With Cinavia DRM, Is Blu-ray On a Path To Self-Destruction? 429
suraj.sun tips an article at AnandTech about a Blu-ray DRM scheme called Cinavia. The author makes the case that software like Cinavia is hastening the death of a Blu-ray industry already struggling to compete with online media streaming. Quoting:
"In our opinion, it is the studios and the Blu-ray system manufacturers who have had the say in deciding upon the suitability of a particular DRM scheme. Consumers have had to put up with whatever has been thrust upon them. The rise in popularity of streaming services (such as Netflix and Vudu) which provide instant gratification should make the Blu-ray industry realize its follies. The only reason that streaming services haven't completely phased out Blu-rays is the fact that a majority of the consumers don't have a fast and reliable Internet connection. Once such connections become ubiquitous, most of the titles owned by consumers would probably end up being stored in the cloud. ... The addition of new licensing requirements such as Cinavia are preventing the natural downward price progression of Blu-ray related technology. Instead of spending time, money and effort on new DRM measures that get circumvented within a few days of release, the industry would do well to lower the launch price of Blu-rays. There is really no justification for the current media pricing."
Re:No justification for the current media pricing? (Score:4, Informative)
Did you follow the eBay link? The remote is $18, not the player.
Re:I don't think they get it ... (Score:5, Informative)
I had no idea what you meant in your "Arkell v Pressdram" comment, so I had to google it. Perhaps this is well-known in the UK, but I didn't know it. For the benefit it others, it's a reference to a British satirical and current affairs magazine called "Private Eye". From wikipedia:
Re:Agreeded (Score:5, Informative)
This info graphic sums it up pretty well I think:
http://i.imgur.com/GxzeV.jpg [imgur.com]
Re:No justification for the current media pricing? (Score:5, Informative)
If blu-ray disks were $5 each I would have hundreds of them.
As it is, I have none.
I will add the supporting evidence Louis C. K. [louisck.net]
Rather than take a flat rate of $50,000 - $100,000 for his special from the industry where they would price the disks at $10 - $20 he just produced it himself and put it up online with no DRM for $5. By circumventing the major industry players and just doing it himself he has made more than double. He has effectively done what the media industry says is impossible without them suing and forcing people to pay out the nose.
I have bought several copies for myself and gifts to support the idea of paying what the market really thinks the product is worth rather than forcing a higher market price.
Hogwash (Score:4, Informative)
Wrong. There are many reasons:
* Not everything is available for streaming
* When a film or TV show is available for streaming today, it doesn't mean it will be available for streaming one month, one year, or five years from now
* An Internet connection is required for each and every device you wish to view movies on
* No extra features such as commentaries, deleted scenes, etc.
* inferior video quality
* Few streamed movies offer DD 5.1, let alone DD7.1, 9.1, 9.2, or 11.1 or 11.2 nor do they offer DTS nor other enhanced surround standards
* With a DVD you OWN that copy (evidence: Sony, Disney, etc. all advertise "Own it on DVD today!" or "Own it on Blu-Ray today!" They never say "rent a revocable license on DVD today!" You BUY that COPY and OWN that COPY, just as you OWN a book.
(yes I could have used bold for emphasis but this needs to be drilled through pundits' heads so "yelling" is appropriate)
* Bandwidth caps
Re:Bluray was a step backward in usability (Score:3, Informative)
What I want to know is why Blurays take so long to load.
Simple, first they have to use and check the now broken AACS copy protection scheme to decrypt the content on your disc. Then they have to check for your player's code to see if it has been blacklisted so they can disable playback on your player if it is on the blacklist. Then it has to load up the customized Java like code which handles things like, secondary copy protection scheme since AACS was broken, any fancy menu coding, and of course BDLive stuff. Then it has to connect to the internet after that if your player is BD-Live enabled, to do things like play you newer updated previews, and to also check for updates to their menu's if they choose to implement such features. This is of course all done after your player checks to see if there are firmware upgrades to your player and apply them as necessary.
Re:No justification for the current media pricing? (Score:4, Informative)
I view DVDs/Blurays as a convenient backup for my media.
(DVD-Rs self-erase and HDDs stop spinning eventually.)
>>>A Blu-ray player may well be $42, but the accompanying 1080p TV and speaker system are considerably more
>>>
You don't need an HDTV. I have an old standard-def CRT, and even there you can see a marked improvement in Bluray video quality (no more DVD artifacts/mosquitos/blocking).
And frankly I'm surprised you don't have a speaker system. Even in the days of VHS and Laserdisc, buying a 5.1 surround system was worthwhile because it improved the movie experience. I've had mine since 1997.
Re:No justification for the current media pricing? (Score:5, Informative)
Everybody complains about region restrictions. I don't like region restrictions but the reality is different regions have different laws and some movies aren't allowed there. I think region restrictions are primarily about making sure legal behinds are covered.
They have nothing to do with that, since in lots of countries outside the US it's easy to buy a "region free" DVD player, and in none that I know does the region of the DVD make any difference to its legality.
Notice that Europe, Japan and most of the Middle East have the same DVD region (2), and Australia and South America (4), yet those regions have the biggest differences in censorship laws.
Re:No justification for the current media pricing? (Score:4, Informative)
But anyone thinking any unknown comedian/musician could just start putting out their own stuff and make a ton of money is pretty naive about the way the industry works.
Yeah, cuz videos made from unknowns uploaded to YouTube have never gone viral or anything before. Riiight. There is no guarantee (there never is) but it is more than possible. Hell, if you are really talented, it is likely.
Re:I don't think they get it ... (Score:4, Informative)
The scam these days focuses on uploaders. The fact that you purchased the disk doesn't grant you the legal right to distribute it. So if you're downloading your copy via torrents, you are still liable.
Re:No justification for the current media pricing? (Score:4, Informative)
I can tell you from direct experience that the costs to create the master BD is much higher than for DVD.
Re:No justification for the current media pricing? (Score:4, Informative)
Jonathan Coulton selff-produced/distributed his last album. IIRC, he said he made about the same as he did on an earlier album that he did the traditional way. But, he had much more control over the process. He was on the Planet Money podcast last year.
Re:No justification for the current media pricing? (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, if you're running 4K video over HDMI, that's HDMI 1.4 by spec, though it wouldn't be a shock if some 1.3 devices met this spec level, The 1.3 standard maxes out at the usual PC graphics card cap of 2560x1600 or thereabouts.