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Disney Licenses MS Windows Media DRM
securitas writes "CNet/ZDNet reports that Walt Disney has licensed Microsoft's Windows Media DRM technology for use in online movie distribution via the Internet. Reuters reports that Disney plans to sell movies online in late 2004 or early 2005, while AP reports that the multi-year license for Microsoft's digital rights/restrictions management and copy-protection software will let Disney distribute content on mobile phones, PDAs and portable media players (mirror). The companies are expected to officially announce the deal later today (Monday)." Conspiracy theorists, start your engines; kidding aside, this is something to watch, as these are two titans of industry.
How are the illuminati involved in this again?
The anti-salmon
Disney is not going to be a "titan" any longer. They're on the decline. Unless Eisner and the current board of directors are gone, Disney will be run into the ground. At that point, we won't have to worry about Disney DRM or their Senate Lackeys.
-Cyc
/.'s 10 Millionth
With Microsoft's record for security, this should help assure free [Disney] movies available to anyone who wants them.
Now i can watch a disney DVD on my non Microsoft device.. err wait... perhaps not...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Just wait 'til Steve Jobs, who is already head of Apple and Pixar, decides that he wants to be the head of Disney too.
How long would the MSFT deal last then?
Will they be using a standard format then that would be compatbile with many devices or are they going to be using a custom format?
Wait.. do I REALLY need Mickey Mouse (C) on my cell phone?
::runs for the hills::
Does this mean that half way through the Disney movie, right when Mary Kate and Ashley are starting the best porition of their acting, you're going to have to reboot?
Vain egos often make bad business decisions. Pixar does not need Disney any longer, and most of Disney's recent ventures have been pale imitations of Pixar's work.
Thank you for using the proper term here: titans. Disney and Microsoft are surely powerful in their industries (right now, today). But everyone here has the choice to not purchase or support these products. No one is forcing you to buy Disney products, watch ABC television, or wear their licensed gear. No one is forcing you to buy products using MS DRM technology.
Remember that before you suggest that either is a monopoly. Look at things in your life and find out where the real monopolies are.
Can you bow out of Social Security? Are you forced to eat at McDonalds? Do you have to pay into federal unemployment insurance? Did you pick your car insurance company, or was it "granted to you" by the voting majority?
Wolf in sheep's clothing makes deal with devil. Sounds like a Disney movie to me.
The only Disney movies I've actually paid to see in the last few years were all Pixar animations. Now that Pixar's gone, Disney doesnt have much left, and I dont think a little cell phone screen is going to make their animations look any better. I think they need to focus on creating quality features before they try and start selling them...unless they're trying to bypass stores all together and go to a direct-to-phone distribution..
Or rather, Eisner vs. Jobs.
They hate each other.
Jobs is determined to become the next Disney.
And Disney is turning to Microsoft. I almost feel sorry for them, no-one (and I mean no-one) has ever done a deal with Microsoft and not regretted it later.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Is a documentary on Bill Gates called: Bluescreen and the Beast.
Considering most people in the U.S. don't have broadband, this seems rather premature. And would those with broadband really want to wait an hour or ten to watch what, compared to a DVD, is pixelated crap? Would you really want to invite your gf to watch some grainy compressed video or would you splurge on the $3 DVD rental?
I wonder if Steve Jobs took his little computer animated characters and left Disney because they went with M$ DRM. Deals like this don't happen over night. Just a thought...
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW MR. BRUCKHEIMER? BOOOOOOM!
taken! (by Davidleeroth) Thanks Bingo Foo!
Disney made a genious, tough at the time risky, move to do business with Pixar. Pixar, with every new movie they put out, has raised the bar on animated movies. Traditional 2D-Disney animation is on a steep decline, and Pixar is now breaking free of Disney. (I've seen the figures somewhere, don't have a link, but take it from me, it's impressive...)
For this deal with MS to be a success, they must have content people are willing to watch. And that is something they're not putting out anymore with Pixar off their team.
They can still be considered a titan, but for how long?
Best wishes,
Mike.
I'm guessing that all this will mean is that Mac users won't be able to watch 'Lion King 7' on their computers when it come out... :p
Without Pixar, Disney could be in real trouble film wise...
