8 ms·

At this point it's pretty clear that video DRM and digital purchase pricing exists as they do because they'd rather you didn't buy movies, but rented them when

by roc 14y ago

At this point it's pretty clear that video DRM and digital purchase pricing exists as they do because they'd rather you didn't buy movies, but rented them when you wanted to watch them, or (preferably) rented the capability to watch them.

milesskorpen 14y ago
Not at all true — done consulting work for some major media companies, and they vastly preferred people to buy (just think: ~$20 vs. $3.99). I think DRM is just programmed into how the industry views the world, unfortunately.
- roc 14y ago
  If that were true then why is every DRM play not designed around cutting down piracy, but on limiting the rights of legal purchasers? Why hasn't there ever been key-transfer features to facilitate sales/trades/loans? Why are there always platform locks and media locks and account locks? Why is there so much effort to stop legal backups, loaning, libraries, etc? I don't doubt individual good people or divisions exist in major media companies that would just as well sell a movie for $20 and be done with it. But the repeated DRM strategy does not jive with that at all.
  - ihsw 14y ago
    Because the media companies are headed by lawyers and politicians, if people were happily purchasing content for reasonable prices then they couldn't make a whole lot of noise and lobby for awful privacy-invading and rights-withholding legislation -- that is their ultimate goal.
  - wmf 14y ago
    To be fair, they are working (slowly) on UltraViolet.
  - jeffool 14y ago
    While I have no special insight, I genuinely think you're attributing to malice what can more easily be attributed to stupidity. And even really smart people can be very, very stupid.
- ianferrel 14y ago
  What they'd really like to do is rent it to you, but for the price of buying it, and have you think you're buying it. Hence, the DRM.
  - chimeracoder 14y ago
    Bingo. If it comes with DRM, it's a rental, not a purchase, no matter how much you paid for it.
blhack 14y ago
That's totally fine with me. I'll rent movies on Amazon all day long for $1.99. How many movies do you have that see repeat viewings?
- mkenyon 14y ago
  Much less movies that you'll rewatch 9 times (bringing you to the purchase price)?
- zwily 14y ago
  You must not have kids... :)
- lloeki 14y ago
  My strategy: - no theatre[0] - rent all movies (mostly via Apple TV and Xbox360) - if I ever want to see a movie again, push it to a wishlist - regularly scan for sales and buy only movies on the wishlist, and only if their price is below a given cap. By that time retail prices have dropped a long way down from the original price, and my flat is not filled with watch-once-and-take-dust frisbees, which I happened to pay less and see much earlier than if I waited for prices to drop. And while it seems I pay for some films twice, in the end I actually pay less for those than if I bought them on the first view. [0]: Counting theatre for two persons, plus parking/public transport, I could watch five to seven movies for the same price at home, in a more comfortable situation, with a better quality. Around here theatres are a massive social-engineered ripoff.

by roc 14y ago

milesskorpen 14y ago

Not at all true — done consulting work for some major media companies, and they vastly preferred people to buy (just think: ~$20 vs. $3.99). I think DRM is just programmed into how the industry views the world, unfortunately.

roc 14y ago
If that were true then why is every DRM play not designed around cutting down piracy, but on limiting the rights of legal purchasers? Why hasn't there ever been key-transfer features to facilitate sales/trades/loans? Why are there always platform locks and media locks and account locks? Why is there so much effort to stop legal backups, loaning, libraries, etc? I don't doubt individual good people or divisions exist in major media companies that would just as well sell a movie for $20 and be done with it. But the repeated DRM strategy does not jive with that at all.
- ihsw 14y ago
  Because the media companies are headed by lawyers and politicians, if people were happily purchasing content for reasonable prices then they couldn't make a whole lot of noise and lobby for awful privacy-invading and rights-withholding legislation -- that is their ultimate goal.
- wmf 14y ago
  To be fair, they are working (slowly) on UltraViolet.
- jeffool 14y ago
  While I have no special insight, I genuinely think you're attributing to malice what can more easily be attributed to stupidity. And even really smart people can be very, very stupid.
ianferrel 14y ago
What they'd really like to do is rent it to you, but for the price of buying it, and have you think you're buying it. Hence, the DRM.
- chimeracoder 14y ago
  Bingo. If it comes with DRM, it's a rental, not a purchase, no matter how much you paid for it.

blhack 14y ago

That's totally fine with me. I'll rent movies on Amazon all day long for $1.99. How many movies do you have that see repeat viewings?

mkenyon 14y ago
Much less movies that you'll rewatch 9 times (bringing you to the purchase price)?
zwily 14y ago
You must not have kids... :)
lloeki 14y ago
My strategy: - no theatre[0] - rent all movies (mostly via Apple TV and Xbox360) - if I ever want to see a movie again, push it to a wishlist - regularly scan for sales and buy only movies on the wishlist, and only if their price is below a given cap. By that time retail prices have dropped a long way down from the original price, and my flat is not filled with watch-once-and-take-dust frisbees, which I happened to pay less and see much earlier than if I waited for prices to drop. And while it seems I pay for some films twice, in the end I actually pay less for those than if I bought them on the first view. [0]: Counting theatre for two persons, plus parking/public transport, I could watch five to seven movies for the same price at home, in a more comfortable situation, with a better quality. Around here theatres are a massive social-engineered ripoff.