DRM, Here Today, (Hopefully) Gone Tomorrow?

Posted by ttblogger on 07/19 at 09:05 AM Permalink
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It’s your birthday. Someone gives you a DVD of your favorite movie. In anticipation of a long train ride you’re going to be taking soon, you decide to make a copy of the DVD that you can download to your MP4 digital media player.

You pop the DVD in your desktop computer and try to rip it. But it doesn’t work. The DVD plays on your DVD player and on your computer.

Welcome to the world of DRM, one of the most contentious issues in the digital world today. Say you don’t know what DRM is? Read on.

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    Posted by Gandhawk  on  07/19  at  04:58 PM

  1. I am against the use of DRM but it is the right of the owner of any material to add DRM to his work.  Why can’t an artist restrict his material and limit exposure?  Just like DVD’s; someone will come up with a hack.

    2. Posted by GP  on  07/19  at  05:05 PM

  2. The problem with DRM is that assumes all consumers are doing something illegal with the products they buy.  Let’s take the digital TV broadcasters for example, such as Verizon FIOS.  By encoding their programming with DRM they make it impossible to record.  The thinking is that some of us would make ten thousand copies of the program and sell it, I suppose!  Yet, this issues was resolved long ago when the US Courts clearly argued that it is the right of subscribers to record content for their private viewing, be it off the cable, radio, etc…

    Companies who support DRM fail to understand that their losses come from well organized, black market outfits that make counterfeit items available for sale to unsuspecting consumers.  People making copies of what they bought for personal use doesn’t amount to a loss.  Unless they want to get to the point in which a consumer has to buy several copies of the same item to use in different players!  That would be ridiculous.

    As it is, they don’t even provide free copies if your DVD is damaged at some point.  So, we pay for the content but, if the content becomes unusable we have to pay for it again, and again…

    3. Posted by Lee Johnson  on  07/19  at  05:41 PM

  3. I don’t care if it has a DMR lock on it or not. If I want to burn a copy I will find away even if it holding a camera up to my computer screen and making the copy that way.  I can rip any album by recording from the speaker out. or just use mics

    4. Posted by JAMMER  on  07/19  at  05:52 PM

  4. DRM is a 3 letter word for GREED.

    5. Posted by Robert Lick  on  07/19  at  06:10 PM

  5. My feeling is that artists and labels that receive remuneration from the levies (read taxes) that is applied on all unrecorded media, tape, cd, dvd and distributed to the RIAA and CMRA as a revenue stream to offset the claimed loss of revenue due to piracy should be forced to choose between receiving levy monies or instituting DRM!

    6. Posted by Honest user  on  07/19  at  06:13 PM

  6. It’s just plain inconceivable to me why I should not be able to take a movie that I BOUGHT on dvd and convert it to a format I can take with me on my PVP.  I do see how web sites that facilitate sharing on the open internet can cut into potential sales but why can I not even convert for my personal use what I own?  I’d even go so far as also saying that I too think that sharing new music or books or video with friends introduces potential new fans.

    7. Posted by R. Chapman  on  07/19  at  06:32 PM

  7. I think that as long as copies of software,movies,etc are for our own use and not for sharing or re-sell. Once we purchase them we should be able to do as we please. Oh, but then they would not be able to charge yo twice.

    8. Posted by Bev  on  07/19  at  06:49 PM

  8. I think DRM should be done away with.  The people who came up with this obviously don’t know what they are talking about.  I have listened to music from the internet and then PURCHASED CD’s from that same singer.  The same goes for DVD’s.  I might buy the sequel or another movie with one of the same actors in it because I liked them in a previous movie.  What about the unknown bands?  Maybe they are good, but can’t get out to the media because they are just starting out?  I have heard good and bad singers & groups via MySpace, Facebook, and MyYearbook.  They ask me to become their friend and then ask me to check out their songs.  Hey, how else can they get thousands and even millions of listeners who might like them?  Give the world a break, DRM!

