"Digital Copies"

[JediKnightButler]

As everybody knows well, many new DVD/BD releases are being packaged with "Digital Copies" that allow you to download the program onto a portable media player (i.e. iTunes) and for me there's nothing better than not only getting a movie I want but also to be able to have a high quality ready-made copy available to download to my iPhone in the event that I want to take it with me on the road. Does anybody think that we will eventually see this becoming a standard feature with most future DVD/BD releases? Has having a "Digital Copy" included ever motivated you to buy a movie? While I'm a huge conisseur of iTunes, I have so many movies already, some of which are available on iTunes that it almost seems crazy to have to spend another $10 (at least) to purchase/download them just to get a portable version. I feel like I'm practically buying it all over again. Personally, I believe that it would be the best thing in the world if home video distributors made providing "Digital Copies" (or download coupons/discounts) a standard feature for all future DVD/BD releases (including TV shows too). What does everybody else think? Is this likely to happen?

 

[CommodoreKong]

They're a waste of a bonus feature, if I want a digital copy of a DVD I own I'll make my own.

 

[Small White Car]

They're a waste of a bonus feature, if I want a digital copy of a DVD I own I'll make my own.

A) The DVDs that the digital copies come with are much harder to rip. The software you use now won't work. I'm sure that will change, but at the moment it takes a fair amount of work and research to get around it.

B) The digital copy I got (The Dark Knight) was higher resolution than the DVD. Why would I go to the time and trouble to rip something from the DVD when it's going to be worse quality than the one that's right there waiting for me to use?

- -

That said, they're DRM'd files, so I too would like to see them die a horrible death. But if it's there, I'll use it. I'm not gonna spend a ton of time just to make a lower-quality version.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

It's a cool idea. Saves you from having to use some kind of copy protection breaking software to rip your own. I also think it's nice that they include a code to download mp3's of new music releases when you buy them on vinyl.

 

[Small White Car]

It's a cool idea. Saves you from having to use some kind of copy protection breaking software to rip your own.

Well, it's a nice idea, but done for the wrong reasons. If these were DRM-free files, you'd be spot-on. But that's not the case.

They're doing it to prevent you from sharing the movies. Well, duh, these movies are ALREADY online! I didn't buy it because I couldn't get it for free, I bought it because it's the right thing to do and it's more convenient to deal with legitimate stores than file-sharing sites. All these copies do is restrict how I (a real customer) can use the files while doing nothing to pirates.

It took the music industry 10 years to figure this out. (And I'm not sure they figured it out somuch as they were forced into it.) Either way, it's going to work out well for them.

Apparently the film industry wants to take another 10 years to learn the same lesson.

 

[CommodoreKong]

They're a waste of a bonus feature, if I want a digital copy of a DVD I own I'll make my own.

A) The DVDs that the digital copies come with are much harder to rip. The software you use now won't work. I'm sure that will change, but at the moment it takes a fair amount of work and research to get around it.

B) The digital copy I got (The Dark Knight) was higher resolution than the DVD. Why would I go to the time and trouble to rip something from the DVD when it's going to be worse quality than the one that's right there waiting for me to use?

- -

That said, they're DRM'd files, so I too would like to see them die a horrible death. But if it's there, I'll use it. I'm not gonna spend a ton of time just to make a lower-quality version.

I don't often make digital copies of movies I own, so waiting for people to break the encryption on current DVDs isn't a huge issue for me.

If I do make a digital copy, I like to be able to control the format, bit rate, size, etc. I own a netbook, so I don't need a video that's at higher resolution then a DVD. If I'm going to watch a video at home, I'll just watch the DVD.

 

[Amaris]

They're a waste of a bonus feature, if I want a digital copy of a DVD I own I'll make my own.

A) The DVDs that the digital copies come with are much harder to rip. The software you use now won't work. I'm sure that will change, but at the moment it takes a fair amount of work and research to get around it.

Very true. That said, without getting into legalities or gray area, there is software that will do it now and do it well already on the ground running.

B) The digital copy I got (The Dark Knight) was higher resolution than the DVD. Why would I go to the time and trouble to rip something from the DVD when it's going to be worse quality than the one that's right there waiting for me to use?

If I'm watching it on my PSP why would that matter?

- -

That said, they're DRM'd files, so I too would like to see them die a horrible death. But if it's there, I'll use it. I'm not gonna spend a ton of time just to make a lower-quality version.

DRM is the bane of any sane audio and videophile. It harms more than it helps. As you said, the movie's already out there, all DRM does is make legit customers rightfully frustrated.

J.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I have no use for Digital Copy of any kind. I only watch movies on my home TV, and the only movie DVDs I buy are Blu-Rays (now correct me if I'm wrong, but I highly doubt a Digital Copy could have anywhere near the resolution of a BR).

