TV broadcast monitoring in Canada must be Doom-like resolution (320x240) x 15f/s(cb-cda.gc.ca)
cb-cda.gc.ca
TV broadcast monitoring in Canada must be Doom-like resolution (320x240) x 15f/s
http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/tariffs-tarifs/certified-homologues/2010/20100213.pdf
5 comments
Great comments.
I've used an American service (http://www.shadowtv.com/) that was a way better version of what this sounds like. It wasn't perfect but you didn't have to contact a big pile of TV stations and have them send you DVDs in the mail (unless I don't understand how you're saying it works).
I've used an American service (http://www.shadowtv.com/) that was a way better version of what this sounds like. It wasn't perfect but you didn't have to contact a big pile of TV stations and have them send you DVDs in the mail (unless I don't understand how you're saying it works).
The perils of writing your laws to current day technology:
s. 8(2)(b): "excerpts shall have a resolution no greater than 320 pixels by 240 pixels and a frame rate no greater than 15 frames per second;"
s. 8(2)(b): "excerpts shall have a resolution no greater than 320 pixels by 240 pixels and a frame rate no greater than 15 frames per second;"
This document isn't actually a legislation. It is a regulation made under the authority of the Copyright Act, and as the preamble states, it is "for the years 2009 and 2010".
The actual legislation does not make any reference to "pixels" or "frame" or "resolution" at all. If anything, this legislation an example of how write laws so they don't rely on current day technology.
The actual legislation does not make any reference to "pixels" or "frame" or "resolution" at all. If anything, this legislation an example of how write laws so they don't rely on current day technology.
Good point.
I don't think they were legislating to a temporary technological point. I think the point was to ensure signal degradation in the database of clips so you have to go to the actual rights holder if you want a usable clip. It's a copyright protection.
Oh I think you're right but what was maybe half quality a few years ago is now a small fraction of HD signal quality.
Perhaps x% of median quality of Canadian broadcast channel signal quality would be more appropriate? I'm not sure but fixing at 320x240 seems like probably not the best approach.
Perhaps x% of median quality of Canadian broadcast channel signal quality would be more appropriate? I'm not sure but fixing at 320x240 seems like probably not the best approach.
I don't think it matters that the median broadcast quality is getting better. 320x240 @ 15 fps was deemed high enough quality for the kind of reference/archive work that media monitors are doing. It's big enough that you can see what's going on and small enough to discourage watching these copies for entertainment. That number doesn't really need to change unless our eyes are collectively getting worse.
Can somebody explain and give context? Reading laws is not my forté.
Sure!
There's a type of service called media monitoring. It's where companies... monitor the media. Clients often want media clips from the TV shows they were featured in. So you need a database of TV clips.
There's a government body in Canada that handles a bunch of aspects of Canada's copyright system. They set tariffs and rules for doing various things. They've set the tariffs for media monitoring and also set the rules that you have to follow in order to run a media monitoring service. One of them is that you can't have a database that has video with a resolution greater than 320x240 and it also can't have a frame rate greater than 15 frames per second.
Obviously this isn't legal advice... There appear to be a lot of rules to follow. This looks to be one of them. Consult a lawyer to find out how complicated this really is...
There's a type of service called media monitoring. It's where companies... monitor the media. Clients often want media clips from the TV shows they were featured in. So you need a database of TV clips.
There's a government body in Canada that handles a bunch of aspects of Canada's copyright system. They set tariffs and rules for doing various things. They've set the tariffs for media monitoring and also set the rules that you have to follow in order to run a media monitoring service. One of them is that you can't have a database that has video with a resolution greater than 320x240 and it also can't have a frame rate greater than 15 frames per second.
Obviously this isn't legal advice... There appear to be a lot of rules to follow. This looks to be one of them. Consult a lawyer to find out how complicated this really is...
The copyright board needs to go.
The guidelines say that "a monitor may send to a customer who requires immediate access a video ... as an email attachment with a resolution no greater than 320 pixels by 240 pixels", and then has a similar restriction when it comes to "video excerpts of CBRA programs in a password-secured database" (which, incidentally, must be removed from that database ten days after the show was broadcast). There's no restriction on the resolution of the products that the monitoring companies sell (s.6); only on how recently the clip's been aired - these companies have to get rid of their clips a month after they're broadcast.
Most media monitoring contracts are based around keywords and/or concepts - your contract could cover, for example, all clips on CBCNN/SunTV/CTVNN that deal with the regulation of biofuels. You'd then get a daily/weekly list of monitoring notes (a small description of what's in each clip), and from that, you could order the clips you're interested in at full resolution. If you want to do anything with these clips - like turn them into promos or send to your clients - you could then go to the rights-holders and see if they'd license them to you.
The clips that the headline refers to are effectively high-end versions of these monitoring notes. They're designed so that the analyst can get the gist of what's been said in the clip/see the visuals, and from that, they can make a decision about if they want to order the full-resolution product. Think of them like video thumbnails for full monitoring products.
The point of all these regulations is to very clearly restrict the business models of media monitoring companies. It gives them license to legally store, transmit, and distribute copyrighted content without dealing with individual broadcasters - but only enough so that customers can identify what they're interested in, and then contact the rights-holders directly for access to that content.