- Sunday, 8 November 2009
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You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone - Al Capone
Hollywood, RealNetworks take out their handbags
REAL NETWORKS is preparing to take on the might of Hollywood over DVD copying software it released for a few seconds last year.
Hollywood claims the software means that punters can "rent, rip and return" DVDs and it will not make a cent. It claims that the software is one of the biggest technological threats to the movie industry's annual $20 billion DVD market.
The film cartel's army of lawyers will argue that Real Networks DVD "ripper" is an illegal digital piracy tool, but Real claims its $29.99 software that allows DVDs to be easily backed-up to computer hard drives is legit. Unfortunately for Real Networks perhaps, the case has been assigned to the same federal judge who shut down music-swapping site Napster.
The lawsuit reveals yet again that the movie studios are on another planet when it comes to technology. They fear that if Real Networks is allowed to sell its RealDVD software, consumers will quickly lose interest in paying retail for DVDs that can be rented cheaply, copied and returned.
Fair enough, but consumers have been able to do that for some time with loads of other lumps of software out there and so far the scorched-earth scenario that the movie studios wail about has not come to pass.
On the face of it, it would seem that such back-up software would be perfectly legal under the same laws that allowed VHS copying of television programs for home use. However, the Hollywood studios are going to try to use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as their attack weapon. They claim that the DMCA makes illegal all software and other tools that might enable digital piracy. So we guess that if Hollywood wins the world will have to ban all DVD Writers too.
Oddly enough, the RealDVD product is a lot tamer than some of the hacking software that is out on the Internet. It is designed to simply let customers back up their legally purchased DVDs and allows only one copy of each DVD to be made. Ironically, the application is called "RealDVD" because it doesn't alter or remove anti-piracy encryption on DVDs, a fact which is no doubt irrelevant to the studios' highly paid legal mercenaries. µ
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Jip there is much better DVD & Blu-ray etc. rippers out there; this is the best 1 of the lot.
It's also the easiest to use, and it’s got a truck load of extra useful features for al your other entertainment needs and gear.
DVDFab 5.2.5.0
http://www.dvdfab.com/download.htm
You can also use:
Slysoft AnyDVD & AnyDVD HD 6.5.4.0
Slysoft CloneDVD 2.9.2.2
http://www.slysoft.com/en/download.html
Although the fact is that the Slysoft software has a higher learning curve in general.
It’s my opinion that RealNetworks software was always bloatware and sucked big time.
The best media player out there for quick playback is still:
VLC Media Player 0.9.9
http://www.videolan.org
And finally a new replacement for Windows Media Player 11 & WinAmp even, that I’ve started using.
It can rip music to MP3 and even the new FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), and all the others.
Songbird
http://getsongbird.com
Blasphemy! Nothing will ever replace Winamp...except the latest version of winamp, or the previous version for the ill-fated winamp 3 :-p
And to be honest the CCCP with Media Player Classic HC works far better than VLC...I'm still scarred from years ago when VLC couldn't upmix stereo sources to 5.1....do I want to hear explosions through a) my 10" sub or b) My mid+tweeter satellites.....
And looping strangely around to back on topic, I'm kinda hoping the MAFIAA win in the vein hope it'll stop Real putting out all that godawful software and propriety junk that they call media formats. Although obviously I want Real to win because...well it's against the MAFIAA. I just don't see why they feel software that even maintains the copy protection is dangerous when DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, AnyDVD and all the others have been out for years and are still widely available.
I just don't see why [the MAFIAA] feel software that even maintains the copy protection is dangerous when [...] others have been out for years and are still widely available.
Its called "justifying your continued employment".
The lawyers want to justify their continued employment to the MAFIAA, so they invent reasons why they are indispensable - like this trumped-up garbage.
And the MAFIAA wish to appear still relevant to the movie industry upon whom they feed.
And so on.
Copy Is Studio Distribution Ploy "Pay Up", Being Only Point. You Rent title from Planet TS, You Make Copy or Why Rent It, It cost Plaenty to Make copy, BAD Choices, NO Copy, Part of St.ar System. You BUY Whole Disk, of course You Need Back Up In case of Breakage, , then ?burn your Way Thru Clums, again, just in case.Or Use Camera On Front Of Display.
What If Neighbors See ur works, Well Forget Land Title, Give ALL Monies to Charity Doctor & Wheape. drashek
If the DMCA says you can't offer any software which might enable piracy then all CD rippers including iTunes are illegal.
Even though they've tried, it's pretty clear ripping isn't illegal and I believe that covers movies as well.
Who cares anyway, the people who into this business, know what to do and how to do it... others don't need to get in trouble explaining things. There are good 'how tos' available if one seeks, i'm sure the info. is out there somewhere!
The guy at the very top is declaring some brilliant goods, if I do say so myself.
Bye. Jon.