This is good news, and a step in the right direction, in my opinion.

Good! The one thing that was destroying these discs is the DRM, and now its relaxed a little its not as bad.

I actually wouldn't mind Sonys/Blu-Rays DRM Scheme so much if they included something like this

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nclude portable files on Blu-ray DVDs that can be transferred without a download

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wow it actually sounds like they might be listening to the consumer for a change, good job.

finally, something i wanted to hear

I have some sound advice for sony when it comes to copy protections:why fight it???you all know theyre protection scheme for bluray will be broken. if all major studios agree to release HD movies on this format it will be priority #1 for hackers. its not a matter of if but when... at the same time they know what consumers want is unrestricted access to their media... no DRM, no locks, nothing. youd think a large corp. such as sony would have figured that out. now, as much money as theyve invested in this format if bluray fails it will be a significant (if not the final) blow to sony where on the other hand Microsoft can afford to not have HDDVD supported. As bad of a year as sony has had in 2006, they cannot afford to bet the farm on something as trivial as DRM strength. Seeing as how they have so much at stake, you wouldnt think they would have such a hard headed stance on issues such as this. While this article is certainly good news for consumers, IMO it is the first step of the marathon. its a long road ahead of them they clearly have their work cut out.

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Sony Pictures Entertainment will include portable files on Blu-ray DVDs that can be transferred without a download.

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Soounds to me like they will offer down res versions which will be useless. Why pay the HUGE Blu premium for what you can rip from Netflix at a higher resolution?? DRM is a big mistake. It is a bump on the road to boot leggers but can be show stopper for consumers. When their HDCP or other DRM link fails, they return the gear they paid the big bucks for. Hackers and bootleggers work around it and make thier copies because they can and have the incentive. Restrictions on use of expensive equipment is NOT a feature. It is a reason to go elsewhere or wait to adopt....

last resort to save a dying format

"Sony executives told onlookers that future Blu-ray disks will be a bit more lax on the DRM standards..." Yes, they can claim anything. So can I: I believe them. Let's face it, if these executives really cared about consumers, we'd have one format.

I guess if they are relaxing the DRM and moving it too other file types to be inserted on the discs, maybe programmers can create some programs like voblanker to remove unwanted material...

if i buy something, i should be allowed to use it however I feel like it! As long as i'm not giving it away/selling it, the manufacturers shouldn't be putting restrictions on it. That goes with anything analog/digital as far as I'm concerned. Therefore, they should allow someone who has a Blu-ray disc to make a backup & also convert it to iPod/PSP or a smaller format. Doesn't that make sense? Do they not understand that DRM only encourages piracy? Idiots!