    9. Posted by Robert Alphonse  on  07/19  at  07:22 PM

  9. I agree that the music, movie, software makers have to make the money on every single product they are sailing. But in the other hand it doesn’t make no sense after I paid for a product that want and to limit me at my office or at home where i first used it with it. As far as i can see, once i buy and paid for something, it’s mine I should be able to play it where ever i want to, on my home pc or in my office or on my portable player. Period!

    I have a suggestion for them. Reduce the price of all CDs/DVDs on the market for one player, and then add on a dollar or more for every other amount of player or copy someone can do.

    Let say:  a regular DVD’s price is $15 for one user; that will cost up to $20 for 5 different CD/DVD players or up to 5 copies as well.

    10. Posted by James  on  07/19  at  07:42 PM

  10. I think it sucks because I make copies of my cds fot my car so I don’t scratch the originals

    11. Posted by Mike  on  07/19  at  08:04 PM

  11. Any computer pirate can get around DRM. It’s the honest “average” user that ends up with the headaches, and the digital media that won’t play. So what does DRM accomplish? Making good honest people feel like thieves, and giving them inferior, or unusable product. Recently Walmart, who sold millions of DRM protected songs, decided to shut down their servers that allowed people to play the songs that they purchased for $0.99 a song from Walmart’s website. Guess what. The honest people who spent hundreds, or thousands of dollars on music could no longer play their music files because the music file could no longer “phone home” to the DRM server to verify that they really payed for the song and God forbid, didn’t try to put it on their other computer. Millions of music files purchased from Walmart,on computers everywhere were worthless and un- playable. Gee, I wonder why people don’t like DRM?
    Oh, by the way. Walmart made no apologies or offered any money back. They got their $$$. Screw the honest customer. I have never, and will never download a digital media file with DRM.

    12. Posted by Afraid to say  on  07/19  at  09:20 PM

  12. Truely a double edged sword, on one hand I would wait to watch a movie on HBO or see it in the theathers, the only DVD’s I Own were giving to me.

    Music.... Yeah I have some from napster, but the Artists I truely like I do own the cd.  If I didn’t have the mp3’s I’d listen to the radio, but that looks like it’s going to become Pay Per Song with the new HD radio

    If really want justfy copyrights, give us something we want to pay for.....

    13. Posted by Adrian Flynn  on  07/19  at  09:55 PM

  13. DRM SUCKS!
    Maybe we should go back to the 1940s to 1960 when if you BOUGHT a SONG or MOVIE it was yours to do WHAT YOU WANTED TO as long as you did not sell tickets to showings or playing of the music.
    Also the artists back then were happy with $0.03 to $0.08 cents per copy sold, so they shouldn’t expect much more than $0.25 per copy now and you can do what you want with it when you buy it.
    If I own one piece of playback equipment and I buy another one I AM NOT GOING TO GO OUT AND BUY THE SAME THINGS AGAIN!
    I will play what I already have and I AIN’T GOING TO ASK NO STINKIN’ PERSONS PERMISSION.
    So as far as I am concerned anyone who is PRO “DRM” can stick it in the part of their anatomy where the sun never shines!

    14. Posted by Jeri  on  07/19  at  10:25 PM

  14. I would never have bought many of the ebooks I now regularly buy had i not found them thru sharing. I always remove the protection (seek and ye shall find ways) so i can read them in whatever medium I like and send them to whoever I think might want to read them also. Same with music, movies, and anything else that is protected but should be available for sharing. If I could lend a friend a book, or a record, or a mix tape or mix cd I made from another tape or cd or record album, there is no reason why I can’t do that now. The artists win in the end - their thoughts, ideas, stories and music are available to everyone, and that can only lead to more revenue, not less.

    15. Posted by Tink  on  07/20  at  03:35 AM

  15. I love to read (and listen to) books. My usual source is the library. Books on CDs take a while to listen to when driving to and from work and if it wasn’t for the ability to copy the CDs on my ipod, I’d never finish listening to the book because of the short borrowing time and the hefty library fines for overdue items! I have no intention of keeping the CD book and delete it once finished - in fact I usually just copy only those CDs that I haven’t listened to yet.  I’ve discovered some wonderful authors that I wouldn’t have and I’ve purchased their books or have requested them through the library which will purchase copies. If I can’t copy such things to my ipod, I will definitely think twice and three times before checking out a long book on CD - the author’s loss and the library’s gain since they won’t get such requests from me.

