Determing DRM, etc

gdlow · 01-24-2011, 03:11 PM

How do we determine which books, when buying from a site or even those on our Kindle/Nook/etc have DRM, etc associated with them?

abookreader · 01-24-2011, 03:20 PM

Well - pretty much anything you buy from a major publisher will have DRM.

If you are buying on Amazon there are a few books which will say "unlimited number of devices" that might not have DRM. I'm sure that Barnes and Noble has something similar.

If you are confused the easiest method is to try and open the file in Calibre or another reading software or on another digital reader. If it won't open, it has DRM.

WalkingDistance · 01-24-2011, 04:30 PM

Well if you wanted to get more specific (what type of DRM), here's a way which I found worked for me.

Amazon basically has 3 types of DRM:
Topaz
Standard
None

As abookreader said: to see whether it has a DRM or not, just try opening it in calibre. If it opens, No DRM. If it won't, there will be an error saying the book is protected by DRM.

I found a rule of thumb way (that's worked for me so far but I'm not sure if it's a sure-fire way to tell) to see whether an ebook is protected under "standard" DRM or Amazon's newer "Topaz" DRM.

Download a sample of the book. If it has regular words in it (text like a mobi file), it uses the "standard" DRM. If it looks as if the book has been scanned and the letters seem unclear (sometimes the fonts are different), I found that it is in the "Topaz" format (for all the books that I've bought).

Anyway, I know this is a lot more detailed than your original question, but maybe this'll help.

JSWolf · 01-24-2011, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WalkingDistance

Well if you wanted to get more specific (what type of DRM), here's a way which I found worked for me.

Amazon basically has 3 types of DRM:
Topaz
Standard
None

As abookreader said: to see whether it has a DRM or not, just try opening it in calibre. If it opens, No DRM. If it won't, there will be an error saying the book is protected by DRM.

I found a rule of thumb way (that's worked for me so far but I'm not sure if it's a sure-fire way to tell) to see whether an ebook is protected under "standard" DRM or Amazon's newer "Topaz" DRM.

Download a sample of the book. If it has regular words in it (text like a mobi file), it uses the "standard" DRM. If it looks as if the book has been scanned and the letters seem unclear (sometimes the fonts are different), I found that it is in the "Topaz" format (for all the books that I've bought).

Anyway, I know this is a lot more detailed than your original question, but maybe this'll help.

Topaz is not a form of DRM. Topaz is an eBook format. It uses the same DRM as AZW. And AZW is only AZW with DRM. Once the DRM from AZW is removed, it's Mobipocket.

whitearrow · 01-24-2011, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Topaz is not a form of DRM. Topaz is an eBook format. It uses the same DRM as AZW. And AZW is only AZW with DRM. Once the DRM from AZW is removed, it's Mobipocket.

Yes, but there are books in the Kindle store (.azw) that don't have DRM on them. Usually independently published ones with no DRM at the author's option. There's no way to distinguish these from books with DRM other than opening them in Mobipocket Reader or Calibre (if you don't have the de-DRM plugins enabled).

JSWolf · 01-24-2011, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdlow

How do we determine which books, when buying from a site or even those on our Kindle/Nook/etc have DRM, etc associated with them?

Amazon has PID based DRM
nookbooks have username/credit card based DRM
Apple has Fairplay DRM
Sony and the rest of the world selling ePub uses Adobe Adept based DRM
PDF uses Adobe Adept DRM
Mobipocket uses PID based DRM
MS Reader uses a DRM I am not sure about
eReader uses username/credit card based DRM

For DRMed eBooks...
Amazon sells AZW & Topaz
Sony sells ePub
Barnes & Noble sells ePub
Apple sells ePub and non-standard ePub since iBooks has features that are not part of the ePub specification
Fictionwise sells eReader
Mobipocket sells Mobipocket

Tiersten · 01-24-2011, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WalkingDistance

Amazon basically has 3 types of DRM:
Topaz
Standard
None

Topaz isn't DRM. Its a type of eBook file format where they can include custom fonts instead of the AZW/Mobipocket file format which uses the built in fonts on the reader. The custom font is what you're seeing as they scan in the actual physical book and crop out each letter so they only need 1 copy of each letter per font per book. Generally people don't like Topaz books because they have some QA issues a lot of the time and the typeface is fuzzy or badly scanned.

You can get eBooks which are the 3 main types the Kindle (Mobipocket, AZW and TPZ) can support that have DRM and also are completely free of DRM. Its not linked to the file format at all.

