12, 2009. And cable
video service providers are increasingly transitioning to all-digital services,
including the use of capacity-conserving switched digital video technologies.
If past waiver proceedings are any indication,
however, proponents of expansive new regulatory controls over the designs of
video devices make some kind of appearance in public comments. This is something I discussed in my Perspectives
from FSF Scholars paper, "AllVid Regulation Risks Harm
to Next-Generation Video Innovation." In that paper, I summarized the case
against comprehensive new regulations of video devices that were being called
for through comments made in earlier cable set-top box regulation waiver
proceedings.
Hopefully,
the FCC addresses TiVo's waiver in an expeditious manner.
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