    16. Posted by Arulin  on  07/20  at  04:40 AM

  16. Old school, back in the 80s they put protection on VHS so that when you record it would give you a phaze shifted copy of the movie....Same load of trash here. There is stuff out there to deal with the VHS DRMs , there is the same for DVD… In other words , there is always a way around the movie and music idoits of america....Frankly I perfer to use Netflix, easier and law-suit free source of cheap entertainment.

    17. Posted by Lynne Stevens  on  07/20  at  04:46 AM

  17. I never had a problem with it ( DRM ) as I have a way around it . . My pile of DVD’s keeps on growing and I rent them

    18. Posted by john carman  on  07/20  at  04:59 AM

  18. if I buy a product and want to change it’s format(what I play it on) that’s my business, I paid for it, can burn it if I want too, as long as I don’t copy and sell it copyright does not enter into it.

    19. Posted by Eric Hamilton  on  07/20  at  05:02 AM

  19. DRM = Corporate Greed

    20. Posted by tom  on  07/20  at  05:17 AM

  20. you buy it you should be able to back it up. they are so easy to make unreadable. one kid can pick it up make it unuseable in no time at all.

    21. Posted by Anita Rosemann  on  07/20  at  05:47 AM

  21. DRM does make it difficult for even legal copies to be used by one owner. I have some exercise DVDs. I could not copy them to my computer for my own use (so I wouldn’t have to drag the DVDs with me every time).  I have no intention of sharing the information, just use it for my own benefit. I did find a way around it, but it took me hours on the internet.

    22. Posted by RONALD POWERS  on  07/20  at  06:05 AM

  22. I’m extremely upset with DRM! The music or video can’t be copied for personal use! Does this mean that the price of software such as ANY DVD will skyrocket too? I wonder where it will all end?

    23. Posted by Moe Knight  on  07/20  at  06:27 AM

  23. While I agree that creators of works are entitled to be paid for their efforts, I also believe in my right to create a backup copy of anything I purchase to preclude my financial loss. Whether it be from poorly designed hardware that destroys a game disc in a popular gaming machine or a CD that gets scratched for whatever reason.

    Fair use includes selecting reordering music or intermingling artists of music I have purchased for my personal use. Copyright laws have always permitted the right to make a backup copy to protect against loss.  DRM takes away that right.

    And why is it that the Artists’ mad dog - RIAA - has never once publicly taken on a mobile DJ that makes their living playing music without paying royalties?  Could it be that playing an artist’s music promotes sales?

    The industry worried about loosing money.  It is time for the consumer to be just as concerned.  When purchasing video, music or software ask an employee if you can make a fully operational backup copy as is your right under the copyright laws of the US.  If they answer, “Yes,” return the product for a refund if you find out DRM prohibits you from doing so.  If they answer, “No,” decline to purchase the product.  Stop purchasing any software, video, or music that prohibits you from making a backup copy to protect your investment.

    24. Posted by Randall  on  07/20  at  07:28 AM

  24. I recently purchased an audio book from audible.com to use on a trip my wife and children were taking. I wanted to play it on a generic car mp3 player but found out that my player is not on their list and there fore can’t play the book.
    What a waste of money and time. Now I can’t use this at all. I dislike DRM and hope it goes away soon.

    25. Posted by tommy  on  07/20  at  07:57 AM

  25. There is ample argument against Intellectual Monopoly and a mountain of it can be read at Mises.org. One of the latest books out concerning this topic can be bought or downloaded free there:

