Boxee clashes with cable companies over encryption

Boxee’s live TV dongle has only been available for a few weeks, but the company is already embroiled in a fight with cable giants like Comcast and Time Warner Cable over it, and it is now getting support from groups like Public Knowledge and the Consumer Electronics Association.

At the core of the issue is whether cable companies should be allowed to encrypt their basic cable programming, something that existing regulation doesn’t allow. Unencrypted signals can be used by tuners built into most modern TV sets as well as equipment like Boxee’s live TV tuner to access these basic cable channels straight from the coax cable that comes out of your wall, without the need for any set-top box. Cable companies have asked the Federal Communications Commission for waivers to these restrictions, arguing that encrypted channels would reduce piracy and that encrypted cable connections can be remotely serviced, eliminating the need for many service visits. The FCC is currently hearing all sides of the issue as it contemplates whether to do away with the restrictions and allow all cable companies to encrypt basic cable.