Zune Won't Play Old DRM Infected Files

Spritzer writes "According to the EFF, the new Zune portable media player from Microsoft won't play files infected with the old Microsoft DRM. It seems that all of the 'PlaysforSure' media that has been sold and is currently being sold will not play on the Zune. In addition, Microsoft has now advocated violating the DMCA in order to transfer files to the player. Microsoft Zune architect J Allard was quoted as saying there's 'Lots of DVD ripping software out there that encodes to those formats, so the most popular formats out there, whether it's MPEG-4 or H.264, we'll support those.'" ZDNet offers up additional commentary on this revelation.

Comments

Re:DRM is not infection

[_Sprocket_]

D'oh... that's what I get for not double-checking the URL until AFTER I hid submit. The article you'd want is actually:

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/15/16 27248

Re:DRM is not infection

[Otter Escaping North]

You mean it adds DRM to files I already have? Files not bought through their online store?!

Based on what I've heard, it's not true that it adds DRM to all files on it. The issue is that it wraps DRM onto files that you wirelessly share with your Zune friends - whether you want it to or not, whether it's permitted to (Creative Commons licencing) or not.

An article about it at http://www.medialoper.com/hot-topics/music/zunes-b ig-innovation-viral-drm

Re:DRM is not infection

[Kjella]

I know most of you don't like DRM, but it's not infecting files. It's not a virus/trojan/whatever.

Normally I'd agree, as long as the files are and always have been restricted. Applying DRM to files that is not restricted, is viral. In fact, it's more "viral" than the GPL ever was, it's infectious by mere aggregation. The closest similarity are to the viruses that lock down your files, holding them hostage against the owner. I am the owner of those files (as far as Zune knows anyway), and Zune has no business applying their locks against me.

Re:Hold up a sec

[AceCaseOR]

Yeah - they should give their hard earned money to the manufacturer before complaining that it's not something they want or would buy.

Well, it's not even out yet, so unless somebody has pre-ordered a Zune, they haven't given Microsoft any of their hard-earned money yet.

J Allard Interview - Link

[giafly]

Q. Where is Zune going to fit in with people's pre-existing media libraries? What is it going to support? What can we expect when we actually get a Zune and want to be able to use it with the media that we currently have?

A Lots of DVD ripping software out there that encodes to those formats, so the most popular formats out there, whether it's MPEG-4 or H.264, we'll support those.

Q When PlaysForSure was introduced, the premise was, we make it simple so that you don't have to worry about whether your player works with the music you're purchasing...

A. We've also found that there's a category of customers that say, "Give me a brand experience, advertise it to me on television; I want to be part of the digital music revolution, and that solution [PlaysForSure] doesn't work for me." So they're two complementary solutions -- not everyones gonna want Zune and not everyone's gonna want PlaysForSure. They're different paths there, and we're okay with both of them.

Extracts from The Engadget Interview: J Allard, Microsoft Corporate Vice President

Re:Hate to defend M$, but...

[WebGangsta]

I read over the weekend that MSFT will wrap their own DRM onto *any* file that is uploaded to a Zune player... regardless of what the individual file's copyright says about how it can be distributed.

This is related to the Zune's ability to share files with other Zune players.

More info here, all throughout the comments: http://www.zuneinsider.com/2006/09/answers_to_some .html

"There currently isn't a way to sniff out what you are sending, so we wrap it all up in DRM. We can't tell if you are sending a song from a known band or your own home recording so we default to the safety of encoding."

Re:PlaysForSure?

[Alioth]

eMusic - which is completely legitimate - plays for sure too on an iPod or any other MP3 player. This is because they sell unencrypted MP3 files.
Magnatune - which is completely legitimate - plays for sure on any MP3 player too. This is because they sell unencrypted files in most formats (you choose the format when you download).

eMusic is the second largest legitimate download service, only second to iTMS. Some record labels are quite happy with DRM-less downloads.

Re:You know what they say about assumptions

[AKAImBatman]

So, read the full original interview, and look at the part where the interviewer ask Allard why the Zune don't support PlayForSure. Admire the answer.

Here's the link.

Here's the relevant section:

Q: When PlaysForSure was introduced, the premise was, we make it simple so that you don't have to worry about whether your player works with the music you're purchasing...

A: That continues to be the premise for devices that are branded in that category, and we think that we've clearly done a lot in that program, where there's a lot of devices out there, there are a lot of services out there, there are a lot of partners, and there are a lot of satisfied customers. We like that program. We've also found that there's a category of customers that say, "Give me a brand experience, advertise it to me on television; I want to be part of the digital music revolution, and that solution [PlaysForSure] doesn't work for me." So they're two complementary solutions -- not everyones gonna want Zune and not everyone's gonna want PlaysForSure. They're different paths there, and we're okay with both of them.