    http://mises.org/misesreview_detail.aspx?control=354

    26. Posted by RC Swain  on  07/20  at  08:18 AM

  26. In the 1970’s I was the Director of Marketing over the United States and Canada for an Italian importer. The new Italian President of the company, not being familiar with U.S. Law, wanted to fix a floor for the selling price our distributors could charge for the product.  I warned him this is against Federal law.  He was indignant, but I finally persuaded him to review his decision with the attorney.  Naturally the attorney backed me up.  Once a product is sold to a buyer they own it and they can do anything with it they wish.  If I buy a DVD it is now mine and I can use it as a frisbee, a coaster under my mug, sell it to a friend, give it as a gift or trade it for another movie at a movie exchange store. Now, certainly the artist needs to protect his rights.  However, I should be able to make a copy to put on my iPod or simply to back up a favorite movie so I can put the original away for safe keeping and let the grandkids use the copy as much as they want.  I won’t worry how many finger prints or scratches they get on the copy; I still have a pristine original! But I do believe the artist has a right to protect themselves from the mass dissemination of my movie to large numbers of total strangers.  In essence I am now undermining the artist and my intent is not for personal use at all. My activities at in this way are harmful to the artist and have nothing to do with personal rights or personal use of my product.  To me this is middle ground, although I cannot say I know how to achieve it.

    27. Posted by Eric Worthen  on  07/20  at  08:46 AM

  27. The conundrum is that you have DRM and media you need to buy (DVD’s, CD’s, etc.) mixed with ripped versions. 

    If everything is free and there is no DRM, why would anyone pay for the media if they could Google it and download for free because there was no DRM?

    I can lend a friend a book but they couldn’t walk into the bookstore and get the Author’s works for free.  If they could, the Author would not make any money, unless the book was littered with advertisements (ugh). 

    I can see it now, “free” songs that stop halfway or between each song for an advertisement.  Just wait.  “Free” is never free.  I’d rather pay up front for a commmercial free CD that I OWN, thank you very much.

    28. Posted by askme  on  07/20  at  09:17 AM

  28. i think that drm is retarded. it is one thing if someone is selling thousands of pirated copys of music etc,,,,but there are poor people that don’t have it in their budget to buy movies and music. either way the artists will not profit.a copy is never as good as the real deal. i have taped hundreds of movies from tv with ads in them and they are aweful ,but i can watch them till i find the real deal in a bargain bin. i tend to inherit movie and music tapes from people who are tired of them. i have some stuff on cd’s and dvd’s ,but there are not cheap either. the bottom line is that ,it is not that i don’t want cd’s and dvd’s but, if music company’s and movie studio’s where depending on me for their living , they would all be out of business by now.

    29. Posted by Frank Quattrocchi  on  07/20  at  10:08 AM

  29. Do the people that are pro DRM really thin that I’m going to buy one copy of a piece of music for my PC & another copy for my MP3 player??? I DON’T think so!

    DRM is by far the dumbest and most irritating thing to happen to digital media.

    30. Posted by Mike  on  07/20  at  10:36 AM

  30. I posted earlier about the Walmart music download scam. (My name is not “Afraid to say”, don’t know why that happened). But as I read through the posts, one thing is clear to almost everyone. When you buy a DVD,CD, you OWN it. You’re not RENTING it. And playing it anywhere you want, or backing it up, should not be made difficult. I have several DVD’s that are hard to find, or out of print. I make a copy and put the original away. There’s several excellent programs that let you copy DVD’s by stripping the DRM. It will even take out the FBI warning. I don’t use that feature. I like to yell out, “Hurry up honey, you’re gonna miss the FBI warning”. But the point is....you shouldn’t have to buy software to make a backup copy when doing so is not illegal.

    31. Posted by joestoutenger  on  07/20  at  01:11 PM

  31. It’s all about the money,Internet bussiness people don’t care about you and I on a personal level only about our credit card number,When I noticed that there was something wrong with our Home Networking not being able to play our MP3’s from one computer to the other,I went on Dogpile and started checking out if any body else was having the same problems..Well it was’nt just me it was 100’s of people and it was called DRM.We both have a game on our PC’s The Sims2 and SimCity4 and have our music in our games,and thats the only place we have music is on our games. well a few e-mails later we figured out we were going to have to but seperate files for each PC..No Person or Group is worth that much money .so we stopped buying music all together..The groups that were crabbing about being cheated would have one song on a CD worth listing to and want me to purchase their CD for one good song,NOT..they better start rethinking cause I’m not the only person who has completly stopped buying..DVD’s..CD’s,and let me say we bought a lot of each.Maybe when their wallets get thinner and our wallets get fatter they’ll come to a middle ground and come to their senses..I have, I don’t waste my money on them anymore..Now I’m done crabbing..Thanks..Joe

