IF intermediate frequency ISO International Organization for Standardization IP intellectual property IP internet protocol IT information technology LAN local-area network LMI license management incorporated MEI Matsushita Electrical Industrial Corporation MPAA motion picture association of America MPEG motion picture experts group NAB national association of broadcasters NCTA national cable and telecommunications association NTSC national television standards committee OOB out of band OTA over the air PAL phase alternating line PC personal computer PC printed circuit PCI peripheral component interconnect PCM pulse code modulation PCMCIA personal computer memory card international association PMT program map table POD point of deployment PSIP program and system information protocol PVR personal video recorder QAM quadrature amplitude modulation RC redistribution control [descriptor] RD redistribution descriptor RF radiofrequency SCMS serial copy management system SCR software-controlled radio SD standard definition SDR software-defined radio SI system information SPDIF Sony/philips digital interface SSSCA security systems standards and certification act STB set-top box TPM technological protection measure TS transport stream TSP transport stream processor, transport stream processing TV television VCR videocassette recorder VHDL vhsic hardware description language VOD video on demand What is Table A? Many of the practical consequences of the BPDG proposal for consumers (and for competition in the marketplace) lie in a yet-to-be-written appendix to the specification. This appendix, called Table A, enumerates the kinds of digital outputs which are allowed on devices which can receive digital television signals. The idea is that a device which receives a TV program with the broadcast flag set is not allowed to output the content of that program in digital form, except via a technology specifically mentioned on Table A. This raises three questions: first, why should this be so? (What's wrong with letting device manufacturers choose for themselves what kinds of outputs their devices will have? If consumers want a particular kind of output, why shouldn't they have it? Why should legislation determine the capabilities of future digital televisions?) Second, what technologies will be permitted? Third, how is that decision going to be made? The first question goes to the heart of the BPDG proposal and is addressed elsewhere (at least, by skeptics of BPDG; there has not been much in the way of a public defense of this mandate, which is being represented as a fait accompli in most circles). The second and third questions are empirical matters. An earlier draft of the BPDG Compliance and Robustness Rules divided Table