Managed Copy Spec for High-Def Discs May Be on the Horizon
E-Commerce Times is reporting that the new "Managed Copy Specification" for HDDVD and Blu-Ray disks that is expected to be released soon by the
Advanced Access Content System (AACS), may allow for the consumer legally making a certain number of copies for "fair use." What a shocking concept. One of the things that appears to be delaying the release of the specification is that it's already being cracked -- yes,
before it's been released.
The article spends a fair amount of time covering old ground about why providers want DRM and why consumers don't, old news to us here, then offers some examples of ways the managed copy spec
might operate, none of which are surprising or particularly innovative.
Quote:
One example is to let customers make a single backup copy that would require an Internet connection to a central site that would verify the copy and allow or reject it. Other options could be the ability to make copies for other devices at small extra fees, also with the likelihood of some kind of online verification and permission system.
Other examples include the ability to make a limited number of copies for friends or relatives, for example, by paying an extra price at the point of sale. Then there's the idea that ownership of the content is on the way out anyway, so any managed copying would have time-related limitations placed on it.
|
After that, it gets interesting with a few ... enlightening comments on their view of the purpose of DRM in this context:
(These comments are attributed to Mike McGuire, a research vice president for a company called "
Gartner")
Quote:
"The real reason for DRM is the notion that people will permanently own this content, and we're not convinced that for consumers, that the majority of video and TV content is going to be the kind of content consumers will want to permanently own."
Previous subscription models haven't taken off, but the future of video content won't likely be a traditional ownership model, which is at direct odds with the DVD-related industry.
|
It's not clear from the article who this Mike McGuire is in the context of content and DRM, nor why what he says should be of particular interest or value. "Gartner" appears, from their website, to be some sort of IT consulting firm, presumably they have some connection with the AACS and this copying standard.
So, then this would appear to be another shift in the tectonics of DRM, but the question I have is whether it's a genuine loosening of the DRM grip on content, or just an attempt to figure out how tight the grip can be without the market slipping through its fingers? Is this another step on the road to DRM completely going away, or will DRM diminish only to a point that most folks don't mind it, and get used to it, so that it remains at that 'comfortable' level?
Full Article here.