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A bug in the latest version of TiVo's operating system has some users concerned that the service's content protection mechanisms--supposedly intended solely for pay-per-view and video-on-demand content--may someday be applied to broadcast television programming.

According to PVRBlog, a blog about TiVo and other digital video recorder companies and technology, some TiVo customers recently found that a recorded episode of "The Simpsons" had been red-flagged for content protection.

"When I selected the episode, I got a message to the effect that 'the copyright holder prohibited saving the episode past date mm/dd,'" the note on PVRblog from TiVo user Michael McKay said.

The content protection McKay reported, a part of TiVo operating system version 7.2, comes from Macrovision and is intended to give content providers a way to ensure users do not maintain total control over programming. Generally, the technology can put limits on how long content can be saved, as well as whether it can be copied or otherwise manipulated.

But Jim Denney, TiVo director of product marketing, told CNET News.com that the content protection experienced by McKay was a bug, and that in its current iteration, the Macrovision technology is intended only for pay-per-view, video-on-demand, DVD or VHS sources.
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Read More / Source: ZDNet