I mean, seriously....haven't they been paying attention to the friendly hackers? Once it gets popular we'll break the DRM faster than Bush can say "weapons of mass destruction."
... on the way downhill
i would rather bet my $$ on the Apple/pixar tandem : 2 stars on the rise
When will I end this grieving ? When will my future begin ?
The mouse was very old; seemed like it had been around forever. Whenever anyone talked about the mouse, it'd better be good or *stomp*! No one was allowed to take a picture of the mouse or fashion its likeness in any way.
All the people around the mouse were tired parents in chains - as long as you put chains on when you were in the presence of the mouse you were safe. As soon as you took the chains off - *stomp*!
I really have to lay off the homemade guacamole.
All office assistant's I know are sleepy, dopey, and grumpy. But most assuredly not happy.
Figure it'll cost as much as going to Hollywood/Blockbuster and renting a DVD. Add in potential connection issues with streaming, time do dl if it's download, and then it's on a computer. I'll take renting a DVD, throwing it in and watching it on a TV. Less issues, probably the same cost. Movie downloads aren't going anywhere for several years at least, let Disney roll with MS DRM, it's going to fail anyway.
"Windows Me offers tremendous reliability and stability improvements..." -- Paul Thurott
As part of the new Disney-Microsoft deal, Bill Gates will be starring as Peter Pan in the new Disney remake of this well known epos. A source close to Microsoft said that Steve Balmer will co-star as Tinkerbell.
So will the movies only be playable every seven years?
G
At least they're being pro-active about this and are creating a legal way to download. I think they'll also need to lower prices relative to DVDs, but that's beside the point.
Rather than joking about Microsoft security or Disney's financial situation and friendship with certain Senators, why not discuss the possible viability of the online movie market. Will people really download these legally, rather than get DVD rips off Kazaa and BitTorrent links? Or worse, when the DRM technology gets cracked, will the movies spread for free?
Personally I believe that this won't stop online piracy or make up for the lost sales, but the legality and conveniece will make the downloadable movies an attractive alternative. The revenues will never be the same but it'll be better than trying to prevent online distribution at all.
I'm a little segfault, short and stout.
microsoft
disney +
----------------------
mickeysoft
I have a vga port on mine.. so im not really limted to just the LCD.
Also dont forget homebuilt 'tivo' like devices. Most of them wont be compatible either.
Or laptops running something other then the latest ( not even old will work i bet ) versions of windows.
I dont belive that 'pda content' is the end all goal.. not for a moment.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
There are times when forcing more control over something leads to a total loss of control. As individuals, we tend to resent being distrusted. As a group we are no different. I don't see anything useful coming out of these DRM schemes. Dishonest people will *always* find a way to break into something.
Walt Disney has licensed Microsoft's Windows Media DRM technology
Wow, so they un-froze his head long enough to sign a license? Cool!
Oh, you mean the Walt Disney Company !!!
There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.
Does anyone around here have an interest in watching a movie on a 1.5" (4 cm) lcd?
I don't see Eisner pushing full-length feature films in this medium as much as 11-minute-or-shorter episodes of "Recess", "Pepper Ann", "House of Mouse" or any of the other ABC crap that Disney has tried to push on K-12 kids.
You are the quibbling sort, always looking for any excuse to avoid reality. Microsoft has been convicted of being a monopoly, and has not appealed it; Microsoft thereby admits to being a monopoly.
One of the classic anti trust cases involved a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River. There was no other suitable location for a bridge crossing within hundreds of miles. The railroad was convicted of being a monopoly, because there was no practical alternative.
You are the kind of quibbler who would say, oh they could ship around Cape Horn. Oh, they could build a new railroad and bridge hundreds of miles out of the way. Oh, they could barge it across.
Bullshit. Disney itself may not be a monopoly, but Microsoft sure is, tried, convicted, and admitted. And Disney's membership in the MPAA sure taints them with monopolistic practices.
Get real.
