CI Plus users on the Cablecom network are to be permitted to record digital TV programmes after the Liberty Global-owned cabler said the current copy protection measures would be removed.
Cablecom introduced CI Plus, branded in Switzerland as the DigiCard, in May 2010, offering subscribers an easy entry to digital TV through an IDTV as an alternative to the set-top box.
From tomorrow (September 1) a software update will switch the static copy protection, required for technical reasons at the time of the product’s launch, to a new dynamic system. The update will be made automatically to all DigiCards in ise.
Broadcasters will be able to decide individually on which channels should be blocked against recording. Currently none of the broadcasters in Switzerland have taken measures to protect the programmes from digital distribution.
Switzerland’s famously liberal interpretation of copyright law will provide some interesting decisions for the BBC and ITV, whose domestic channels are carried without the broadcaster’s permission, though in accordance with local legislation.
The DigiCard is priced at a one-off fee of CHF 99. The basic package features 55 TV and 70 radio channels.
