The Motion Picture Association of America has recently asked the FCC for the right to selectively control HDTV outputs in order to let them offer movies on television before they hit retail shelves on DVD and Blu-ray. In what it calls “an effort to curb piracy”, the MPAA is attempting to ensure that pre-retail movies are only able to be watched only through digital video outputs.
While disabling certain outputs would certainly help stop movies from being stolen, it would also mean that any television or set top box hooked up with component, or composite cables would be effectively useless. According to consumer rights advocacy group, Public Knowledge, a transition of this nature would effectively break eleven million television sets. A video released on the subject states “In essence, all the MPAA wants is to control when and how you watch the stuff you've already paid for.”
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