FCC Electronic Filing System
Proceeding: 08-82
Dear Chairman Genachowski,
I am writing to ask that you deny the MPAA’s request for a waiver that would allow Hollywood studios to engage consumer home theater equipment in “selectable output control” or “SOC.”
If the waiver was to be granted, you would be giving the studios the power to control the video outputs on the electronic devices in my home theater. In other words, Hollywood would be given the right to dictate what I can watch *in my own home* and how I watch it. Clearly, I should be the only person or entity making those decisions.
The MPAA claims that they need SOC to deliver on-demand content earlier than they already do. This claim, as I understand it, does not make sense. On-demand video works just fine through the cable TV infrastructure in use today. To release content earlier, all they would have to do is push that content out earlier. Simple as that. This waiver obviously has nothing to do with studios’ ability to release content earlier; it’s a ploy to gain obtrusive access into living rooms across the country and to set a precedent.
This precendent would limit technological innovation and homogenize the options available in the marketplace. Currently, innovation within the consumer electronics industry is truly driven by customer demand. Could beneficial technologies that use traditional, open outputs (such as TiVo and Slingbox) be able to emerge in a industry where SOC is a standard? Highly unlikely. As we continue to march into the future, I have become accustomed to gaining more freedom over how I manipulate the media I consume. This waiver, if granted, would no doubt be a large step towards stripping me and other consumers of these freedoms.
Finally, the implementation of SOC would also raise financial concerns for us all. Would consumers be forced to purchase and install brand new, expensive equipment in order to access content? Indeed. This is ridiculous, considering how well my current equipment works and the current economic climate.
The government should be looking out for me, not bending to pressure from Hollywood executives. The government should also be encouraging innovation and technological progression, not stifling it. I encourage you to keep consumers in mind and outright reject the MPAA’s request to have a permanent waiver from your previous SOC ban.
Thank you for your consideration.
Jonathan Nagle
South Hadley, Massachusetts
(To learn more, watch this or read this. To file your own complaint with the FCC, go here.)
