Does DVR or Tivo make you a thief? Media Freedom, Regulation and Ethics

Running Head : DVR and Media Freedom

DVR and Media Freedom

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the institution]

DVR and Media Freedom

of the Project

Latest innovation in the broadcast industry , the Digital Video Rec has raised some serious concerns due to some of its features . On of them is the ability of sharing the media content by the viewer . In this case industry giants have shown their concern over the violation of copyright . This is the same question raised in the . Does DVR or TiVo make us thief

p Purpose of the Study

The latest generation of DVRs comes with the ability to hook up to your home network , as well as to the Internet , via a home broadband connection (One can add Ethernet or wireless connectivity by buying an adapter that connects to the DVR 's USB port ) That networking ability means that the latest DVRs can share programs with other DVRs in house or even in some cases with other DVR users elsewhere on the Internet DVR manufacturers are also adding photo-sharing and MP3-playback features to their products , conveniently giving the access to media s stored on personal computer while sitting in front of TV or home theater system . Through this study , it will be shown that the technology brought in the industry in not intentionally for illegal purpose and that the `misuse ' of the technology can be stopped (Consoli , 2005

Rationale of the Study

The innovation of extensive digital broadcasting and the enhanced consumption of digital video recs (DVR ) will widen the accessibility of digital versions of these works . DVRs allow the digital recording of programs and often have computerized program schedules which facilitate the customer to record programs effortlessly . The threats arising from DVRs have been highlighted by the actions of SONICblue , a DVR manufacturer , which facilitate the sharing ' of programs over the internet between owners of its ReplayTV DVRs (Stross 2002 ) By contrast , the other leading manufacturer of DVRs , TiVo , has a method that encrypts the programs throughout the procedure , so even access to the hard drive of TiVo boxes will not authorize the copies to be viewed on another TiVo device

Some Issues Concerning the Subject

Though the technology was introduced in 1998 , Hollywood didn 't really need to worry about the digital video rec (DVR )--until recently The number of users has remained relatively small in the initial stages but it crossed the million thresholds very soon . And the gushing testimony of users like actor Mike Myers "TiVo is my god ) supports analysts who predict that nearly half of American households will own DVRs by the end of the decade . With DVRs threatening to destroy the 30-second ad and open up TV broadcasts to Napster-like sharing , a phalanx of established media companies are out to co-opt , dilute or even kill the technology 's promise of transferring control of TV to consumers (Bryant Bryant , 2001

For those still clueless about the latest paradigm-busting technology to come from Silicon Valley , DVRs are...