Infuriate left and right
People don't want to buy DRM media. Period. Let Disney try it and then feel the wrath of consummers when they figure out they *lost* the "rights" to the movie/clip/music they had *PURCHASED* with their hard earned dollars. MS's DRM is dead on arrival. To this day, I yet have to meet a single person that encodes her music to WMA and that is psyched about it. People stick with MP3 beacause at this point it's open enough and it'll be supported for life. Good luck Disney.
there's no place like ~
... is the deal that Microsoft made with the Shrub administration when it came in, to water down the antitrust case as far as possible. You can't deny that has been a good deal for the politicians, lots of money was had from that.
... :-) and several more ;-) :-O =:-O
And for you moderators without any clues, here is one
Infuriate left and right
Let's face the facts. DRM is coming, it's going to be here no matter how much kicking and screaming people do it's going to be here. Many of the Slashdot crowd have been wringing their hands concerned with Linux/BSD/other being squeezed out of being able to view movies, listen to MP3's, etc. All they have been saying is M$ is bad because of DRM they are going to screw *US*. Well they are going to screw non MS users if we don't do something about it.
Content providers want DRM, MS probably doesn't care a bit about DRM but they realized that providers want it before they'll release their product. So they fill the niche because opensource has only been against it instead of offering their alternative. If opensource, etc doesn't want to be completely squeezed out of this market they need to offer an alternative. An alternative that can be used on any platform without cost. Content providers don't want to pay a M$ license, they just want a warm fuzzy. If we can give them a warm fuzzy without cost; it'll still be DRM but it'll be *our* DRM that won't prevent *my* OS from being able to view their content. We need to get an acceptable alternative out there before we non-M$ users completely lose any use (even a crippled DRM use) because we let M$ control the market completely.
... because on a Monday morning I'm not exactly the best person to go for help with formating your document. ;)
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
Pixar still has three movies it owes Disney.
Two now that Finding Nemo is done[1]. Or does the contract specify that Pixar owes Disney something beyond The Incredibles and Cars?
How long do you think it would take Disney to setup a Pixar knock-off?
Knockoff? Not long at all. Division whose movies survive for a strong second weekend? Not while Eisner remains in power.
[1] "Done" as in "dinner's ready".
A recent /. talked about the demise of record stores. Is the same bound to happen with movies? With legal downloading - even if it's for one-time viewing - what's the use of Blockbuster?
I would love to see PBS with the budget that Disney has. :)
Thinking outside my Head
PBS, not enough budget. Nickelodeon? Don't like it, plus bad drawing. DreamWorks might have something, they got potentials.
In US, you can easily buy enough major firearms to wipe out your neighbourhood but a few little fireworks are banned.
To be quite honest, you don't matter to Disney (unless you are a parent). They market their tripe to the mass-market of parents. Good, wholesome family values. They get parents to buy every friggin thing they put out with this method. Who wants to hear a kid screaming over and over that they want to watch The Lion King 1 1/2? Just buy the DVD so the kid will shut up for a couple of hours. Go into a mall, and look at who is actually buying things in the Disney store. Go to that train-wreck Disney themed indoor amusement thingy. Go to Disney World. Ugh. They aren't concerned with quality, they are concerned with $$$$$. Microsoft is the way to go for them...
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
This is a great step forward in Microsoft's strategic plans forthe future. Facing a growing threat from competing operating systems, and losing market share in international circles, mostly business clients, Microsoft has braced itself for the future, when it will not be the no. 1 OS. Take for example MSNBC, a money losing venture for Microsoft since its launcha few years back. Xbox barely takes in a profit. Yet these two products are examples of how MS is carefully pushing itself into media delivery, a business I believe Gates is targeting in the future. By having even a presence in these industries, even if a small one, companies and shareholders in the future will learn to trust MS in this field.
Some years from now (like 8) when MS does another big buyout or forms a subsidiary in a movie business or production studio or home entertainment encryption, MS may have established itself as a trustworthy name, and the OS part of its company may play a lesser role at that point. Remember that Disney has influcence and presence in many circles of business as well, making this an alliance to watch carefully.
[Please sign here]
Didn't Disney attempt to sell the DVDs with an expiration date? And if I recall that failed gloriously.
