Kill the DRM, say retailers

DRM is the #1 most annoying thing I have to encounter on my Windows PC. 

It has messed up my ability to view different movie clips and DVD's. 

If I update one instance of DRM required to view one DVD, I am only allowed to backup one original instance of DRM but since there are many different instances for different DVD's, some other clips will no longer be viewable unless I reset the DRM by hacking it through registry, etc.. 

Microsoft keeps on updating Media Player so that hacking DRM becomes more foolproof, requiring a new hacking method each time.

I completely agree, I refuse to buy music or movies that have rediculous protections on them. They're actually making it harder to use legitimate content over simply downloading pirated versions.

When they see pirating all they think about is how much income they're "losing". Rather then finding ways to get back their customers and believe me making it harder to get what you want isnt the right way to go.

If the recording business would sell online 5 USD per CD in Ogg Vorbis or mp3 (non DRM) and 10 USD per CD in flac, then they would have flourishing and skyrocketing business.

Whether it is software, DVDs or CDs, the pirates have actually managed to make the user experience suprerior to that of the original product.

I'm sick of having to watch a two-minute clip of how PIRACY IS A CRIME, every time I put a DVD in my player - or worse, adverts (and sometimes not being able to skip them!) It's why I invested in AnyDVD - best software I ever bought. Some DVDs don't even play on my DVD player (the Back to the Future trilogy that I bought, for example). My DVD player wasn't cheap, either - but I have been forced to rip the so-called copy-protected DVDs, so I could burn them and watch them as intended.

This tragically illustrates the irony here: They've made a product that only pirates can use! The copy protection clearly doesn't work (otherwise I wouldn't have been able to copy the discs, would I?) - yet the protection stymies the punter who knows nothing about ripping DVDs, decrypting and re-burning them (which, by the way, would be most people who buy DVDs). Big question time: What's the point?

As for my music collection, I actually don't want to have to lug CDs around whenever I want to access my tunes, so ripping them is the obvious solution. No major label has yet twigged on to the fact that I'd fall for FLAC music tracks like a squirrel would fall on the last nut on Earth. Instead, they are experts at marketing music I would personally *NEVER* buy. And guess what? I haven't bought any of this over-compressed, locked-down MP3/AAC crap. At the same time, now that they've wrecked CDs with their "protection" (and occasional rootkit), I've stopped buying them too - they're too much of a security risk.

What about software? As an owner of genuine Microsoft and Adobe software, I've had to put up with extremely irritating "activation" - whereas I'm fully aware that the pirates have been laughing at me for being so foolish. Well, next time I might actually go for the superior usability of pirated software - and not buy the original. Hell, even a pirated version of the original software I *already* own licences for is something I'd class as an upgrade...

This has all been blindingly obvious for many, many years. What next? They discover the Earth really was round, after all?

Oliver.

... and Microsoft will to replace current HD-DVD and BD discs, future olographic discs with online DRM protected movies available for download and streaming.. it's highly unlikely that DRM will disappear so easily.
There is just too much money at stake and too many people involved nowadays, it has become a giant burocratic stuff worse than the worst politicians and burocrats. It has too many ties with too many lawyers and legal studios, it's a real monster against both that part of the industry that really works to release better products for the customers to sell and for the customers themselves that are the real target considered to be evil people--although with no customers money there are no jobs in the industry... but nowadays too many simply forget this simple, basic capitalistic rule... 
DRM is the worst thing any seller could do to his/her customers. It's like spitting in face of a potential customer, maybe pointing a gun to his/her head and ask for money... DRM is not about protecting producers, it's all about negating the right of a customer to fully use the product that he/she bought and paid for with his/her hard earned money.

"If the recording business would sell online 5 USD per CD in Ogg Vorbis or mp3 (non DRM) and 10 USD per CD in flac, then they would have flourishing and skyrocketing business."

Or even cheaper - how about free/$5USD.

See the new Saul Williams album produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails

Lets not sing EMI's praises TOO loudly; I seem to remember they chucked copy protection on virtually every CD they made a few years back. Still, at least they saw the light and realised it was losing more sales than it was generating.

What I'm surprised hasn't been widely reported is Channel 4's recent love-in with DVD protection system "RipGuard", which it has applied to all its DVD's retroactively! (you wouldn't think making new masters of long tail titles like "Black Books", "Spaced" or "The Adam & Joe Show" would be worthwhile, but they apparently did!). This seems to have been causing some problems for a lot of people judging from Amazon reviews, and subsequent returns. 

