FCC Shouldn't Grant Waiver of Home Networking Output Rules for TiVo Set-Tops, Says DLNA

The FCC shouldn't grant a waiver of home networking output rules for cable operators that use TiVo set-top boxes, said standards body Digital Living Network Alliance (http://bit.ly/1wtQzt9) in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 97-80. TiVo had asked for the waiver in a petition (http://bit.ly/1vJGlFR), saying DLNA had taken too long to create a standard for home networking interfaces. TiVo’s equipment doesn’t conform to the goals or requirements of the rules and shouldn't receive a waiver, DLNA said. TiVo disagreed, saying that the commission should grant the waiver. “Consumers who lease TiVo products from their cable operators already enjoy the benefits of home networking that the rule seeks to enable,” TiVo said. “Under these circumstances, strict compliance with the rule would serve no public interest benefit.” Rather than granting the waiver, the FCC should rule that the home networking requirement was invalidated by the EchoStar decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, NCTA said. “The market has been providing far more investment, innovation and consumer choice in technological approaches to sharing programming than a government technology mandate can.” If a waiver is granted, it should be industrywide rather than specific to TiVo, NCTA said.