2View: The Self-Erasing VHS tape hacked with a paperclip

Secret BBC Documents Reveal Flimsy Case For DRM

From Slashdot:

"The Guardian just published my investigative story on the BBC and Ofcom's abuse of secrecy laws to hide the reasons for granting permission for DRM on UK public broadcasts. The UK public overwhelmingly rejected the proposal, but Ofcom approved it anyway, saying they were convinced by secret BBC arguments that couldn't be published due to 'commercial sensitivity.' As the article shows, the material was neither sensitive nor convincing — a fact that Ofcom and the BBC tried to hide from the public."

Blu-ray Is Cracked

From Slashdot:

HDCP Master Key Is Legitimate; Blu-ray Is Cracked

"Intel has confirmed that the leaked HDCP master key protecting millions of Blu-ray discs and devices that was posted to the Web this week is legitimate. The disclosure means, in effect, that all Blu-ray discs can now be unlocked and copied. HDCP (High Definition Content Protection), which was created by Intel and is administered by Digital Content Protection LLP, is the content encryption scheme that protects data, typically movies, as they pass across a DVI or an HDMI cable. According to an Intel official, the most likely scenario for a hacker would be to create a computer chip with the master key embedded it, that could be used to decode Blu-ray discs."

Netflix Comes to the iPhone and iPod Touch

Netflix announced Thursday the release of a free Netflix application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows streaming of movies over Wi-Fi or a 3G cellphone connection.

This has been expected since April when Engadget fisrt wrote about it.

Netflix is becomming ubiquitous with its streaming offering not only supporting Windows and Mac, but a number of BlueRay player, set top boxes, game consoles such as the Xbox, PS 3 and Wii.

It's based on Microsoft's Silverlight which is very heavily DRM oriented.

As such there is NO Linux support! Microsoft did share most of the Silverlight code as Moonlight but without DRM support so Netflix will not play on it.

Netflix is basically following Microsoft's Silverlight support on to these different platforms. I think this strategy is to allow Microsoft to easily add support to devices based on Linux such as many BlueRay players while not allowing open source Linux Desktops to compete. This also will allow them to support large a hardware base as Adobe's flash player which now dominates Internet video streaming.

When you consider that Apple is not allowing flash on it's iPhone and iPad, and that Steve Jobs is openly speaking out against Adobe Flash it could actually place Microsoft at and advantage over Adobe in the Internet streaming market.

* Personally I think watching TV on the iPod is the killer app.

I have disconnected my Cable TV a while ago and live off Netflix, Hulu and BitTorrent for most of my viewing pleasure.


Netflix iPhone App Video

Why I Steal Movies… Even Ones I'm In

Good article on Gizmod by Peter Serafinowicz
Why I Steal Movies… Even Ones I'm In

"Ownership" is starting to change its meaning. If you buy a movie from iTunes you "own" the right to watch it on certain devices within certain constraints. When you "own" a DVD, you have the right to watch it whenever and wherever you want. However: you must watch ten minutes of promos, trailers and anti-piracy threats. I'll take the download, please.

But often you can't do it legally: I recently wanted to show my son Disney's classic Jungle Book and intended to get it on iTunes. Unfortunately, it is currently incarcerated within The Disney Vault.  So I'm afraid I simply DL'ed a pixel-clear pirate copy which arrived in seconds. My moral justification for this? I once bought the VHS. It's your own vault, Disney!

Hard Drives Shipping with preloaded movies

Paramount Pictures is selling Seagate Technology hard drives with the latest Star Trek, GI Joe,Nacho Libre and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius come pre-loaded. They have a digital lock that requires a code that can be purchased online for $10 to $15 each

The 500GB hard drive will sell for a special promotional price of $100 and the claim that "an empty 500 GB Seagate hard drive usually sells for $140.
Although Newegg sells a similar 500GB Seagate for $54.99 with free shipping.

This must be similar to the deal Paramount cut for putting movies on USB Sticks.
Movies to ship on USB Sticks. 11/2009

Ironically I pitched this to Western Digital in 1999 and Maxtor R&D back in Feb 2001 and they show
Cell Processors for use in Hard Drives, Chuch Moore CPU, Enumera (PPT Version)


Also work with a Hollywood start-up back in 2005 planning to sell  a self contained media player using 2.5 inch laptop drive preloaded with movies.  Based more secure design of the Unibrain iZak Media player. It just had composite and HDMI video output and IR remote and no USB.

Keychest - Disney and Apple.

Supposedly, Keychest will use cloud-computing coupled with a physical product (e.g. a DVD), that will only require the person to pay for the rights so that it could be watched on any device.


Disney did a digital download version of Wall-E

Microsoft Patents DRM'd Torrents

Microsoft has received a patent for a 'digital rights management scheme for an on-demand distributed streaming system,' or using a P2P network to distribute commercial media content. The patent, #7,639,805, covers a method of individually encrypting each packet with a separate key and allowing users to decrypt differing levels of quality depending on the license that has been purchased.

code-named: Keychest from Disney and Apple.

Disney Touts a Way to Ditch the DVD - Wall Street Journal
Purchase of a 'Keychest' Movie Would Allow On-Demand Viewing From Multiple Devices
The technology, code-named Keychest, could contribute to a shift in what it means for a consumer to own a movie or a TV show, by redefining ownership as access rights, not physical possession. 

This is in direct competition with DECE (Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem).

Supposedly, Keychest will use cloud-computing coupled with a physical product (e.g. a DVD), that will only require the person to pay for the rights so that it could be watched on any device.


"Dad has a Zune, Mom has an iPod, there's a Mac and a PC at home and a Roku box; right now, those devices don't talk to one another," the insider said. "We intend to blend those worlds."  from the Hollywood Reporter

Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (or DECE)

Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (or DECE)


based around a "rights locker" which will amount to a website where digital purchases will be stored -- we assume this is where VeriSign fits in.  (from article link below)

http://www.decellc.com/

DECE founding members include: Alcatel Lucent, Best Buy, Cisco, Comcast Corporation, Deluxe Digital, Fox Entertainment Group, HP, Intel, Lionsgate, Microsoft Corporation, NBC Universal, Panasonic, Paramount Pictures, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung, Sony Corporation, Toshiba, VeriSign Inc., and Warner Bros. Entertainment.


Disney and Apple are absent from the list and appears to have allied to set up a completing service called Keychest.



Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, the DRM of the future?
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/13/digital-entertainment-content-ecosystem-the-drm-of-the-future/