NextGen DRM...Pshaw!!

[Otokoshi]

Well I'm sure we've already heard how Blu-Ray and HD-DVD have been cracked, per say.  It appears SlySoft is preparing support for HD-DVD in a new release of AnyDVD.  The BackupHDDVD tool required a key to decrypt each title.  Here's hoping this decryption from SlySoft is as easy to use as its current DVD method.  So what is everyone's opinion on this?  With cheap external PC compatible HD-DVD drives available, the adult film industry's backing, and now an apparent commerical decryption method, it appears HD has an advantage over Blu-Ray at this time.

Personally if I'm deciding on a next generation format, I want to control my content.  I like ripping numerous movies to my laptop or my PSP and having my media on the go.  I wouldn't want to compromise that at all.  I'm sure the guys at Microsoft and the others backing HD are upset over the development of this.  In a way I could see this as a positive for them.  Power users would certainly adopt HD over Blu-Ray for the reasons I had mentioned.  Locking content from the consumer seems like a futile measure.  Years of development for this DRM and for what?  Users have to buy a piece of software and its all unlocked, big deal.  If they wish to stop piracy, there needs to be a crackdown on the illegal distribution, not the decryption.

Then there is the adult films issue.  Industry analyst predicted years before the formats launched that whichever format was adopted by this industry would be the successor.  With this industry's sales exceeding nine billion dollars yearly, outselling Hollywood, its hard to argue the influence it carries.  With Sony apparently snubbing the industry, they appear to be shooting themselves in the foot.  They could be beaten out once again VHS vs Beta, MiniDisc vs Mp3, and now this.  I guess we'll have to wait and see what develops.

Anywho... what do you guys think?  Would any of the above mentioned sway your decision when you choose your next-gen format?  Have you already committed to one, and how has your experience been so far?  On your mark...get set...discuss!

 

[Jedimark]

The adult film industry outsells Hollywood!!! Gosh - some people need to get a life.

 

[Otokoshi]

Or a girlfriend!  :lol:

 

[Jari]

Hmmmm... While I would certainly prefer to control my content, I haven't really bothered ripping the DVDs I own, so in that sense it doesn't matter to me whether the format is rippable or not. But I do not like the restrictions next-gen DRMs carry, such as demanding HDCP-compliant display devices, so yeah, some control is preferred. And I do use SlySoft's AnyDVD to things like removing the region control, skipping the FBI warnings and possible force-fed trailers on DVDs - same functionality would be nice for HD content as well.

As for the adult films... well, I get mine from the Internets. Without a doubt it will have some role in the format wars, but possibly lesser than it had with VHS vs Beta; nowadays you have DVD (and to lesser extent VHS), downloaded pr0n and all that, so people can watch it at home, without using either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Back when VHS and Beta were the cutting edge you had to go to adult movie theathers to watch pr0n, and going to one was too much of an issue for lots of folks. Not to mention that there are certain... advantages at having pr0n at home.

No, I don't have either yet, and will probably wait couple of years before I get one. Then it would preferably be a dual-format drive for PC, as I prefer to use HTPC for the post processing capabilities. In fact, I don't even have a stand alone DVD player (although both Xbox and PS2 are of course capable of acting as players, in a pinch). But before that I'd need a new PC that can actually post-process HD content in real time and a new projector that can display it at its native resolution, so I'm not in a rush. Or if you want it worded differently, I don't have few thousand euros/dollars extra cash to buy all that.

Anyways, it would appear that Sony might have accidentally packaged a Blu-Ray decrypter with their Blu-Ray player. Since Linux can be used to decrypt the content and PS3 can run Linux.


PS. I would like to point out that several people watch pr0n with their girlfriends.