Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft DRM Code for Netflix Streams Hacked
reddburn writes "Macworld has posted a story by IDN News Service about a hacker who posted instructions for saving streaming movies from Netflix, defeating Microsoft's DRM code designed to prevent users from saving the content. From the article: 'A hacker who calls himself Dizzie wrote late last month on the Rorta hacking forum that "Netflix doesn't easily allow you to save the flicks and watch them at your leisure because the films are entrapped in some ... Windows Media DRM wrapper," referring to Microsoft's DRM system. Word of his hack spread more widely this week in various blogs and Web sites...He writes that the process for removing the DRM could take a few attempts, and the process does not remove the time limit imposed by Netflix on viewing the content. The Netflix site was down for maintenance early Thursday, although it was unclear if it was related to the hack. The site was back up later Thursday morning.'"
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
This isn't new at all; the DRM crack is still FairUse4WM, which has been around for years, all the "hacker" has down is document how to discover the file URL and download it, nothing more.
Until I break the time constraint, how does it matter? Why do they need DRM in the first place?
Atheist: Buddhist in a Prius
Okay, if this is to watch the videos on a non-Windows system or if you have being forced into Windows/IE, fine. I'm okay with that as long as you manually adhere to the rental terms and delete the file. I know the reality of that, but on principle I agree that the DRM stripping can be a viable option for fair use for those who don't have or like Windows/IE.
s guise-of-Fair-Use crowd (you know who you are, and Slashdot unfortunately has a lot) are going to only look at this as a method of piracy even though there are lots of other ways to do obtain pirated media, including just getting the DVD from Netflix.
But if anyone wants to do this to download and keep the file, I really have to question WHY?? The only way to do this is if you have a Netflix account. So, if you're hell-bent on keeping a copy, you might as well go through the whole process of having the DVD sent to you and then do a rent-rip-return. At least that way you'll get the whole thing in full DVD quality with all of the bells, whistles, commentaries, and additional material.
Not only do you need a Netflix account, but you also obviously need to have a broadband connection. In that case there are plenty of other outlets from Usenet to P2P to IRC to obtain copies of movies that already have any DRM stripped off.
And if it's a movie that you really would like but don't want to pay $20 for a new DVD, why not just pay $5 for a used DVD from Netflix from whom you already are paying $xx per month for the subscription? I did that for a movie that my wife wanted, and the movie was in our mailbox in three days, complete with Amaray case and cover art.
I honestly don't see why this is a big deal. There are so many other outlets to get movies illegally, even the complete DVD images. I know very well that the Linux crowd would love to make this an example of how people don't want DRM in order to enforce Fair Use with non-Windows systems and I agree with that. But we all know that the conspiracy-loving media, the studios, and the only-pirates-talk-about-removing-DRM-under-the-di
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
Didn't you mean to say:
Very depressing that people are forced to hack content they paid for :(
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
No... this is pretty much out-and-outright a rental, presented as such in both the overt advertisement and the fine print. It's up-front explained that you get timed amount of ephemeral streaming video, monthly, as part of your contract with Netflix. To say they're selling you anything is like saying that because you can get a video from Blockbuster for a night, you've "bought" it, and you've got the legal and moral rights to rip a copy-- after all, the ones and zeros are in your house... and if you have gone that far, why not just discard all pretense, fire up BT, and rip them off directly.
Information wants to be free.
Entertainment wants to be paid.
You just want to be cheap.
Not the original poster, but I share his sentiment.
The Wiki article is simply incorrect. If you have an optical disc that plays in an audio CD player, but it has DRM on it, it is NOT an audio CD as it does not follow the Red Book standard for audio CDs. It is a different beast which happens to work in some audio CD players.
At first glance, it sounds like a horribly semantic difference, and the two of us seem to be locked in hopeless pedantry, however it's an important difference when it comes to sales of the discs. If the packaging and marketing promote the disc as an audio CD, but it doesn't follow the Red Book standard, they are guilty of false advertising. They have tricked me by calling it an audio CD when it is not one, and may not play in players which expect to find the format of a Red Book audio CD on the disc.
So no. No audio CDs have DRM.
I understand that people here think all DRM is always bad, but I don't have a problem with Netflix DRM, apart from it making me boot up Windows in a VM. I don't want to buy the damn movie, I just want to watch it once. Now if I was paying $10-20 for the thing I'd be pissed and want to hack it, but I'm paying 13-something a month for DVDs and these downloads. Why someone thinks they are entitled to own a movie they paid about a buck for (depending on how much you value these "free" downloads as part of your account) is beyond me.