And who will really want to stream a movie? Pay, say $5 for something that looks like crap; or maybe they'll let you download DVD quality...who couldn't download 3 - 4 gigs of video, right? Disney really has had some strange ideas lately.
In any event, buying the DVD will probably only be $10 more than paying to download it, so why bother at all?
slashdot, news for crazed liberal socialist zealots
the irony here is that it's debatable whether winnie the pooh is really disney's to use and distribute.
some guy called slesinger bought, lock stock and honey pot, all the rights to pooh from a.a. milne back in something like 1930. he licensed those rights to walt disney (the guy, not the company) sometime later for a royalty payment.
now disney co. is apparently being remiss in their royalty payments and has been manufacturing poohware outside of the scope of the licensing agreement for twenty-something years. so slesinger's widow is suing.
and now disney wants to put drm on pooh content to stop people from "stealing their property."
sweet irony.
2 1337 4 u!
Given Disney's trackrecord of turning every DRM solution they touch into a consumer backlash, we should be able to watch the market failure of MS's DRM product.
;-)
Remember, these are the guys that have watched DivX and disposable DVDs flop in the market. Maybe third times a charm, but it'll be more fun to watch MS get sucked into Disney's inability to squeeze more money from the pre-school crowd who watch those movies till the VHS tapes are worn thin.
I say, let the games begin.
Arrogance is Confidence which lacks integrity. -- me
Microsoft has posted a press release.
"The two companies signed a multiyear agreement for Disney to license Microsoft's Windows Media digital rights management technology, which protects digital content from being illegally copied or played."
not being able to play it eh.. j/k
anyways my point is that I don't understand illegally playing it. If you can't make an illegal copy how could you illegaly play it in the first place. The thing I guess I don't like about these new programs where you download music online and now movies is that when it comes down to it I want to make copies to watch on other computers other devices and such that is still legal to do. At least where I live in Canada U.S. has got so anal about it I'm not sure what the law on that type of thing are anymore.
Titans perhaps, but industry? Doesn't that imply the production of useful goods or services?
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Titan or not, Disney hasn't had much luck lately trying to control how their media is distributed and what hardware is allowed to view it.
Just take a look at its track record with Divx and the "disposable DVD's". Yet they still refuse to acknowledge that people (their consumers) want to play movies/music in whatever hardware they have. They don't want to jump through the studio's hoops just to watch a movie or listen to a piece of music.
Wait a minute. I got it. You could play with your magic nose goblins.
Look at their comparative output in the last ten years. PIXAR is the new Disney. (Well, at least in the animated feature arena. To be fair Disney has several other allied businesses that Pixar is not in. Yet.) And Disney, lacking any real vision or innovation, it resorting to anti-consumer DRM lockin. Just the kind of strategy you'd expect from a company that's lost it's edge.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Monopoly by definition does not include the government, no matter how evil and controlling that government is. Though I don't always agree with them, most Libertarians are quite intelligent and logical, and you are insulting them with such stupid arguments.
If the evil government said everybody *must* purchase Microsoft, then Microsoft would still be the monopoly, not the government. The government would be a bad government.
PS: Microsoft certainly is a monopoly. It is physically impossible to do many things that are required in life (such as work at many jobs) without purchasing a product from Microsoft (ie you must have it on your home computer).
PPS: A lot of the power of the monopoly Microsoft and of Disney (who really are not a monopoly) are due to anti-libertarian laws such as copyright and patents and protectionism. You should be finding arguments on how these laws are helping unscrupulous and greedy people to get more power than they should be able to have under a "free" system.
Kid: (Whine) (Whine) Dadddyyy!!! I'm bored! (Whine) I want to see a disney cartoon on the phone.
Dad: Sorry, my phone won't do that.
Kid: (Whine, Sniffle) But Joey gets to watch them on his dad's phone.
Dad: I know, son, but I don't have the right kind of phone for that.
Wife: Damnit, Bob! I told you not to buy that Linux phone. (Nag, nag, nag) All my friends bought phones that let their kids watch Disney, but you had to go buy another one of your geek toys!
