Re: Why Sony Will Die

Charles Tomaras (tomaras@xxxxxxxxxxx) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/drm/default.mspx

Do a little reading and then get back to me about what is deceptive about
Microsoft's DRM. It's configurable to just about ANY sort of level of ease
or restriction that you want to put on it. Totally configurable.

Not actually. The one thing that isn't configurable by the DRM-protected
file is which players are allowed to play back the content. *That* is
only configurable by Microsoft and who they license which level of "trust"
for various players.

For example, a player with "level 1 trust" would play back only "level 1
DRM". This license would cost $100 (all numbers and names are examples...
the details are horrendously more complex, but the model is accurate) for
the player manufacturer/software company.

For a "level 2 trust" license, a player manufacturer might have to pay
$1,000 and a per player sold fee.

For a "level 3 trust" license, the manufacturer pays a $10,000 up front
fee, plus has to have 3 "certified" programmers, plus a higher per player
fee.

After that, if you are a content provider, you also decide on how strong
(which means both how flexible the playback options are and how strong
the encryption is) you want the DRM on your media file. Then, using an
arcane chart, you find out if you need a level 1, 2, or 3 license from
Microsoft in order to implement the DRM features you want

After that, if the player has a level of at least as high as they level
on the file, you can play it back...period. That's what you paid for,
and that's what the content provider paid for...when they licensed, they
were told how many players had licensed the level of DRM needed for
playback.

If, on the other hand, the player level is too low, then any number of
things might happen, based on the instructions in the media file.
Playback might fail completely, or the content might have to be down-
sampled to a lower resolution, or you might not be able to play it back
for as many times, etc. In this part, you are correct...the MS DRM is
very, very configurable.

--
Jeff Rife | "I'll be back in five or six days."
|
| "No, you'll be back in five or six pieces."
| -- "The Lost World"
.

Relevant Pages

  • RE: windows media digital right management
    ... Variables include where your registry points to the hidden DRM ... valid license backups; how your media player is configured; and numerous KB ... Communication with the Internet" subtitled "Windows Media Player" (P.S. Don't ... license server was unavailable until I de-authorized my computer under the MS ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsupdate)
  • Re: DRM video player
    ... > a player for DRM protected video files. ... He's waiting for the DRM ... Do I need any license? ... Best to use the SDK newsgroup for these questions. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsmedia.player)
  • DRM video player
    ... a player for DRM protected video files. ... He's waiting for the DRM ... Do I need any license? ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsmedia.player)
  • Re: Is WU WMP patch still missing DRM section in EULA
    ... That update included an End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) ... While we have designed our DRM system to be as secure as possible, ... whenever they acquire a DRM License from a DRM License Server. ...
    (microsoft.public.security)
  • Re: To all except Torgeir Bakken
    ... stop DRM from killing your "protected" material when changing PCs etc. ... " The license acquisition process allows companies to gather targeted ... many music distribution Web sites ... Yep; goobye privacy, hullo spam. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)