Microsoft’s CE Installer blog posted today about the Broadcast Flag issue that I previously talked about proclaiming that “Windows Media Center does not enable or utilize the Broadcast Flag.”  They clearly want to make sure that the CE installers and integrators using Media Center know this isn’t an issue, or is it….

Just hours later the CE Installer blog posted a link to part one of the Media Center University that Microsoft and Life|ware did a few months ago at EHX.  In the presentation (A must watch for technical types, CE installers, etc), Mike Seamons (ex-Life|ware, current Microsoft) went over content protection types associated with Media Center.  When he got to ATSC he had this to say about the Broadcast Flag; "It [ATSC] has a Broadcast Flag...so the broadcasters can put a flag with that MPEG-2 stream that makes it so that signal is actually protected when it gets to your Media Center...and Media Center obeys the flag.”

Mike is a very knowledgeable person on Media Center and clearly understood the difference between CGMS-A (covered just before) and the Broadcast Flag so something still isn’t right (Mike also seemed to think he has had Broadcast Flag issues in Media Center before).   Todd Rutherford, a Program Manager at Microsoft was sitting in the front row, so I assume something this big would of warranted a correction.

Bottom line, I don’t trust Microsoft to tell me if Media Center “truly” supports or respects the Broadcast Flag, but they do need to ensure the same story is getting out via high level people like Mike.  I might believe that the issue last month was a complete and total fluke, but consistent information on any DRM related subject is required for the Media Center platform to succeed in any market.