[Infowarrior] - The DVD War Against Consumers

[Richard Forno]

The DVD War Against Consumers
Makers of new DVD players are going too far in copyright protection efforts,
but buyers needn't take it lying down

http://www.businessweek.com/print/technology/content/may2006/tc20060526_6800
75.htm

Having grown tired of one war, we're on the eve of another, complete with
alliances, secret codes, and laser beams. No, not Iran -- it's the fight
over the next generation of DVD devices. The real battle isn't between Sony
(SNE ) and Microsoft (MSFT ) and their chosen formats, it's between the
manufacturers and us -- the consumers, the ones who ultimately pay for it
all. And the battle is over Digital Rights Management (DRM), because in
addition to increased storage, these new disks are packed full of
copy-protection functions, some of which impair our ability to use the
content we pay for, the way we like and are legally entitled to.

Sony is championing a standard called Blu-ray, Microsoft is pushing HD-DVD.
Both formats have plenty of corporate backers. The upcoming PlayStation 3
will support Blu-ray, the Xbox 360 will get an add-on drive that uses
HD-DVD.

Both standards incorporate sophisticated DRM technology. The current crop of
DVDs uses a copy protection scheme that encrypts the disk, but that scheme
was broken several years ago and the hack was widely incorporated in
innumerable freeware DVD decryption programs. The movie studios have vowed
not to let that happen to them again.

BORDER PATROL.  But all software-based copy-protection schemes can be
broken. The only way a DRM can really work is to control all of the hardware
the video data flow through, including the monitor. The problem is that at
some point an unencrypted video signal is sent to a display device. It can
be split off before it gets there or videotaped once it's on the screen.

The AACS (Advanced Access Content System) standard supported by both the
Sony and Microsoft camps addresses this problem. The standard calls for
scaling down HD content to a low resolution if the player isn't hooked up to
an HDCP-compliant connection. HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content
Protection) is a DRM system invented by Intel (INTC ) that attempts to
control video and audio as it flows out of a player and onto a display. In
other words, if the player is connected to a monitor without the right
cables, the quality of the image will be deliberately degraded.

Blu-ray, however, goes beyond the AACS, incorporating two other protection
mechanisms: The ROM Mark is a cryptographic element overlaid on a
"legitimate" disk. If the player doesn't detect the mark, then it won't play
the disc. This will supposedly deal with video-camera-in-the-theatre copies.

STRANGLEHOLD ON CONTENT.  Even more extreme is a scheme called BD+ that
deals with the problem of what to do when someone cracks the encryption
scheme. The players can automatically download new crypto if the old one is
broken. But there's an ominous feature buried in this so-called protection
mechanism: If a particular brand of player is cryptographically
"compromised," the studio can remotely disable all of the affected players.
In other words, if some hacker halfway across the globe cracks Sony's
software, Sony can shut down my DVD player across the Net.

The Blu-ray's DRM scheme is simply anti-consumer. The standard reflects what
the studios really want, which is no copying of their material at all, for
any reason. They're clearly willing to take active and unpleasant measures
to enforce this. Last year's Sony/BMG rootkit fiasco comes to mind (see BW
Online, 11/29/05, "Sony BMG's Costly Silence"). The possibility that they
would disable thousands of DVD players, not because they're hacked but just
because they might be vulnerable, would have been unthinkable a few years
ago; it's clearly an option today.

What do consumers really want? We want high-quality video and sound, of
course. These days we also want interoperability. When we buy content, we
expect to play it on every gadget that we own. The newest video servers
require content to be copied to the hard drives, so that they can stream
video throughout the house. Soon, we'll also want to take the movies that we
paid for with us on small multimedia players like video iPods.

OTHER ANSWERS.  I support the rights of the studios to protect their content
right up until it stops me from doing something reasonable that I want to
do. Blu-ray crosses this line.

So should the studios just roll over and close their doors? I have some
suggestions for them:

€ Find a new pricing model. There's an iTunes for movies out there
somewhere.

€ Fuggetaboutit. It's true that lots of people download movies off the
Internet or buy bootleg copies, but how many adults will sit in front of a
computer screen and watch a pixilated movie or be content to watch a DVD
where someone's head keeps blocking the camera every few minutes? The kids
who download movies off the Net can't afford to buy a real copy anyway.
Stopping them from downloading and watching a movie doesn't translate into
an extra sale.

€ Go through the motions. Build a minimal DRM, enough to deter people from
casual copying. Then, grit your teeth and bear it.

CHOOSING CHOICE.  Part of the profit on movies comes from secondary-channel
sales. The days when the studios made all of their money from the box office
are long over. Now, they show movies on cable, on pay-per-view, in hotels,
and on airplanes. There are too many places for the content to get out. The
more the studios widen their channels to distribute their product, the more
opportunities there will be for someone to steal a copy. Plus, the move to
digital distribution of movies in theaters means that there's a much better
chance of someone snarfing a nice, clean, digital copy.

What should consumers do? Well, I'm a gadget freak but I'm not going to rush
out and buy one of the first players available. When I do, given a choice
between Blu-ray and a less-restrictive DRM format, I'll go with the latter,
all other things being equal. As to the DRM stuff, if you need to copy a DVD
for a legitimate purpose and the protection scheme won't let you and someone
posts a hack on the Net, well...you have a choice to make.



Holtzman is the former CTO of Network Solutions and the editor of
Globalpov.com, a blog that explores social changes brought about by
information technology