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Windows Media Center Restricts Cable TV
PrescriptionWarning writes "With the latest Media Center Edition update from Microsoft, I and many others are finding that content available on television is now completely unwatchable from Media Center. The message states: 'Restricted Content: Restrictions set by the broadcaster and/or originator of the content prohibit playback of the program on this computer.' A simple search on the subject reveals that HBO programming and, in my case, Braveheart on AMC are among the many selections now restricted for playback or recording by Windows Media Center Edition. What's next, restricting every piece of programming on television?"
...it's the user.
Why invite Microsoft into your living room when you can set up MythTV? DRM opponents have been telling you all for how long... and you people still buy Microsoft products and then complain when they behave as expected?
Pfft!
Honestly, is anyone surprised? Why would you buy a microsoft product for something that just begs to be DRM'ed?
...they WANT us to download things off of P2P.
TV is an outdated concept... I hardly watch any television anymore myself, why would I want to watch something on a specified date and time? I'll watch it whenever I feel like it!
... I couldn't care less about them!
Record it from TV? Oh yea, I'm gonna wait until some station decides to air it and then record it with advertising...
There is nothing which interests me on television anyway which I can't find somewhere else. And the rest? Game shows, reality shows,
With these kind of restrictions it seems like television stations are going the **AA way... Desperately trying to hold on to an outdated concept, which has made them alot of money in the past. Too blind and stuck in their old patterns to find new ways of making money...
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Microsoft once again demonstrates who its customers are. It isn't the people who buy their products, but big busines. Hence the heavy-DRM tie-ins they've developed for Vista among other products in the past (such as Windows Media Player)
No, it is not old news.
It is the same all the time.
Its sole purpose is to keep you from using the media you would otherwise have rightful access to in any way other than what the copyright holder explicitly wants.
In short, its sole purpose is, ultimately, to make you pay every time you make use of the media, and to control the flow of information.
DRM is how the media megacorporations intend to rein in the internet. For instance, you can't prove that the media broadcast a story when the story can't be recorded.
DRM is how the big corporations intend to remove your right to read.
This is just the first shot across the bow. It's going to get worse. A lot worse. Read all you can about "trusted computing" to see where this is going. All they have to do is to remove your ability to boot an unsigned bootloader, and the game is over (with you as the loser).
If you think this is paranoid ranting, well, so did people who thought habeus corpus would never be removed. That doesn't make what I say right, but since the same people are ultimately involved, you shouldn't dismiss the above as paranoid ranting on the basis of incredulity alone.
Use 'slashdot stuff' in the subject line in any email you send me if you want to get past the spam filter.
Makes sense, doesn't it? Only if there is a limited supply, something gets some value in our world. Think of precious metals, pieces of art, anything collectible. By itself, not really valuable. Gold is actually quite worthless, from an industrial point of view. Aside of a few applications where its physical and chemical properties (like being almost impossible to corrode and very resistant to acids) come to shine, it's quite useless or easily replaced by other metals. But it's rare. So it's precious. It has been since the dawn of humanity.
... how many times? Provided you're interested in that kinda movie, granted. Now imagine you couldn't see it anymore. For a long, long time. And then, for about 2 months, it is on sale again.
Pieces of art, paintings of old masters, are nice to look at, but by no means necessary for survival. Even more, it's something to look at, not something to consume. You can look at the Mona Lisa, take the experience with you and go on with your life. Still, it's invaluable. It's a one-of-a-kind.
And let's not even get to Magic the Gathering cards or rare stamps.
All those things have a high value because they're rare. Not because people need them. They are valuable because people want them and only a selected few can have them. That's what makes their price tag to up.
Content, now, is by its very definition not scarce. Reproducing content is easy and has been cheap from the beginning of the printing press. With computers and digitalized content, the cost for reproduction has been brought very close to zero. In other words, unrestricted content has no value in our world because it is anything but scarce. Everyone can have it.
DRM now imposes an artificial shortage onto something that is available in abundance, with the sole goal to make the value (or rather, the price) of information go up. Disney understood this concept from early on, making its movies only available every few years for a short time, so people don't even ponder twice before buying. Either you get it now or you can't get it for a long, long time. So they pay, any price.
DRM should now make the same possible for every kind of digital content. The content industry dictates when and at what terms you may get it. The goal is, amongst others, that by creating an artificial shortage of a movie, the movie becomes a hot seller again, no matter how old it is. Think of, say, Casablanca. A good movie, but we've all seen it for
People would buy more. They would buy it THEN, not put it back 'til they want to see it again, they will buy then because of the fear that you can't get it for a long time anymore afterwards.
And, of course, you won't be able to watch it forever. You will watch it for as long as the content industry lets you.
This also creates a nice way of restricting the access to movies that ain't so much in sync with political views anymore. When was the last time you saw Rambo III on a TV network? And how many copies that you can still buy contain the words "This movie is dedicated to the gallant people of Afghanistan" in the closing credits?
Could you see a few people who'd want this movie to disappear once and for all, as if it never existed? Or at least alter a few things?
It's not like movie altering isn't done already. But you can easily remove all existing copies of the "original" version with DRM. Movies have a best before date with it. Who could claim that Han shot first anymore without looking stupid to people who ain't old enough to remember?
Tastes a bit of Orwell, ain't it?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Meanwhile, Joel Wiseman bought a Mac MINI and wonders why Sixbit and Sixpack spent all the time and money on systems dedicated to trying to grab content from a stream, when they could spend less of both just buying songs individually on demand.
He uses the extra time and money saved to read books.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Did anyone seriously think for a even a moment that a media package for watching cable TV from microsoft wouldn't try to control everything?
"We are all geniuses when we dream"
- E.M. Cioran
Some people just don't get it. It's far enough that we let Microsoft so into our lives as they are now, why on earth would I let them have any kind of control over other aspects of my life, e.g. watching tv ? Why would I tolerate a piece of software that, after I pay money for it, makes my life more restricted instead of easing my life ? Am I stupid enough to believe that this way of life is what I've been waiting and working towards during the last decades ? Hell no. Any software and service I pay for I expect to improve the quality of my life on whichever scale and aspect not make it worse. Before some would ask "then why have you payed for it?" I didn't and I won't. And if the answer is that there's nothing to do, this is the only way from now on, then I'd rather stick to the pathetic miserable level I am at now then to willingly contribute into making our lives suck more.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
Nope. It is working as intended. Not a problem.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
I saw no references to piracy in the orginal post. Not that I have problem with that option. But there is always netflix or some other form of rental. For instance I have see every episode of showtimes Bullshit and I shit canned my showtime subscription years ago.
The reason it's good to rent than buy these type of productions is you get to see the show, while the spawn of evil, mpaa, doesn't get one god damn red cent of my money.
Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification
I don't think you've thought through the economics of the video rental business very well, but if it is comforting for you to think that you are denying the producers of videos or their industry associations money by renting rather than buying videos, go on telling yourself that.
Pick any two: Enjoy mainstream movies, obey the law, deprive the MPAA of funds.
About the best compromise is to dilute your contribution to the bad guys' revenue streams: only buy movies used when purchasing, and whenever possible, check them out from your local library or borrow from friends instead. Those you do own, loan liberally among friends.
Admonish your peer group not to buy you new DVDs or CDs as gifts. Tell them you are happy to receive used ones though.
Bring up silly questions like "why do 10 of us have to own this same DVD? Do you think more than one of our group has ever watched it on the same night?"
You could also brutally murder anyone who disagrees, but IANAL so I can't speak to the legality of that.
Pi Ran Out