Sony adds new DRM to its DVDs so they won’t work in new players… even Sony’s new players!

Solution: Stop purchasing anything made by Sony.

2,

That’s why I’m never giving up my laserdisc collection.

2. God, can you even read? He didn’t buy the player ten years ago. He bought it three months ago. Sony is currently still selling it.

I know illiteracy is a huge problem, but how do you idiots even manage to turn on your computers?!

6. “Please read and understand other peoples comments before you make a fool of yourself.”

Ok, let’s read yours. You said,

“What 2. is saying is this:- He can buy a DVD now that has a certain version of drm on it…but in a few years time that DVD will not work in his *new* DVD player because the drm on the old DVD is incompatible with the new player.”

Apparently you did not read his comment. He said “I buy a bluray of my favorite movie….Ten years from now I…” He did not use the word DVD. And he did not say a “few years” he specifically said ten years. Do you know the difference?!

And regardless of DVD or Blu-Ray, what possible relevance does his example have to this instance? I think we expect that things won’t work in 10 years. However, we do expect brand new DVD players to play brand new DVDs. That’s the point of the posting: that something brand new doesn’t work now solely because of DRM. Maybe you should take the time to read the article too.

“I think an apology is in order from you”

Why, you’re the one who got it wrong. You misquoted him and you failed to show how sdf’s point was even remotely relevant.

#5

Um… He said “Ten years from now” and I suppose he means ten years into the future.

Chances are that Sony and others will then give the Discs (or whatever medium of storage) a chemical expiration date.

#5

It’s easy. We turn on our PCs every morning because we just can’t wait to discover which one of us is the target of your abuse for the day.

He’s also right. Yes, we know what the article says. It also says that the user needs a firmware update. Well, if you can update firmware, then you might also need a future firmware update for whatever lame ass copy scheme they invent next, which might break the fix that will be fixed after they fix this broken DRM product.

Further, its pretty obvious that recorded media player makers are not just going to invent a product that works and then not mess with it, so the next optical “innovation” may not be able to use the disc…

So yes, based on the article, it is fairly easy to extrapolate that in the future, your media collection will be useless.

So, I’d like to issue a big thanks to all the hardware and software manufactuerers and to Hollywood and the music biz, who decided it was better to create a big fucked up mess of incompatible bullshit standards that offer no real innovation or value to consumers.

And maybe you might wanna lay off the coffee.

I don’t expect civility out of some of these yahoos, and I’m just a yahoo too… but you work here. You already told me in a another thread that I don’t know anything about history… which was a false assumption on your part, and you’ve called at least two readers I know of today idiots… and frankly, you are making an industry out of being out of line.

Seriously man… You are one of the smartest guys around. It just isn’t that cool to smart if you also have to be the angriest most short tempered guiy around too.

11. “Yes, we know what the article says. It also says that the user needs a firmware update.”

I just wanted to clarify this, Sony said his player needed a firmware update, but it also said that one was not available.

And what about all of the other players out there that will not be updated by firmware? What about the player you bought last year that’s now considered legacy?

I think the biggest mistake Sony ever made was to get into the content business. Once it had movies and music to protect, it has been messing with its hardware ever since. Sony used to make cool hardware because it wasn’t obsessed with protecting copyrights. Now its interests are generally antagonistic with users of its customers.

14. “and pointing out every person that “says something idiotic” is a completely subjective view….”

Oh thank you. If sdf’s comment was only subjectively idiotic, please tell me how it could possibly be construed as even subjectively intelligent. On one hand it wasn’t even remotely analogous to the article. And at best it was utterly obvious. So, please inform me. Thanks!

“an idiotic manner by posting insulting comments as you have been.”

Yeah, and they’d probably be correct. I am an idiot. I’m always the first to admit that.

“Disagreeing with someones view, opinion, or loose grasp on reality is one thing, calling them names and insulting them in the open is completely another…”

Yep, those are different concepts. Wow, you’re amazing! You must have watched a lot of Sesame Street!

I posted this on this site last week. Been keeping a list of the DVD players unable to play these DVDs. MANY Toshibas…surprise, surprise…
DVD Player List

18. “I was paraphrasing them in order to to put across what I thought his meaning/point was.”

Oh, what exactly was his point?

“I am new to this blog…”

It’s nice to have you. I mean that sincerely. I just have a low tolerance for idiotic comments. sdf is one of those guys who likes to be a smartass. I should have simply deleted the comment, but I figured I’d have some fun with him instead. That’s the sort of stuff we do around here. Anyway, I hope you enjoy further visits and come back again. We’re cranky, but you’ll have fun.

SN,

Yes, the best way you could have handled sdf’s post (which did sound like a blathering dimwit if you want my real opinion) is to delete it… rather than make yourself look worse by comparison by name calling and insulting his intelligence.