JSWolf · 01-24-2011, 04:56 PM

A Kindle book without DRM will have Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited in the product details for the book.

JSWolf · 01-24-2011, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiersten

Topaz isn't DRM. Its a type of eBook file format where they can include custom fonts instead of the AZW/Mobipocket file format which uses the built in fonts on the reader. The custom font is what you're seeing as they scan in the actual physical book and crop out each letter so they only need 1 copy of each letter per font per book. Generally people don't like Topaz books because they have some QA issues a lot of the time and the typeface is fuzzy or badly scanned.

You can get eBooks which are the 3 main types the Kindle (Mobipocket, AZW and TPZ) can support that have DRM and also are completely free of DRM. Its not linked to the file format at all.

The Kindle does not support Mobipocket with DRM. Only DRM free Mobipocket works.

Tiersten · 01-24-2011, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The Kindle does not support Mobipocket with DRM. Only DRM free Mobipocket works.

I thought people used to be able to get the Kindle PID and then put it into other sites which used Mobipocket DRM?

pdurrant · 01-24-2011, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiersten

I thought people used to be able to get the Kindle PID and then put it into other sites which used Mobipocket DRM?

Yes, and then one of the Mobipocket servers stopped accepting Kindle PIDs. Books on board lists (or used to list) two Mobipocket DRM servers, PX and OD. I can't remember now which one stopped accepting Kindle PIDs.

Tiersten · 01-24-2011, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Yes, and then one of the Mobipocket servers stopped accepting Kindle PIDs. Books on board lists (or used to list) two Mobipocket DRM servers, PX and OD. I can't remember now which one stopped accepting Kindle PIDs.

Ah. Interesting. I had no idea they did that. This all happened before I even had a Kindle so I didn't look that closely at it.

JSWolf · 01-24-2011, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Yes, and then one of the Mobipocket servers stopped accepting Kindle PIDs. Books on board lists (or used to list) two Mobipocket DRM servers, PX and OD. I can't remember now which one stopped accepting Kindle PIDs.

If I am not mistaken, it was the OD server. Which is why library book Mobipocket no longer work with the Kindle.

KevinH · 01-24-2011, 05:43 PM

Hi,

Actually Topaz books do not use the same DRM as azw. Topaz books do not use Pukall Cipher 1 (ie. MobiDeDRM), they use a different encryption algorithm completely. So yes you could say that Topaz is a type of DRM since it uses an different encryption scheme that other mobi books.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Topaz is not a form of DRM. Topaz is an eBook format. It uses the same DRM as AZW. And AZW is only AZW with DRM. Once the DRM from AZW is removed, it's Mobipocket.

KevinH · 01-24-2011, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiersten

You can get eBooks which are the 3 main types the Kindle (Mobipocket, AZW and TPZ) can support that have DRM and also are completely free of DRM. Its not linked to the file format at all.

I have never seen a Topaz ebook without DRM? Are you sure they exist?

01-24-2011, 03:11 PM	#1
gdlow Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: kindle	Determing DRM, etc How do we determine which books, when buying from a site or even those on our Kindle/Nook/etc have DRM, etc associated with them?

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01-24-2011, 03:20 PM	#2
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	Well - pretty much anything you buy from a major publisher will have DRM. If you are buying on Amazon there are a few books which will say "unlimited number of devices" that might not have DRM. I'm sure that Barnes and Noble has something similar. If you are confused the easiest method is to try and open the file in Calibre or another reading software or on another digital reader. If it won't open, it has DRM.

01-24-2011, 04:30 PM	#3
WalkingDistance Connoisseur Posts: 58 Karma: 50018 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Well if you wanted to get more specific (what type of DRM), here's a way which I found worked for me. Amazon basically has 3 types of DRM: Topaz Standard None As abookreader said: to see whether it has a DRM or not, just try opening it in calibre. If it opens, No DRM. If it won't, there will be an error saying the book is protected by DRM. I found a rule of thumb way (that's worked for me so far but I'm not sure if it's a sure-fire way to tell) to see whether an ebook is protected under "standard" DRM or Amazon's newer "Topaz" DRM. Download a sample of the book. If it has regular words in it (text like a mobi file), it uses the "standard" DRM. If it looks as if the book has been scanned and the letters seem unclear (sometimes the fonts are different), I found that it is in the "Topaz" format (for all the books that I've bought). Anyway, I know this is a lot more detailed than your original question, but maybe this'll help.

01-24-2011, 04:56 PM	#8
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,259 Karma: 145488788 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	A Kindle book without DRM will have Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited in the product details for the book.

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