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Latest Die Hard DVD to include a portable copy

16 October 2007 21:23 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 15 comments

20th Century Fox has become the second studio to offer an additional digital version of a film to consumers who buy it on DVD. The copy, which can be played on computers and some portable media players. The video will be included on a second DVD, and will require that the user enter a 16 digit code found inside the DVD case. It uses Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM, meaning that besides PC's, players from a number of vendors including Archos, Toshiba, Samsung, and RCA (but not Microsoft) is possible.

Earlier this month Warner Brothers announced that the DVD release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will allow users to download a copy of the movie for playback on a media player, following the sale of Superman Returns with a similar feature.

The studios aren't providing the additional copies of the movies for no extra charge just to be nice. They're looking for ways to give consumers an incentive not to Rip their DVDs. That, in turn, would theoretically strengthen studio arguments against DMCA or EUCD exceptions for otherwise legal fair use purposes and give consumers with little knowledge of digital video an alternative to making DRM free copies themselves.

However, there are many advanced users who prefer to exercise fair use in whatever manner they like, rather than counting on a studio (which may not even have done a very good job at creating a DVD) to provide them with an equally DRM laden alternative format. Regardless of what studios offer (short of DRM free copies) plus the trend towards DRM free digital music, this strategy seems like a short term solution at best. Eventually the widening range of delivery platforms - from optical media like DVD to Streaming and downloads - DRM will likely become more bothersome to content producers than personal piracy is costly.

Source: Reuters

Permalink to this article

Disney adds digital copy to new version of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (30 May 2008)

PlaysForSure dropped in favor of Vista Certified (15 December 2007)

New download service is advertising with blinks (23 October 2007)

Apple drops price of DRM-free tracks on iTunes Plus (16 October 2007)

Do DRM free downloads mean innovation in online music? (15 October 2007)

AnyDVD's new AI boasts ability to crack future DRM (13 October 2007)

Warner includes downloadable extras with latest Harry Potter DVD (10 October 2007)

Viacom executive says DRM is the way of the future (2 October 2007)

DRM provider says the technology isn't being used correctly (20 September 2007)

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sk8flawzz (Member) 16 October 2007 21:37
hell yea this is a step in the right direction...still need to work out the drm crap tho..grrrr but hell yea the second dvd could totally contain movie extras as well as several portable versions of the movie for i dont know a PSP, iPod, Zune..all in the best resolution/bit rate for the particular player.. [ + quote]
Andrew691 (Senior Member) 16 October 2007 23:38
*Quote:* The video will be included on a second DVD, and will require that the user enter a 16 digit code found inside the DVD case So what about video rental stores? how would that work? if Im the first person to rent it then will I be able to copy the "portable" copy to my computer, and rip the DRM from it? Its a step in the right direction, but has some massive holes in it. [ + quote]
nobrainer (Inactive) 17 October 2007 4:28
*Quote:* *Quote:* The video will be included on a second DVD, and will require that the user enter a 16 digit code found inside the DVD case So what about video rental stores? how would that work? if Im the first person to rent it then will I be able to copy the "portable" copy to my computer, and rip the DRM from it? Its a step in the right direction, but has some massive holes in it. there is a rumour going around that it is in wmv format with no drm and heavily reduced quality specifically for your zunes, (even though the zune is not 100% compatible) as iPods will not play wmv/PlaysForSure. As there is no drm on the disc (lol) you could always convert it but its a pitiful attempt to take customers away from apple, when over 110million iPods have been sold this has to be the worst business decision ever conceived but what do you expect from Fox, they are so far up consumer screw over alley they need apple out of the way so they can start to price fix again along with their riaa buddies Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group & Warner Music Group. Apple recently decided not to be controlled by the big media companies as they wanted to increase the cost of video and audio on iTunes, apple told them to fuk off and this is the start of the backlash. Fox are not being helpful here as the drm remains on the dvd. This is just a way to silence ppl as one of the arguments against drm is the interoperability with different devices, which is as anti consumer as you can get, but the file is in wmv ffs. But you still cant run the file from your notebook hard drive to save battery because of the downgraded picture quality, so this is a waste of time imo. FairUse4WM = Strip DRM but why bother when you can easily rip from the dvd using SlySofts Any DVD or your fav drm bypass system! Track What Companies Have Edited Wiki http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/ (very heavy load atm) [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17 October 2007 9:31*
monkey83 (Newbie) 17 October 2007 9:28
*Quote:* *Quote:* The video will be included on a second DVD, and will require that the user enter a 16 digit code found inside the DVD case So what about video rental stores? how would that work? if Im the first person to rent it then will I be able to copy the "portable" copy to my computer, and rip the DRM from it? Its a step in the right direction, but has some massive holes in it. ugh, obviously video rental stores won't be getting the same copies that the retail ones will be. The rental copies wont have a free digital version on them, it will just be the dvd. Also I can't believe it took the industry over 5 years to finally get going on this. They are so behind the times it is ridiculous. It is their own fault people rip them. If they started providing these ages ago, they wouldn't have so many problems. [ + quote]
chaos_zzz (Junior Member) 17 October 2007 10:56
these should have done ages ago, saves ripping time [ + quote]
nobrainer (Inactive) 17 October 2007 11:01
its only compatible with certain devices because of the drm, this changes nothing! [ + quote]
simpsim1 (Member) 17 October 2007 11:15
This would probably be the only time I'd argue for DRM if it gives better access to content. However I am against DRM as a rule because it restricts fair use of material that consumers have paid for. [ + quote]
tims001 (Inactive) 17 October 2007 13:11
spam [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17 October 2007 15:59
tims001 (Inactive) 17 October 2007 13:16
spam [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17 October 2007 15:59
maryjayne (Junior Member) 17 October 2007 14:36
I think I will still take the 20 minutes out to rip the DVD to DVD quality rather than relying on the studios to provide a good quality download of the movie. Plus I can choose the format to convert the DVD rather than being stuck with a specific format wrapped with DRM. I believe the studios are only doing this to try to take another step at modifying the DMCA to their rules. This is just another way the big corporations are trying to control what we do with our purchased product. This idea is only good for those who are not technology inclinded. [ + quote]
maryjayne (Junior Member) 17 October 2007 14:37
Funny how 16 digits is the same number of digits in a credit card number...coincidence? [ + quote]
Andrew691 (Senior Member) 17 October 2007 15:47
*Quote:* FairUse4WM = Strip DRM but why bother when you can easily rip from the dvd using SlySofts Any DVD or your fav drm bypass system! I know I will!!! I have no use for a restricted inferior quality copy when I can just as easily have a near perfect one, for taking 20min extra. Strange, but for some reason Im not getting emails when this thread update. Also reported Tims001 for spam. "This is how it works. Whatever you sink, we build back up. Whomever you sue, ten new pirates are recruited. Wherever you go, we are already ahead of you. You are the past and the forgotten, we are the internet and the future."-Brokep [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 18 October 2007 0:41
rip and done..try again, if I can get it off the disc I buy I will rip it off the disc I buy, next! [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 23 October 2007 8:15
Having extra features just would make consumers want to rip it even more. [ + quote]
ThePastor (Junior Member) 24 October 2007 2:11
This is nothing more than something they can use in the big picture argument. If they provide this crap they can then argue that fair use advocates are full of it when they say they need/want to be able to view the DVD on the platform of their choice. The studio can now say, "No you don't because we offer the movie in those other formats so you have no need to convert." It's a legal issue and nothing more. Although, I like the fact that it's WMV, leaving Apple out of the loop!!! :D [ + quote]