Is Crestron going to get the FTC smackdown?

This ad may very well get Crestron in some trouble, according to some sources. The issue is that they clearly indicate that analog will go away at the end of this year, which is simply not true. Anyone familiar with the analog sunset provisions for Bluray players knows that it will downrez next year, then actually be gone in 2014, but this also ignores analog on everything else in the world, which has no end dates, and is not subject to any analog sunset.

Richard Gunther writes:

It’s baffling to me that Crestron would resort to such deceptive advertising practices. I understand that times are tough, but is misleading customers really the solution? These ads likely violate the Federal Trade Commission’s truth-in-advertising rules...

This will be entertaining. Get some popcorn and keep an eye on FTC activity over early next year.

UPDATE: Seems like there are already eyes on Crestron for anti-competitive moves.

Savant alleges that Crestron has "repeatedly published knowingly false statements about Savant and its products, all with the intent to unfairly compete with Savant."
"We believe that Crestron's conduct has grown progressively worse," says Robert Madonna, Savant's CEO.

FTC's New Technologist

Now that the FTC annoucement is out, I can talk about this openly. I am honestly surpised that this was able to happen for Ed. He's worked hard for many years fighting for our digital rights.
The word is that there is going to be some big changes on how the US treats DRM. The FTC and the FCC are no longer friends to big Hollywood and their constant campaign against the piracy boogeyman.
So expect to see this shortly:

Preservation of analog video interfaces - Not only component video, but standard def video as well will be mandatory for anything that wants to be labeled as 'HDTV'. The FCC has already have stated that analog interfaces are here to stay on cable and sat boxes, but with FTC coordination they can extend that to all consumer devices including Blu-Ray Disc. The Chinese manufacturers are forcing this because the current contracts and liscening is anti-consumer and a burden to all, so we may even see encryption free HDMI.

DMCA overhaul - This may take longer, but the Whitehouse administration, the FCC, and certainly now the FTC, all feel that the DMCA shall not restrict non-infringing uses of technology. Previously the FTC has not really  got involved in technology issues like this, but with Ed Felten as Chief Technologist, they will be deep in it soon.

There is a lot more that I can't discuss, but I will update as I am allowed to say more.

FTC's first Chief Technologist: DRM basher Ed Felten

Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten today was tapped for a one-year stint at the FTC in a decision so shockingly sane that it's still a bit hard to believe. Felten has a terrific reputation as both a researcher and advocate, someone with deep technical knowledge, a pro-consumer/pro-openness/pro-tinkering bias, and an aversion to posturing and zealotry.

Congratulations to Ed!

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