‘A visit to the OMB website does not give a clear picture of what the agency is still about.’
EXCEPT for the fact that the 19th Congress adjourned last Friday, we otherwise supported Senate Bill No. 1904 calling for the abolition of the Optical Media Board and we look forward to its refiling.
Introduced two years ago by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, this bill could have resulted in a leaner government, reduced spending and alignment with technological realities. Unfortunately, it was untouched from the day it was referred to the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media.
Estrada’s main reason for the bill is that the OMB, originally the Video Regulatory Board, is “regulating an obsolete industry.” Not the film industry, which is struggling but not dead, but that which involves devices in which “information, including sounds and/or images, or software code, has been stored, either by mastering and/or replication, which may be accessed and read using a lens scanning mechanism employing a high intensity light source such as a laser or any such other means as may be developed in the future.”
We knew these optical media as audio CDs, VCDs, DVDs, LaserDiscs, and Blu-ray discs. We more or less get an idea of their obsolescence by how much we still rely on them, especially for movies.
The OMB also regulates a somewhat older technology, the magnetic media, which we called cassettes, U-matic, Beta and VHS tape, floppy diskettes, Jaz and Zip drives. More recent are USB flash drives and external hard drives which are still in use but hardly do computer users depend on them anymore.
Film piracy, while still lucrative, is no longer as appealing especially to customers. Illegal streaming happens mostly from torrent sites. Torrent sites actually allow faster downloading compared with traditional protocols like HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) and FTP (file transfer protocol). Instead of a file originating from just one source, the BitTorrent protocol links multiple “peers” who help make for efficient file distribution.
Torrent sites themselves are not illegal but downloading copyrighted material from them is.
Those who have tried torrents may liken the experience to swimming in a murky pond with your mouth wide open. With your free movie come all sorts of malware and viruses, at the same time exposing your computer’s IP address to all peers.
I also believe that most people are not inherently criminal. They will not break the law if a legal option is readily and reasonably available. Movies are no exception. Subscriptions to legit streaming services that offer up-to-date titles at affordable fees have seriously deterred piracy.
A greater appreciation for intellectual-property rights and the fear of criminal penalties for violations help.
People no longer flock to Quiapo’s so-called gray market, or other locations that once served as a haven for those looking for a quick, cheap DVD fix, even if the picture was somewhat grainy, the audio tinny, and there was an occasional image of a moviegoer making his way to his seat. There is better viewing quality — as well as dignity and conscience — today for as low as P169 a month.
To most people, it doesn’t make sense to own physical copies of movies. Today’s desktop PCs, laptops, and car radios no longer come with CD or DVD players because more and more films can now be accessed economically and quickly. The risk of file formats or media players becoming outdated and replaced is therefore a damper.
Because they are not biodegradable, DVDs and USB drives may not also appeal to environmentally-conscious Gen Zers. In fact, sales of these devices are not as brisk as they once were.
These were the optical and magnetic media that once provided a rationale and mandate for the Optical Media Board, as created by Republic Act No. 9239 of 2004.
A visit to the OMB website does not give a clear picture of what the agency is still about. Its only service is an “Online platform for all registration and licensing transaction.” Information on what it licenses is not available, more so how such licensing “contributes to the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights.” There are no reports of its accomplishments over its 21-year existence, which should’ve been easy since all the Board has to do is upload annual reports it should have been submitting to the President and to Congress, as provided by law. Its Facebook page is just as empty and is a pain to browse.
On the contrary, its coverage in this newspaper consists of an unflattering 2020 report on an “illegal” funds conversion.
Whatever, both optical media and the government agency have become irrelevant in the age of 5G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and streaming. The 5 percent the OMB collects from the proceeds of the Metro Manila Film Festival could find better use and more observable results as developmental grants for young and talented filmmakers.