I know that we buy Disney DVDs right now cause they can be played anywhere. We have a DVD player in the van (for road trips - ha!), DVD players on the kids computers in the basement, and of course, the DVD player by the entertainment center. I even have a DVD player on my laptop that is used on flights and in hotels. I can't imagine streaming a copy to my TV then buying another copy for the van or PC. How will DRM affect how I share my movie through the 4 or 5 ways I can watch it right now?
"If you are on fire you can just stop, drop, and roll. If you fall into Lava you are just dead." - my 5yr old daughter
On which you can't play any mainstream movies or music. The media giants are learning. From CDs they learned, don't distribute digital content in the clear. From DVDs they learned, encryption based on trade secrets can and will be reverse engineered. WMA offers the "advantage" that some aspects of it are covered by patents, that any player not properly licensed infringes on the patents, and that MS can easily win the infringement cases against the developers in court. Financially ruin a couple of hackers for life (personal bankruptcy won't get you any relief from that $10M judgement you owe MS -- you're going to be poor FOREVER) and the hackers will quit.
And for better or worse, Joe Sixpack and his family want to consume mainstream content. Joe WANTS to see the local sports teams. His tykes WANT to watch Disney cartoons. And so on. If the Linux-based device won't play WMA, Joe's not going to be interested. And possession of an MPEG version of the video (as an example) will be a trivially easy copyright infringement case to win -- since the only legal copies that are distributed are in WMA...
I used to do technology intelligence work for a large media firm, and predicted this as a likely evolution at least three years ago.
Jobs versus Eisner & Gates. Hmmm. Eisner is under attack by the Disney family (having kicked the Son off the board, effectively) and has had a high profile contract loss (Pixar itself). Gates is reviled and ridiculed by roughly the same people since Greenspun made his Bill Gates Personal Wealth Clock; this hasn't hurt him much at all. Jobs is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma (without the genocide). Pixar had a disappointing earnings report
Will Time Warner choose sides?
Speaking of which, will this Internet/Media marriage have as much impact as TimeWarner/AOL? if so, this is non-news.
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
Pixar is a bunch of very creative folks with a lot of CPU horsepower, but no distribution channels. Disney is a very large, diversified company with a LOT of "pull" (or is it "push"?) with theaters and rental outfits. It doesn't matter how good the movie, if no one can view it.
I can't think of one movie distribution channel in Hollywood who wouldn't give a major portion of their anatomy for the chance to distribute Pixar's stuff (and get a cut of the action, natch).
Pixar will have NO PROBLEM finding someone to distribute their stuff.
--R.J.
Electric-Escape.net
NOTE: You must purchase a Disney certified Enjoyment Right (tm) for each person viewing any portion the movie. You must also purchase a right for each piece of equipment involved in the presentation of the movie. This right lasts for the duration of the movie, and then expires. Failure to purchase the correct number of rights is a felony offense. Inclusion of any missing, false or misleading information in the Enjoyment Right (tm) request form is a felony offense. Use of playback or presentation equipment which does not support Enjoyment Rights is a felony offense. Attempting to circumvent any portion of the Enjoyment Right restrictions, as outlined by the FBI, is a felony offense.
Thank you for choosing Disney products. Enjoy the movie!.
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
... literally. A couple of Disney "Imagineers" were in town for a presentation and said that Disney has changed to the point that they are now cracking down on free coffee while DreamWorks is providing free lunches in an effort to keep it's talent on campus.
The Disney approach is typical accounting mentality towards creativity. Because profits are down, we need to tighten the screws. Meanwhile the talent is spending 20 minutes deciding where to go for lunch, 20 minutes to get there, and if they're networking with anyone, it's to look for a new job.
During their introduction, a sketch of Mickey was slowly drawn on the screen with the explanation that some of the greatest ideas start with a sketch. It was all I could do not to yell out, "Yeah, a sketch of Steam Boat Willy!".
I refrained and was allowed to listen to these two blather on about how outdated Disney's creative process is. These were supposed to people be people who actually designed physical attractions, but there was no mention of 3D visualization, rapid prototyping, or virtual walk throughs.
...I doubt I will be elligible to buy from Disney. :( Forget about DRM, what about the amount of data I would be downloading? Would I be able to download my kids' favorites to watch without fear of being disconnected?