Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where can I find a copy of the bill?
A: Here.

Q: How will this affect my television set?
A: The short answer is it won’t. Unless the TV set contains an integrated recording device such as a DVDR or PVR, the set will not have any requirement to process the CGMS-A + VRAM signals.

Q: Won’t this make DVD recorders and other recording devices more expensive?
A: No. Initial estimates by video processing silicon providers and prominent consumer electronics and IT companies show that the VRAM decoding algorithm can be implemented for a negligible cost.

Q: Will this keep me from recording content I am used to recording?
A: No. The vast majority of consumers won’t even realize that the technology is in place. Currently, many DVD players and recorders already support CGMS-A. These DVD recorders and PVRs will currently indicate some DVD and cable content is copy-protected using CGMS-A and regulate the recording thereof. The VRAM is simply used to ensure that the copy protection information stays associated with the content and is not inadvertently or maliciously removed.

Q: What is CGMS-A
A: CGMS-A (Copy Generation Management System Analog) is a copy protection mechanism for analog television signals. CGMS-A has been in existence since 1995, and has been standardized by various organizations including the IEA and IEA/CEA. It is used in devices such as PVRs/DVRs, DVD players and recorders, as well certain television broadcasts. More recent TIVO firmwares comply with CGMS-A signals.

• CGMS-A is signalled by 2 bits in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) signal of analog television broadcasts.  The signal itself can be easily stripped by normalizing the VBI, eg. using some of the video stabilizers in use to counter the side effects of Macrovision butchering of the VBI. The scheme can be made more robust by adding the Rights Assertion Mark(RAM); when the RAM is present but CGMS-A is not, the copying is denied, turning the scheme into a permission-based one. The RAM can be encoded by using the VEIL technology.

Q: What about recording or dubbing home movies?
A: You will still be able to record your personal content in any way you wish! The burden of applying copy protection lies with the content owner. Since you did not encode the VRAM into the little league baseball video you made with your camcorder and edited on your computer, there will be no copy protection information associated with that content. CGMS-A + VRAM enabled recording devices will freely allow full copying of all such content. All legacy content such as VHS tapes and home movies will be presented to the recording device as “Copy Freely,” unless somehow regulated by other means of analog copy protection. Many studies have been conducted to verify that non-marked video is never falsely indicated as copy protected content.