The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled on Friday that the Federal Communications Commission did not have the authority to prohibit the manufacture of computer and video hardware without the so-called “broadcast flag.” The intended of the FCC regulation was to limit unauthorized redistribution of TV broadcasts via the Internet.
I was very pleased to read this news as my frustration has been growing with DirecTV and Tivo. My intent is not to distribute the TV broadcasts that I record but to share them with the different machines on my network. This gives me the flexibility of the Home Media Option that DirecTV and Tivo will not give me.
There are a growing number of people who are choosing to build their own PVR devices because companies are choosing not to listen to their customers. This ruling is another helping hand to the PVR hobbyists out there. I am looking forward to finishing my media server with PVR capabilities.