Sony's new DRM (on Salt) crashes DVD players
blog.thestateofme.com
blog.thestateofme.com
It makes the viewing experience so much better anyway. No forced ads, unpause-able areas or stupid little "ghost buster" symbol in an upper corner when I push the root menu button. It makes my remote give orders that are followed, not suggestions in some sort of debate.
The irony is not at all lost on me that in trying prevent piracy, they've made it attractive to me (someone who would not ordinarily pirate) to do something very much like piracy to protect my equipment and have a better consumer experience. Thus I support the ecosystem of tools that they try hardest to eradicate. A classic tale of unintended consequences.
(1) What they do is not DRM per-se (the battle for CSS was lost to them long ago), but simply breaking the content structure of the DVD so that software has a hard time following the program chains. If done wrong this can crash the dvd players software, or worse, cause a kind of loop that can quickly damage the physical hardware.
Is there a good jukebox application for playing ripped DVDs?
Of course there are plenty of other streaming media players out there these days.
But beyond perhaps some logo usage rules or guidelines, the existence of the format spec isn't necessarily the word of god, so to speak.
Sony has been implementing intentional errors in their DVDs for many years. On the one hand it likely has increased the annoyance factor in ripping those DVDs and therefore somewhat decreased the prevalence of ripping, but on the other hand you have cases like the OP where the standard use case is also hindered to the level of annoyance.
Hahahaha... oh wait, you were serious. let me laugh harder. hahahahahahahahaha
Seriously though, every single movie released in recent years you can possibly imagine has been ripped and uploaded. What exactly has decreased in prevalence?
Firstly, there's a difference between ripping a DVD and downloading a pirated movie.
More importantly, DVD ripping is far, far from a mainstream activity as evidenced by the tens of millions of DVDs that are still sold every quarter. The reason it is not mainstream, like CD ripping is mainstream, is because of DRM. Anti-DRM measures are not built into operating systems or the most prevalent player applications. The studios regularly mount legal challenges, many of which are successful, against application developers that do build in anti-DRM measures. The result of all of this is that the vast majority of users do not have the tools necessary to rip DVDs. For some portion of those users who become inclined to try it, they can find a tool that does - and then they can encounter Sonys ever evolving intentional error DRM strategy whereby the tool the user has no longer functions and either needs to be updated (assuming the often fly-by-night developer is still around) or replaced. Effectively, the annoyance factor is increased enough to dissuade the casual DVD ripping user from continuing with the activity.
Hence, intentional errors has increased the annoyance factor in ripping DVDs and therefore somewhat decreased the prevalence of ripping.
I recognize you want to argue this topic, but seriously man.
In fact, it's nothing more than yet another reason why comparing the frequency of DVD ripping to CD ripping and drawing conclusions about the effectiveness of deliberately introducing errors in pressings is flawed.
Furthermore, I said "cross platform", not "ships from the factory with standard installations". If you don't understand the difference between these...
I recognize that you enjoy digging your own grave, but seriously man.
For your edification, the conversation went like this:
Me: DVD ripping is not mainstream in part because tools are not mainstream.
Someone: Linux distros have tools
Me: Linux isn't mainstream
You: Cross-platform
Me: No, mainstream
You: Cross-platform!
So with that I'll let you carry on alone.
Furthermore, your definition of "mainstream" excludes software like: firefox, steam, WoW, itunes on windows, photoshop, etc. Give me a freaking break.
Furthermore, Linux not being mainstream is patently obvious. Yet you again need more hyperbolic straw men by claiming some more nonsense about Firefox, WoW, etc.
1) takes forever, and a powerful computer (particularly a handful of years ago)
2) takes a lot of space
3) until recently has provided little of the value ripping CDs does (no "mp3 players" for movies)
4) is a nontrivial task for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with DRM (which codec do you use? which container? what size to you transcode it to?, etc)
Intentional errors don't cause even a hiccup in any of the ripping programs I've seen or used, the end user doesn't have to worry about it in the slightest.
Oh, and they press CDs with intentional errors these days too, so your theory really is bogus.
New variations on intentional errors regularly disrupt previously released DVD ripping applications. This is a known fact as evidenced by the assortment of results you'll find if you search for "dvd update arccos". It's also why a few of the more popular rippers in the past are no longer popular since they haven't been updated.
Intentional errors on CDs would actually demonstrate my "theory".
And in terms of it being a theory, I have anecdotal evidence that multiple people I know were annoyed at the inability of a ripping program they used/purchased to handle a new release and therefore gave up on ripping. Since my "theory" only required a small decrease in ripping, my theory has been demonstrated to be correct.
Of course the problems start when you have a player that isn't bog standard (like some Sony players), or if you want to do something far out like watch a DVD on a PC (even a Sony PC).
edit: I'm not disagreeing, just asking for more information, why the downvotes :/
Try Googling Sony+drm - they have form for this type of nonsense.
I'm not asking if they would be willing to add new DRM to a DVD - obviously the answer to that question is yes. I'm just asking how you know that is what's going on, or if it's even possible to do. Can play in player A but not in player B so it must be new DRM is pretty thin.
Sony use an additional DRM system called ARccOS on their DVDs. ARccOS keeps changing, so my assessment is that this latest version is another stinker - it's happened before.