Slashdot Mirror
Why Microsoft Hates Blu-ray
An anonymous reader writes "The private feud just became public. Apparently,
Gates yelled at Sony's CEO because the new copy protection Blu-ray has adopted would prevent players from streaming content to the Xbox 360. Since the PS3 will have Blu-ray support but the Xbox 360 only has a plain DVD drive, this means PS3 will be the only console that can play HD movies. Also, Paramount just announced support for Blu-ray and
Warner Brothers may also jump ship. Will VHS vs. Betamax turn out differently this time?"
Great. So they're going to pull another DVD+R DVD-R type of format war over the consumer. My vote is for betamax.
I've read the fine article, and most of the posts so far. Most notable in all of this bickering is a seeming disregard for the consumer. It's all about controlling the consumer, not about providing the best technology. I wonder when any of this comes about how mature either technology will be.
Have you ever tried to configure and make work current HD technology? Hell, they've not even gotten this to work properly!
Case in point, if you're trying to run HD through an Audio Visual switch, good luck getting the sound to synchronize with the picture. I struggled with this for some friends new setup and did an end-zone dance when I got it to work. Then we found out that some video sources and inputs worked synchronized, while others didn't. What a pain in the ass.
And then, you have to choose what the output from the A/V switch to the TV will be, S-video, composite, coax? For the configuration we set up, getting to a satisfactory signal we went with composite only to find all of the screen enunciator functions from the A/V switch (Yamaha) weren't generated on the composite output.
It seems everywhere you turn, the new wow-technology either doesn't work right, doesn't work well, doesn't work all of the time, and sometimes doesn't work at all. FSCK!
Now layer on top of all of this the new HD or Blu Ray DVD stuff. I shudder at the compolications we face with the DRM crap they're focusing on. Instead they should be making this as easy to use as possible with as few speed bumps as possible. I'm not holding my breath.
And for those who would recommend "RTFM", I did. I went to the various places that sell this stuff, I Googled, and could not find definitive ultimate solutions to all of these glitches. Thank God the entertainment industry isn't in charge of the space program!
I disagree. One good use of it is libraries that lend audiobooks - several of them let you download audiobooks with DRM that expires the file after the two-week lending period. Not only is that entirely legitimate, it's efficient.
Generally speaking, it's not impossible to imagine a DRM system that justly protects the IP rights of an artist/publisher/author's content. The problem is that publishers, not consumers, are the ones behind such systems, and as such the systems aren't designed to be fair - they're designed to garner maximum advantage for the publisher.
What we need is a neutral third party to create and administer DRM that protects both the owner's intellectual property and the consumer's right to fair use. Unfortunately, no such third party exists, so long as the RIAAs, MPAAs and BSAs have armies of lobbyists while the consumers, as a group, do not.
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.