To be prompted to collect the NHK that is trying to make the TV a built -in ACAS chip?NHK reception fee "Collection Dunning Tip" will be on all TVs!?

The "New CAS Council" centered on NHK is trying to make all receivers incorporate ACAS chips, but this is a big problem for users (photo: YNS / PIXTA).

[Postscript at 13:00 on March 5, 2018] The article subtitle at the first time of this article was "It is unreasonable to put ACAS chips on all receivers", but it is a receiver that does not support 4K / 8K.To clarify that the ACAS chip is not used, it has been modified to "unreasonably to put ACAS chips on all compatible machines."

In 2018, the "4K/8K practical broadcasting" is waiting on December 1 as a major event for both broadcasts and video equipment.However, there are some problems that have not been solved even now, less than a year before the start of practical broadcasting.

This is because the issue of the "CAS (conditional access system)", which was reported in July last year, "CAS" in "4k/8K,", has not been solved.

CAS is a mechanism that controls the availability of broadcasting according to the contract status, and is used in identification of paid broadcasting contractors.The message display for NHK's receiving fee is also realized using this mechanism.The B-CAS card currently used has an encryption function that protects the content, but the B-CAS card has already been broken, so a new mechanism in 4K/8K.The "New CAS Council", which was organized by a paid broadcasting company, has developed an ACAS chip as the next generation of CAS.

The problem is that this ACAS chip is "built -in" to all recipers.This is because the effectiveness of the built -in ACAS chip is only in the collection of NHK reception fees.In addition, there is no "TV with a built -in CAS function" anywhere in the world, no matter where you look for it.

In order to promote the collection fee collection, it is not possible to justify the functions of consumer cost and disadvantage as a "essential requirement".Let's explain step by step.

The story that always appears in the “CAS discussion” is that it is necessary to have a new encryption mechanism from the viewpoint of copyright protection in order to procure 4K/8K content at an appropriate price.It is.Regarding the encryption specification of the ACAS chip, it is true that the information and communication council, which also participates in television manufacturers, has been decided.

However, it is not necessary to integrate the "encryption mechanism" and "conditional access".In other words, even if there is no ACAS chip (or card), encryption can be performed.

For example, if you look at countries other than Japan, free broadcasting is usually not encrypted (the same is true for the BBC Broadcasting Association, which is often compared with NHK).The only encryption is South Korea's 4K broadcasting, but South Korea's 4K broadcasting does not use CAS, only a simple encryption (scramble).If it is only scrambled, it can be incorporated by the security function and software built into the TV SOC (System on a chip), so there is no need for a CAS mechanism.

In other words, the only reason that CAS is needed is to "check the status of the contract."There is no discussion that content protection and conditional access, as if they were integrated and inseparable, are not being conducted outside of Japan as long as I know.

Of course, it is essential for paid broadcasting.However, the number of members with the most members has only 2858,023 (as of the end of December 2017).There is no economic rationality to incorporate CAS in all receivers.This is because only the contractor should distribute a device to determine the contract information.

Only NHK, which has more than 43 million in -contracted households and more than 21 million (as of the end of November 2017), for the fact that CAS is built into a built -in TV tuner.。

Although it is written as a contract household, households holding television need a contract with NHK.Households paying the actual receiving fee are expected to be around 77 % of them.This figure is lower than that of the UK's "TV License" system (93-94 % in FY2016).As for NHK, we would like to increase the collection rate by displaying payment messages using CAS.

It is likely that the cause is that CAS is necessary to seek "a fair burden on public broadcasting", but in fact, it is small enough to be overlooked that it is not a burden. is not a problem.

What kind of disadvantages will be brought to consumers when the "chip built -in"?

If the built -in ACAS chip is required, the ACAS chip will be directly installed on the main board of all TVs and tuner built -in devices.The cost is a source that can be paid by the beneficiary, which is a beneficiary, but in the current proposal, it is necessary to purchase the necessary chips from the semiconductor trading company designated by the new CAS Council and implement it by the manufacturer.

