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MLB Fans Who Bought DRM Videos Get Hosed

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the digital-restrictions-management dept.

Billosaur writes "Major League Baseball has just strengthened the case against DRM. If you downloaded videos of baseball games from MLB.com before 2006, apparently they no longer work and you are out of luck. MLB.com, sometime during 2006, changed their DRM system. Result: game videos purchased before that time will now no longer work, as the previous DRM system is no longer supported. When the video is played, apparently the MLB.com servers are contacted and a license obtained to verify the authenticity of the video; this is done by a web link. That link no longer exists, and so now the videos will no longer play, even though the MLB FAQ says that a license is only obtained once and will not need to be re-obtained. The blogger who is reporting this contacted MLB technical support, only to be told there are no refunds due to this problem."

20 of 299 comments (clear)

  1. Yea that's a shame... by Wolvie+MkM · · Score: 5, Funny

    Excuse me while I enjoy my NHL feed on YouTube :)

    --
    I Like Pie...
  2. One more reason... by capt.Hij · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is one more reason not to pay money to watch grown men sweat a lot and scratch themselves. A few more of things like this and I am going to just give it up completely.

    1. Re:One more reason... by Eccles · · Score: 4, Funny

      I've bought "Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms" 4 times now.

      Talk about your "Money for Nothing"!

      --
      Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
    2. Re:One more reason... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      ... but at least the chicks were free.

      (btw, weren't you supposed to just want your MTV and be happy with that?)

    3. Re:One more reason... by Belgand · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yet another reason to invest exclusively in prints.

      I mean, OK it's a hell of a lot less convenient to carry around the five massive cans compared to one DVD and I either have to string them all together and break them down again or get up every fifteen minutes to switch reels. Not to mention the problems in archiving the damn things correctly, but dammit I'm getting all my pixels! That is, until the restoration prints come out....

    4. Re:One more reason... by Selivanow · · Score: 2, Funny

      But...But...But...doesn't the FBI warning tell me that the Video Cassette/Video Disc/Whatever is licensed for home use only and if I even attempt to view it with anyone except/including my immediate family then I will be fined $1,000,000,000....sent to ass-raping prison...sentenced to death or all three?

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      -- ...trying to make digital files uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet. -Bruce Schneier
  3. hmmm. by apodyopsis · · Score: 4, Funny

    In a highly litigious culture, about a sport which borders on an obsession, about access perceived as a right...?

    I predict the big winners in this one will be the lawyers....

  4. I wish I had that kind of time by Schlemphfer · · Score: 4, Funny
    DRM sucks, and inevitiably produces unfair situations like this, where legitimate licencees get screwed. But having said that, what kind of person has so much time on their hands that they would ever want to watch a baseball game from previous seasons? And I thought posting to Slashdot was a time waste ;)

    --
    I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
  5. Whoa now... by Chairboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to talk about this without the express written consent of Major League Baseball.

    1. Re:Whoa now... by dgatwood · · Score: 3, Funny

      Do you have the express written consent of Major League Baseball and the American Broadcasting Company?

      Just ABC.

      *sound of gunfire*

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    2. Re:Whoa now... by trb · · Score: 5, Funny

      They gave me express written consent, but it's in this document that I can't read any more.

  6. Re:Too bad it won't affect many... by rootofevil · · Score: 4, Funny

    duh, this is slashdot. wild speculation of those that clothe themselves in tinfoil is taken as the gospel truth, no questions asked.

    --
    turn up the jukebox and tell me a lie
  7. Re:Too bad it won't affect many... by freshmayka · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah BUT...

    If it was 20 CHILDREN then my god something must be done! WHAT about the children?!?!

  8. Yes, but... by n0dna · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's MLB.

    The videos already wouldn't play if it was Cold. Or Raining. Or Night. Or Outside.

  9. MLB Strikes Out Fans Who Bought DRM Videos by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fixed the headline for you.

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
  10. Re:Too bad it won't affect many... by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Funny

    He said "fact", can't you read? This is the internet, when someone says "fact" it has to be.

    For reference, see "obviously".

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  11. Re:Translation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    If the product is defective by design, and you buy it, and it turns out to be defective, the product is working as intended. I don't see what the problem is.

  12. Re:A Slow Death by mike260 · · Score: 5, Funny

    When the media companies finally get their way and Joe and Jane Sixpack can no longer freely re-watch "It's a Wonderful Life" to their heart's desire every holiday season, there will be outrage. Angry mob: "Hey! Where are those digital rights we gave you to manage? We want them back!"
    Jimmy Stewart: "Well I don't have your rights here, they're in Bill's house, and in Steve's house..."
  13. Re:Translation? by ubrgeek · · Score: 2, Funny

    Steve Ballmer reads Slashdot?!?? *grin*

    --
    Bark less. Wag more.
  14. Re:A Slow Death by SynapseLapse · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...especially when the alternative is suffering the look from Wife 2.0 (I upgraded to the model with the nicer case) when, Cthulhu forbid, she can't watch Dancing with the Stars because of some HDMI BS.

    Completely off-topic, but I think using phrases suchs as "Wife 2.0" and "I upgraded to the model with the nicer case" are the real reasons you get that look in the first place.