SiliconDust is urging commercial television broadcasters with NextGen TV signals to disable their encryption during a one-week period when federal emergency officials are prepared to conduct a test of the national emergency warning system.
In a letter submitted to the Federal Communications Commission and obtained by The Desk, executives at SiliconDust said they were concerned that the use of digital rights management (DRM) encryption technology on NextGen TV signals will prevent viewers from receiving Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages during a national test scheduled for November 17.
The letter was the latest in a series of communications by SiliconDust raising concerns over the use of encrypted signals by NextGen TV broadcasters. The company develops a NextGen TV-compatible tuner under its HDHomeRun brand, but the tuner doesn’t work with encrypted signals because the groups that certify hardware to receive those signals have not approved the devices.
SiliconDust President Nicholas Kelsey reached out to some broadcasters earlier this month, urging them to drop encryption from their signals so all American households with NextGen TV tuners can receive EAS test messages next month, according to the company’s President Nicholas Kelsey.
Kelsey reached out to commercial broadcasters earlier this month with his request, according to the letter sent to the FCC. Those broadcasters include TEGNA, who recently began encrypting their network-affiliated NextGen TV signals.
“The emails asked stations to disable DRM encryption for the EAS test, requested confirmation whether they would do so, and offered assistance with confirming reception,” Kelsey wrote.
SiliconDust requested the broadcasters disable their encryption on November 10 and leave it off for a period of one week, to ensure viewers who have NextGen TV equipment can receive emergency messages during the test, the letter said. It wasn’t clear if any of the broadcasters notified agreed to drop their use of encryption during the test.
Kelsey said the letters were being submitted to the FCC as proof of the organizations’ attempt to reach out to broadcasters on the matter. SiliconDust intends to observer encrypted and unencrypted NextGen TV signals during the national test in November, then report back their findings to the FCC, according to one letter.
Broadcasters have defended their use of encryption technology, saying stakeholders — including professional sports leagues — have increasingly demanded that rights holders look for ways to protect their intellectual property from unauthorized distribution.
Encryption allows broadcasters to disable tuners and set-top boxes that are linked to piracy operations, including illegal online streaming, by revoking encryption certificates over the air and through the Internet, the broadcasters say.
But critics say piracy concerns are overblown, and that encryption actually allows broadcasters to control their signals while making favorable arrangements with certain hardware makers over others. SiliconDust is part of the group that helps further certification standards for ATSC 3.0, the underlying technology that is used for NextGen TV in the United States, but its HDHomeRun lacks the ability to decode encrypted channels because the group that issues certification has refused to approve their hardware.
