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A broadcast flag is a bit field sent in the data stream of a digital television program that indicates whether or not the data stream can be recorded, or if there are any restrictions on recorded content. Possible restrictions include the inability to save an unencrypted digital program to a hard disk or other non-volatile storage, inability to make secondary copies of recorded content (in ...

The broadcast flag is technology that controls the use of Digital Television (DTV) signals. There are two components to the technology: the flag itself, which is machine readable data (called the "redistribution control descriptor") inserted into DTV broadcasts, like a label, without affecting picture or sound quality; and the reader of the ...

The Broadcast Flag was an FCC Rule adopted in late 2003 to restrict "indiscriminate Internet redistribution" of television programs by limiting the capabilities of digital television tuners. While it would not have stopped television piracy, the Rule would have sharply limited independent and open-source development of home media technology ...