Now, as for tossing an insult or two my direction, sticks and stones… and all that… I’ll simply chalk it up to for some reason, you need to try and make yourself feel better by insulting those of questionable intelligence on the internet…. (questionable in your eyes… at least)

Wow, what a bunch of stupid pointless comments…

Here it is, all simplified:

There isn’t a standard for ‘higher-def’ — there are two competing standards. There are also issues with millionaires not making enough money off of selling the same work over and over and over and over and over…

Welcome to the bleeding edge…

You bought too early. You bought too early. You bought too early (PS & BTW: notice the proper usage of ‘too’?)

Now, bleed. Bleed. Bleed.

They make the rules, or don’t, and you consume. Bleed. Sucks to be an “early adopter” — I’m not trying to get ahead of you, “Jones”… you just make my life more difficult by competing to see who can have the fancier TV, who can have the fancier playback device, who can have the spiffiest car.

Amerikano {moron} CONSUMERS just complicate life for the rest of us.

#23, “Wow, what a bunch of stupid pointless comments… Here it is, all simplified: There isn’t a standard for ‘higher-def’ — there are two competing standards.”

Stupid comments? The story is about DVD. Not Bluray, not HD-DVD. Just plain old DVD.

“Now, bleed. Bleed. Bleed.”

As long as you read. Read. Read.

Preferably before your lovely simplification makes it clear you didn’t even read the article, and probably not even the excerpt.

Looks like SN has got his panties in a wad again. Don’t bother arguing with him, as he always has to have the last word.

Haha way to go SN, cover up your own buffoonery, you misread his post and reacted wrongly and instead of admiting it you decided to attack. Must be those “leet” lawyering skills you possess. Either that or a bad attempt at creating controversy for it’s own sake.

#9 (and indirectly #3) That was already invented. It happens with laserdiscs (where it was first observed, duh), cd’s & dvd’s. It’s called laser rot.

I started putting my LD collection into dvd’s just because of this. Not to mention lasers have a finite lifespan. Mechanics too.

We’re screwed anyway you look at it. The difference is that Sony just stopped pretending.

hmm.. i highly doubt that without some sort of DRM the authors of works will not get paid for their said “works”.
plain and simple..

if it’s good. it’ll make money. without drm thanx

#31. thing is, the vast majority of music sold (CDs) is un-DRMed. music sales are sliding, and no doubt some of that is due to piracy, but there is no sign that music as an artistic (or commercial) format is going to disappear.

my issue with DRM is practical, not ideological. it makes hassles for the people who have the DRMed media (ie the people who paid for it), while not doing anything to those who obtained it illegally (stripped of DRM on BitTorrent). not to mention that it puts the media companies in an arms race (vs millions of bright teenagers) that it cannot possibly win.

I haven’t bought anything Sony since they revealed their attitude toward their customers with the root kit fiasco. When a company is rotten at the core like that, spending money on them makes no sense. As SN pointed out (#13), Sony’s interests no longer align with those of its customers. Or erstwhile customers, like me.

#29 – Lauren – Thanks for the tip. Denon and Meridian. I need a new player and appreciate the info. You too, BubbaRay.

36 – Doug – I’ve seen a good argument that killing off the music communities centered around P2P in a time of homogenous corporate radio is what really sank CD sales. And now they (and their owned senators, like Diane Feinstein grrr) are killing off internet radio, the last remaining open non-fee music community. If that argument is right, CD sales will now slip even further. I haven’t bought an RIAA-member CD for a long time now and I’m not about to start, but if Folk Alley and a few other radio stations fail the way Sisyphus Tracks recently did, I will certainly miss them.

SN – sorry I came to this thread so late. Grouching aside, it’s quite interesting.

#30 – BubbaRay

“Can you (or anyone posting here) recommend a PC card with audio-in that can convert A-D with precision?”

Well, as Paul Rodriguez sez: “Could you be a little more vague?”

You didn’t say how precise – or how much… but I tell anyone who’ll listen that unless you simply must have the best (for ~10X the price, or more), then you can’t go wrong with one of M-Audio’s cards.

If stereo 24/96 in and 8 channels of 24/192 out covers your needs, then the Revolution 7.1 is the ticket. I find it gives up very little sonically to my FireWire MOTU D/A (which cost me 8X as much… I’d bet one or another of their cards’ll do what you need. I can’t tell you about how good their support is since I’ve never had to call ‘em.

BTW, I too worship at the altar of Bowers & Wilkins. One day, I’m going to retire my beloved all-KEF main system to another location and replace ‘em with B&W 800s powered by Krell HTS. But no time soon, the KEFs still transport me to musical paradise…

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#37 – TJG

“Thanks for the tip. Denon and Meridian. I need a new player…”

Depending on what you’re willing to spend, even the entry-level Denon universal player DVD-1930CI is the most bang-for-buck of any player out there at ~$300 street price. But for under $700 you can step up to the 2930 – and it’s worth every penny. Above that, the price / performance ratio falls off rapidly…

As far as Meridians are concerned, don’t even look at ‘em before taking your heart meds first… their entry-level player is $4000; at the other end, their 808 Signature Reference CD player / preamp is ~$15,000 – but you can save big money on power amps by connecting them directly to Meridian’s own DSP7000 digital speakers, for a mere $27,500 additional…

My advice: unless you just hit the lottery, get a Denon.