Which DRMd format do you prefer to buy?

[ficbot]

I know most of us prefer books which do not have DRM. But let's say a book you want to read is only available in a DRMd format. Assume all other things are roughly equal: price, accessibility etc. There is no compelling reason to choose one over the other (i.e. no 'I must buy secure eReader to get a micropay credit' or anything like that). Assume also that you have the software to decrypt the book should you wish to. So, with that in mind, which format do you choose?

If you don't mind explaining why, that would be great. I am realizing that secure eReader, my format of choice in the past, is not the best for converting, but I am nervous about jumping ship from plain old HTML...

[Guns4Hire]

I put Other because I don't purchase eBooks that have DRM.

Other also means that if I absolutely have to purchase a eBook with DRM that the DRM doesn't survive very long after the download.

[desertgrandma]

See, I was gonna say..........

"You forgot the "I wouldn't buy a drm'd book if it hopped on my shoulders and sang "On the Good Ship Lollipop"!

[zelda_pinwheel]

i noticed you mentioned epub twice, and since no-one had voted for those categories yet i took the liberty of changing them to "adobe epub" and "bn epub".

personally, i prefer strongly to buy drm-free books. however, i also am decidedly weak-willed, and if there is a book i really really want to read which is only available with drm, provided it's a form of drm i can remove, i will buy it anyway (i try to keep that to minimum, nonetheless, and i remove the drm the instant i download it).

i chose adobe (adept) epub, because epub is my format of choice anyway so at least that way i avoid the extra step of converting the format (and the, ahem, "suprises" that sometimes come along with that). i haven't yet tried BN flavour drm, mainly because the few times i've wanted to buy a book from them, i was unable to due to geographic restrictions.

edit : never mind. i changed my vote to "other" after reading Guns4Hire's post, since that corresponds to my behaviour as well.

[zacheryjensen]

Someday I won't buy DRM'd eBooks, but, not until books I actually care to read are available that way. To me it's more important to prop up an actual eBook industry before going all activist about DRM.

That said, I choose ADEPT ePub because the DRM stripping is both easy and results in an unaltered ePub which is my format of choice when not using DRM.

If you were to exclude that reasoning, then I'd choose eReader because I can read them with Stanza on my iPhone. If there is ever a reader worth using on iPhone that supported ADEPT ePub then I'd lean back that way. For now, txtr is the only one, and it's awful

inept epub for the win...

[ficbot]

Thanks, Zelda.

To clarify, I am not interested in hashing out the DRM is evil argument, nor in the 'I would never ever buy a book with DRM' one either I am interested in hearing from people who DO BUY BOOKS WITH DRM about what format they choose. eReader has always felt like the most future-proof to me because it decrypts to plain HTML, but it is messy and time-consuming and I lose things like the graphics and layout. I was scared off from epub because it didn't look right in the Calibre viewer, but when I tried loading it onto my device I realized that it was because I was not seeing things like page breaks properly on my computer screen and they looked great on my device. So I am reconsidering.

[Lemurion]

If I have to buy a secure format, I prefer aDE ePub because I can use it transparently on my Sony Reader. As long as I download on my laptop and copy to my Reader I don't even notice its presence.

I dislike DRM, but if I'm going to have to deal with it, I prefer one that minimizes the amount of effort necessary on my part.

[weateallthepies]

Prefer DRM free but I'll generally opt for epub if need be since I like the format and I can strip the DRM very easily.

[zacheryjensen]

Originally Posted by ficbot

Thanks, Zelda.

To clarify, I am not interested in hashing out the DRM is evil argument, nor in the 'I would never ever buy a book with DRM' one either I am interested in hearing from people who DO BUY BOOKS WITH DRM about what format they choose. eReader has always felt like the most future-proof to me because it decrypts to plain HTML, but it is messy and time-consuming and I lose things like the graphics and layout. I was scared off from epub because it didn't look right in the Calibre viewer, but when I tried loading it onto my device I realized that it was because I was not seeing things like page breaks properly on my computer screen and they looked great on my device. So I am reconsidering.

That's the problem with that decrypter everyone uses for eReader. It SHOULD simply spit out the original eReader document without the DRM and let you convert it as you wish imho. Though... I probably would eventually explain how converting to html loses the eBook specific information that might be in there, as well as embedding of images and such is not supported in html and so you have to remember to keep track of more files, and all that. ePub is basically modern html with a few modifications specific to eBooks in a standard packaging format anyway.

Then add to that, that soon enough ePub will simply become the "original" eBook format after design format conversion from most if not all publishers. That's going make the eReader formats, which have less formatting capabilities, into a second class format more likely to contain errors or missing formatting data or whatnot.

So I guess if you're considering the future of dealing with DRM'd books, choosing where to buy, etc. I'd definitely consider ditching eReader. Even ereader (the company, aka bn) itself is moving to ePub, and not only that but with ADEPT ePubs you can generally use one certificate for decrypting from any of the various stores that sell that format. As for password protected ePubs, I have not looked into whether they are cracked, and I don't know what BN has on theirs, since their prices are always bad, I don't buy from them.

So in my mind ePub = Higher fidelity, Less requirement to convert, more purchasing options, more device options, and I would also argue it's as futureproof as the awful html spit out by ereader dedrm tools because it is an open format too.

[rcuadro]

I chose mobipocket since I buy from Amazon

[sabredog]

I prefer Mobipocket as I use the reader on both my smart phone and PDA. But in my desperate attempts to circumvent geo restrictions, I will take epub or MS Reader files as well.

In the end it is not so important as I "liberate" the file from unwanted additions and then add metadata as needed.

[KarenH]

I prefer Mobipocket because that was the first format I used, so it's the one I'm most comfortable with. Also, with the MobideDRM plugin for Calibre, the DRM removal is completely invisible and painless. ADE ePUB comes in a close second, but it loses out to Mobi due to the extra step required for DRM removal (which is ALWAYS my first step whenever I buy a DRMed book).

[texasnightowl]

ADEPT ePub or Mobi. I have a Kindle and will opt for ePub if buying somewhere other than Amazon.

[jabberwock_11]

I also began in the ebook world with mobi and, honestly if it were not for mobipocket I probably would never have even considered the possibility of buying an ebook reader. mobi ebooks tend to be formatted in the way that I like and convert easily into lrf or epub.

My familiarity with mobidedrm also helped me to be able to use ereader2html, and with B&N having such a low price on their books, this is a good thing.

[Bremen Cole]

I choose the Adobe adept, simple because it is an easier one to liberate.