Hooray Apple, I mean... um.

[Cryozombie]

Friday, November 21, 2008

Wired reports that Apple has caved to Hollywood and added restrictive copy protection to MacBooks. The DRM scheme prevents MacBook owners from watching copyrighted content when the computer is connected to a display that is not “authorized”.
Movie studios are scared stiff of allowing anyone to watch video on a device that could used to make and distribute copies, giving them the false impression that they need to dictate where, when and how a customer is allowed to watch a movie or TV show. Unfortunately for the honest, law-abiding customer a “device that could be used to make and distribute copies” is pretty much any computer with a hard drive or television hooked up to a recorder — all devices with perfectly legal applications.
The copy protection scheme shipping with new MacBooks prevents content purchased from the iTunes Store from playing if the laptop is hooked up to an output device that is not approved. These unapproved output devices include many recent televisions and external monitors.When one attempts to watch an iTunes movie or TV show on their unapproved TV they see the following message instead:

This movie cannot be displayed because a display that is not authorized to play protected movies is connected.
​

I knew there was a reason I hate Apple products. This is just one more nail.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Sheeesh. This a hardware or software thing? Give folks time, they'll hack in a work around somewhere.

 

[MA-Caver]

True, but then the FBI monitors things like this and are ever watchful. They're not just watching terrorist networks or child-porn sites or identity thefts. If the law says it's illegal then finding ways around it are just as.


Sigh... I miss Napster.

 

[AceHBK]

Sheeesh. This a hardware or software thing? Give folks time, they'll hack in a work around somewhere.

So true, just give it time and there will be a hack. Just hope it is software and not hardware.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

One more thing for hackers to hack.

But for the average person who does not engage in these acts I can only imagine this will hurt Apples sales.

I just got a DVD from Japan it is region 2. I can only watch it on my pc(4 times thanks Vista you lousy piece of...)

 

[Sukerkin]

Can you not de-regionalise your DVD player, JCA?

If not, then it might be worth a little research to find models for which there is an input method of removing region coding. We have one hooked up to the TV just for the purpose of watching 'import' movies or series recorded for us by friends overseas (so we can watch them without adverts and in sequence).

DRM and Region Coding are two big copyright soapboxes for me. It is simply an infringement of our rights as consumers and actually does not do the producers of such media any good at all.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

- Buy a region free dvd player
- install a second dvd drive, and set it to the other region
- set up a linux pc and run one of their dvd programs that lets you change regions as needed.
- buy a hackable cheep dvd player.

 

[Cryozombie]

-
- buy a hackable cheep dvd player.

Yeah, my 49 dollar Apex DVD player not only lets me change regions, I can play Pal and NTSC formated DVDs.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

Thank you for the help I will look into it.