Hopefully Channel 4 will realise protecting content they've already broadcast at near DVD quality is bonkers and adopt the EMI model of just not bothering; they should go the whole hog, not even use Macrovision or CSS (they don't work anyway), and use half the money saved from licensing to reduce the cost of the discs, and keep the other half for themselves. They'll see a tidy profit increase and no nasty disc returns!

The only person DRM punishes is the person who paid for the content.

The more barbed wire they wrap around content, the more people will seek other ways to get around it including piracy.

Side note, a couple of albums I've purchased were unrippable (at least to my feeble haxor skillz) and so I went out and found a copy of the MP3's via P2P. Now I have a useless coaster which is my "license" to play the music and MP3's I can use wherever I go without issue. It's not a big jump to removing the purchase of the album altogether...

the more protection they put on dvds, the less i want to buy one. same thing about pc games, some protection are so intrusive that they can force you to format, after the problems they give. 

and, about downloadable content on xbox 360.
the problem is...if your 360 break, you can't access your paid content on a new (or refurbished) 360, unless you are online. i buy the less content possible, on live, because of that.

Hey music industry! Stop turning away legitimate customers by using the non functional DRM. Loose the DRM and with the money save by doing that, drop the prices.

The crud doesn't / won't stop the piracy. They ALWAYS find ways around it. All you are doing is angering those of us who still prefer to actually PAY for our stuff instead of steal it.

Consumers want value for money. When you can buy (e.g.) the new King Kong movie for £9.99 with over 3 hours of movie content *plus* extras, music CDs represent extremely poor value at the same price for 90 mins (max) of music only. I neither buy nor download music as the former is not worth the money, and the latter is not worth the time.

In passing I'd ask why nobody has mentioned *game* copy protection, which even some of the game manufacturers admit degrades the performance to a horrendous degree. Some 'protection' won't even let you install the game you just bought legitimately if it detects a DVD drive in your system! Look no further for the definition of 'draconian'.

When you upgrade the computer CPU
you would loose the content you purchased. I upgrade often. i have to reset the DRM to play the content 
I also have multiple computers.
if i had purchased a song or movie and if i wanted to play it on a computer that is in a different room 
i can not play it. I think DRM is a waste of time and money

As a grandmother with 3 grandchildren I no longer purchase DVDs or music CDs. It's not worth the trouble. I also don't buy for myself anymore. You know that's a fair bit of change on a yearly basis. Guess they won't come to their senses till they are looking at bankruptcy.

The modern day pirate shares what they have with others and doesn't ask for anything in return. They are preferable to the old time pirates who would steal what probably wasn't yours (the cargo) rape and kill you, or just leave you to die on the high seas with no water. 

Piracy has become a noble pursuit and the content mafia have become the evil ones. It's clear to all those who use P2P. Any accusations of stealing and theft must be directed at the content mafia, not at those who chose to share with eachother. Never before, in the history of the world has sharing been pursued with such vigour. 

Imagine if we were not free to share our thoughts and feelings. Things like music and art would never have been created. Conversations about how you liked the latest movie or whether you enjoyed the concert last night could not happen.

Imagine if we were not free to share what we own. Never again could you give to charity, help out a friend or relative. They could never help you.

My needs are modest. I'm not one of those who just finds the content they want online if they're hassled by DRM. Frankly I don't want anything so much I have to put myself through that crap. So I just don't bother.

Got that, recording industry goons? There ARE people out here who do not pirate, do not burn stuff, do not do any of that stuff your DRM protects against. We simply avoid your products, and we tell our friends and neighbors, and they don't buy your products. To make it crystal clear, we are people who would buy your stuff, if you didn't have DRM. We do without. There's plenty of no-hassle, free content to experience. You're not so special.

Yes, I actually want them to keep it. And then drown in the muck of their flagging sales.
I despise DRM, and I hate every single person involved in the creation of this monstrosity.
They say DRM is killing RIAA and co ? GOOD ! LET THEM DIE SUFFOCATING !
When their bloated, cocaine-filled corpse hits the ground, entertainment will once again be user-friendly.
I see no reason to help an industry that has left so many artists to die in poverty and misery, that has taken so many blatantly anti-consumer decisions. The RIAA can play the victim as much as it wants, no one is fooled. It's power is drawn from the blood of the artists it sucked dry.
Now it's RIAA's turn, and I'm just waiting for the death rattle.

The software industry is getting just as bad. I've got some recording plugins that were so difficult to license it made me wonder if it would have been easier to install a pirated copy after buying them.