RE: [dvd-discuss] Digital Rights Management Gedanken Experiments

[microlenz(at)earthlink.net]

In the US of A they should be required to complete an 
environemental impact statement of how these blank tapes of 
dubious quality (you can be they won't use great tape if they only 
want it to be played twice!) will be disposed of in the proper 
environmentally sound manner :-)

<NOT that I expect anybody to enforce environmental laws upon 
HollyWierd.>


> > Any other ideas for mischievious and devious DRM schems?
> 
> Here in the Netherlands there was a short-lived experiment in Analogue
> Rights Management:  VHS tapes of Hollywood movies that could be played
> twice.  Upon the second viewing the tape would erase itself.  The cost
> of one of these suicidal tapes was about half what one would pay for a
> non-boobietrapped tape.  The touted benefits were similar to the DivX
> propaganda ("Never forget to return a rental again!  Plus, after two
> viewings you get a blank tape to do with as you please!")
> 
> Fortunately, this never caught on.  I suspect most consumers only
> accept the "licence to view" involved with all recorded media because
> they don't know that's the actual transaction when they buy a DVD or
> CD - people tend to assume they're "buying" the movie to do with as
> they please.  The more the "license" aspect is emphasized by the
> copyright holders, the more people will be turned off - ESPECIALLY if
> there is a physical medium involved. Consumers still associate value
> with hardware: "I bought this DVD disk, so now it is mine."  I predict
> there will never be widespread consumer acceptance of any DRM scheme
> that in effect destroys the physical medium it is recorded on.  How
> people will react to self-expiring downloadable software & multimedia
> remains to be seen.  If consumers do not perceive that they are
> getting value for money, they will stay away, and no
> anti-copy/region-lock/time-limited technology scheme in the world can
> stop that.