If content owners want to stop piracy, knocking out this kind of stuff should be step #1
Ripping DVDs is 1000X a better experience than watching a buffering icon spin during primetime. Offer me a way to legally download an mkv/mp4 and play it through whatever player I want and/or transcode it if I want and I'll be falling over myself to give you my money.
People were stealing music prior to its release not because they were thieves at heart but because it was the only way most of them could find most of the music they wanted.
iTunes put the entire music industry to shame by simply showing that if, instead of fearing downloading, they had given a good, legal venue to sell music, people would in fact be willing to pay.