This is not necessary for users who do not require CAS (no additional chips are required for content protection).

So, should I just pay the CAS chips and the costs to be mounted on by the paid broadcasting company?

In fact, this is also wrong.This is because there is a quality assurance of the ACAS chip and the time of failure.If the ACAS chip breaks down or a quality problem is issued, of course, the broadcast cannot be received.However, there is no easy way to distinguish which part is broken in the broken TV and tuner devices.

In the case of a card format, the problem can be separated by replacing the card, but if it is equipped with a chip, you have to replace it with the substrate.In that case, it is generally repaired.Since the ACAS -equipped tuner is also used for watching the current terrestrial digital broadcasting and BS digital broadcasting, not only 4K/8K but also all digital broadcasting can not be received during the repair period.

If it is within the repair warranty period, the manufacturer will be repaired free of charge because the problem cannot be separated, but if the warranty period has passed, the consumer will be borne.Of course, I don't know if it is caused by the ACAS chip, but there will be cases where consumers have to pay for high -priced repairs such as substrate replacement.

Forcing a built -in ACAS chip means that CAS is integrated into a system and cannot be separated.It is not possible to estimate how much the burden will be, and it will be a problem that you will be paid a message display cost for NHK reception fee collection without noticing.

Even if you point out these facts, NHK may be able to shake the cause of "fair burden".However, it may be incorrect to be able to collect the reception fee unless the message is displayed in such an exaggerated system.

For example, the British TV LiCence mentioned above is not collected as taxes, but the BBC carries it to the national treasury, and the license fee gathered is distributed.

There is no mechanism such as CAS in the tuner.In the case of illegal discoveries, the BBC has brought 93-94 % of payments without equipment support, although the high fines of £ 1000 to 2000 pounds are collected.In addition, the cost of collecting license is only 6 % of the total.

The collection method is really simple, only managing a database with a licenser for each address, and conducting a visiting survey and regular letter to households in unbelieved addresses.This is because it is managed by households instead of equipment, but of course NHK is the same point for each household.

By paying this license fee, British viewers can receive up to 15 equipment for each household, and stream and download from the Internet through the iPlayer app as well as broadcasting.Like NHK in Japan, there is no discussion such as a separate reception fee from households watching on Internet streaming in the future.

There may be claims that "there are other countries that have introduced CAS for public broadcasting?"With that in mind, is there a country with built-in TV or CAS of CAS like the current B-CAS?I asked a television manufacturer, but the TV that incorporates such a mechanism is not sold outside of Japan.

This is because paid broadcasting operators (although repeated) distribute mechanisms (devices) equivalent to CAS under the burden on the business operator.In other words, there is no reason to be built into the TV itself.

In such a situation, how are the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which are the position to promote next -generation digital broadcasting, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications at NHK?In fact, on December 5, last year, the General Affairs Committee asked, "Is it necessary to have a place to hear the opinions of stakeholders in the ACAS chip built -in?"

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications answered that "the information and communications council has set a technical standard for ACAS chips in an open procedure, from the viewpoint of improving the strength of the cipher."However, as readers who have read so far, encryption and conditional access are another dimension.

It is also necessary to keep in mind that the manufacturer also participated in the information and communications council about the ACAS mechanism, and that it is not an arrangement that requires built -in (not a card, etc.).。

Furthermore, the representative director of the new CAS Council, the Secretary -General, and the chairman of the Steering Committee are solidified by NHK executives and staff.It is thought that this violates the provisions (depending on the interpretation) of the provisions stipulated in Article 20 of the Broadcasting Law and should not interfere with the business of reception equipment and parts.

Since the Supreme Court decision at the end of last year, discussions on NHK's reception fees have been active.Is it really necessary to incorporate an ACAS chip for just a message display that promotes the collection of NHK reception fees?Technical specifications related to the broadcast cannot be easily changed.You should remove the deadline of December 1st from your head and reconsider.