“The Consumer is God” –
How Japanese Consumers are Impacting the Digital Transition
Hisa Naito, Contributing Analyst
September 22, 2009
Despite its status as a global leader in technology adoption, Japan remains in the midst of its digital TV transition. The Japanese Government, along with the DPA (The Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting), have set the official transition date for July 24, 2011. As was the case in the U.S., however, Japan has encountered a number of difficulties. Then again, many of these challenges are uniquely Japanese.
Take, for example, the plight of Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a Japanese pop singer and actor who is also spokesperson for the digital transition campaign. Several months ago, Mr. Kusanagi was arrested for public drunkenness and running around naked in a central Tokyo park.1 Since he is such a high-profile figure in Japan, this was a huge embarrassment for the Japanese Government and the DPA. His “punishment”? Doing pro bono promotional TV spots in support of the digital transition. In the U.S., Tsuyoshi would be doing anti-drinking commercials, not promoting digital TV, but in Japan…well, it’s a very different world!
On a more sober note, one of the key insights gained during the digital transition has been the power of the Japanese consumer. In addition to the PR issues, there have been problems related to consumer loss of media freedom; their “fair use” of copyright material. In the analog days, Japanese CE manufacturers could build devices capable of moving content more freely. For example, Panasonic’s DIGA DVR had the ability to move content to many different devices, including a MicroSD memory card, so that the consumer could watch recorded content directly on their mobile phone.
When the first generation of digital terrestrial DVRs appeared, there was much anticipation from consumers due to their desire to watch full high-definition video on all of their devices (again, a benefit at that time uniquely delivered by new DVRs). Unfortunately, consumers quickly realized that “going digital” meant more restrictive control on content and less freedom as to where and how content could be viewed. The first generation of terrestrial digital DVRs implemented DRM protection known as Copy Once which was embedded in all terrestrial digital and satellite broadcasts. Copy Once allowed consumers to make one copy of the content onto another DVR, flash memory device, or DVD. For many consumers, this was unacceptable because, once the copy was made, the original was deleted from the DVR, which meant that other members of the family could no longer access and enjoy the content. In reality, Copy Once was not at all about creating a copy but about moving one’s copy to another device.
It became apparent to both the DPA and CE companies that a new DRM system was needed, one that would give consumers more freedom with their recorded content while also satisfying the needs of the broadcasters and content holders. The answer arrived in the form of Dubbing 10 DRM, which was launched on July 4, 2008.
Dubbing 10 allows consumers to make nine copies of DVR-stored content to DVR or external mediums such as Flash Memory or DVD. After that, the content can only be moved between devices and mediums, which, as with Copy Once, means the original copy is automatically deleted from the DVR. By implementing Dubbing 10, the DPA and CE companies have returned to consumers much of the freedom they had lost in transition from analog to digital while retaining a reasonable degree of control over the content.
Although Dubbing 10 expands consumer usage rights, it falls short on a number of other consumer issues. For example, one of the biggest problems is the desire of many consumers to place shift content. With OneSeg TV mobile phones being so popular in Japan and many DVR manufacturers allowing DVR remote scheduling capabilities from the phone, many consumers have started asking about the potential to stream and view content remotely. Currently, Dubbing 10 does not allow streaming or transcoding of the video content, making it difficult to place shift video. Since Dubbing 10 permits the exporting of analog video to other place-shifting devices such as Sony’s LocationFree TV, which can be hooked up directly to the DVR. However, Japanese consumers are looking for an all-in-one integrated solution.
Dubbing 10 also does not tackle the issue of PC-based tuner cards. Although a consumer can make nine copies using a DVD/CD burner on the PC, they must use the specialized software provided by the tuner manufacturer in order to do so. In many cases, this software is not intuitive, causing many consumers to exhaust their copy allotment by accident. Consequently, consumers have asked manufacturers to improve the relevant software. The DPA has been hesitant to comply because PCs have been the source of rampant TV content piracy in Japan.
While these issues remain a problem for many consumers, I believe a new DRM system is on the horizon. As the evolution of DRM and the introduction of Dubbing 10 illustrates, the Japanese consumer exerts an amazing level of control over the evolution of media usage standards. Remember, Dubbing 10 was created in direct response to consumer criticism over DRM methods used by the industry. In a country that firmly believes “The Customer is God,”2 the Japanese consumer will have the final say on what will (and will not) be adopted in the future.
1“Japanese Pop Star Arrested for Alleged Indecency,” The Associated Press, April 3, 2009.
2"Okyakusama wa kamisama desu" - an old Japanese saying.
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