    32. Posted by jose  on  07/20  at  03:20 PM

  32. no matter what a company does to incrypt or block copying media ...the pirates always win

    33. Posted by Door  on  07/20  at  07:08 PM

  33. I’m against DRM because I think it is far too restrictive.  I agree that the artist deserves to be paid for their work.  But, just like a book, I should be able to allow friends to borrow it.  And yes, just like a book, I should not be able to use the content while they are borrowing it.  That is just plain respecting the artists work.  The problem with electronic content is there is no physical item tied to it like there is with something like a physical book or the old albums or CDs before we could copy them so easily.

    It is wonderful that we can share things with our friends easier, but this really needs to be done in a way that doesn’t propagate copies.  I don’t know what that way is, but DRM definitely isn’t it.

    I’d like to say people should just be more considerate and ethical.  But realistically, I know that will never happen.  So I understand the need for a mechanism to protect propagating copies.  But I think we are still very far from an acceptable means of doing this.

    34. Posted by Katherine Fulkerson  on  07/20  at  07:23 PM

  34. If I buy a book, and like it, I can loan it out to friends and family.  If I don’t like it, I can sell it.  If I buy an ebook, and like it, I can only recommend it to people (who probably won’t bother)--unless it is published by Baen books, who may have it in their free library! If I don’t like it, I can only delete it and try to forget about the money I wasted… Why?  DRM.
    Publishers say copies ripped are sales not made.  Mostly BS--if I can afford to, I buy it, to support the author and encourage the release of more books, movies, or music that I like; mostly people will buy what they like, if they can afford it.  DRM makes it hard to sample possible new works.  DRM means I can’t back up my own property, borrow from friends/family to discover works I would like to own or loan my own discoveries out in return so that others find these artists/authors and, in turn, buy other of their works…
    Not only does DRM limit freedoms, of artists, authors and the public, but it is also extremely short sighted, saving a few sales in the short run but losing many long-term.

    35. Posted by Steve Montgomery  on  07/20  at  07:52 PM

  35. I think we need to force manufactures to provide license with our purchase. I get frustrated more and more that technologies like DRM that are used to create limited liability. If I buy a movie and scratch the disk, I want to replace it at reduced cost. As a general rule, I don’t buy products that lock technology. This is only because producers won’t give you the time of day to help with an ongoing problem. I imagine that we will not see a manufacturer back up the licensing bit, because they will loose revenue from people who have to buy the same song twice. And movies are no different. What if I buy a movie and later want it in Blu-ray? Does that mean I’m licensed to watch it on two screens at once now?

    36. Posted by James Schleich  on  07/21  at  03:52 AM

  36. So all the wasted money for software? For private use, WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSE TO DO?

    37. Posted by Dave  on  07/21  at  12:08 PM

  37. I agree DRM is a bad thing for normal consumers. Most people will only watch a DVD on their on players, but there are those that will rip and sell bootlegs. They ruin it for everyone. Fortunately, a lot of DVDs are now coming with a digital copy.

    38. Posted by wm.  on  07/25  at  07:30 AM

  38. The times they are a changing as it has been said.
    Like the tec tip said old problem bigger scale.
    Let us have our rights when we buy something, charge a little more for the product & go after the the major black market operators!!! The common person will not over step the copyright laws on a huge scale.

    39. Posted by anthonie Heusdens  on  07/29  at  03:05 PM

  39. Yes, go after the big trespassers. I FOR ONE HAVE DOWNLOADED AND BURNED A FEW CD’S, made up of various artists, some country, and some older jazz. I’ve never been a fan of too many tunes by one artist on one record or tape. Without the opportunity to burn a few cd’s I would still not have bought the artists songs. Sop nobody lost anything here.

    40. Posted by Edward Garcia  on  09/20  at  08:39 PM

  40. DRM has good and bad things about it. Firstly yes Software piracy is bad and must be stooped or crippled at the very least. So the people who Made it had there hearts in the right place, but when you punish the average consumer is when it steps over the line. I mean what were they thinking when they created it.

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