The only exception is movies that I actually bought via iTunes - which I watch on my TV via the AppleTV player - and I only have one such movie (2010) which I will soon replace when its BR comes out.

If I didn't have a Blu-Ray player, and I only had standard def DVDs, I might welcome Digital Copy, as it would let me build a library of movies that I could watch via the AppleTV without ever touching the actual DVD. But as I said, Blu-Ray kind of kills that for me.

 

[Shatinator]

As far as I am concerned all of this takes a back seat to the fact ( as I understand it ) to download a DC you need to go to a site, where they track your IP info, your ID ( as much as is attainable ) and any other trackable activity. This alone is reason to cast this whole process as suspect. You'll forgive me but the track record of industry and gov't for that matter with any information of this sort is not soo stellar...and yes I mean information than exstends beyond simple marketing

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

As far as I am concerned all of this takes a back seat to the fact ( as I understand it ) to download a DC you need to go to a site, where they track your IP info, your ID ( as much as is attainable ) and any other trackable activity. This alone is reason to cast this whole process as suspect. You'll forgive me but the track record of industry and gov't for that matter with any information of this sort is not soo stellar...and yes I mean information than exstends beyond simple marketing

I don't think it works like that. The DC comes on a separate disc, you don't download it. You can authenticate one computer which is allowed to play the copy, but they don't track you.

 

[Amaris]

As far as I am concerned all of this takes a back seat to the fact ( as I understand it ) to download a DC you need to go to a site, where they track your IP info, your ID ( as much as is attainable ) and any other trackable activity. This alone is reason to cast this whole process as suspect. You'll forgive me but the track record of industry and gov't for that matter with any information of this sort is not soo stellar...and yes I mean information than exstends beyond simple marketing

I don't think it works like that. The DC comes on a separate disc, you don't download it. You can authenticate one computer which is allowed to play the copy, but they don't track you.

How do you think they authenticate it? They tie a number to your movie, your PC setup and keep it logged.

J.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

How do you think they authenticate it? They tie a number to your movie, your PC setup and keep it logged.

Maybe it works differently on a Mac. All I know is that iTunes authenticates a Digital Copy the same way that it used to do with DRM'ed music tracks: You authorize a computer that is allowed to play the movie (by entering a code into iTunes), and that's it. Your actual computer configuration doesn't enter into it that I'm aware of.

 

[Amaris]

How do you think they authenticate it? They tie a number to your movie, your PC setup and keep it logged.

Maybe it works differently on a Mac. All I know is that iTunes authenticates a Digital Copy the same way that it used to do with DRM'ed music tracks: You authorize a computer that is allowed to play the movie (by entering a code into iTunes), and that's it. Your actual computer configuration doesn't enter into it that I'm aware of.

Think about it though. There is a link from that file to their database. It is authenticated with information from your system so that if it's transferred to another system without being authenticated, it won't play. There has to be a level of tracking identification unique to the computer and their database.

J.

 

[DontFeedPhil]

As far as I am concerned all of this takes a back seat to the fact ( as I understand it ) to download a DC you need to go to a site, where they track your IP info, your ID ( as much as is attainable ) and any other trackable activity. This alone is reason to cast this whole process as suspect. You'll forgive me but the track record of industry and gov't for that matter with any information of this sort is not soo stellar...and yes I mean information than exstends beyond simple marketing

I don't think it works like that. The DC comes on a separate disc, you don't download it. You can authenticate one computer which is allowed to play the copy, but they don't track you.

Actually If you look on the DC there is NO Movie file on it. All the DC does is give you a free ticket to download it from itunes. So its kind of a mis-nomer. And yeah they track the shit out of you and know more than they should about your viewing habits. Thats why I use tunebite. It takes a bite outta bullshit DRM... hahahaha

 

[T'Baio]

I don't mind digital copies, per se'.

What I hate is they have a "normal" version DVD with no special features. Then, they have the "special edition" with the special features and with a digital copy. Whereas the special edition used to be maybe two bucks more, now it's sometimes ten dollars more since they started with this digital copy bullshit. Especially when they have the digital copy on a whole other disc, so these are now "3 DISC SPECIAL EDITIONS!" Fuckin'...bullshit. I don't want the goddamn digital copy, but now I have to pay the extra 8 bucks to get my special features? Bull...fuckin'...shit. Balls, man. Total...balls.

 

[bigdaddy]

It shouldn't cost extra.

The answer is no. I'll spend $17 for a new movie without one and just download a copy if I need one.

 

[Michael Chris]

I love Digital Copy! it's legal and it works.

 

[firehawk12]

The DRM kills the feature for me.
You can only use it once, within a year of the movie coming out, and if your system dies or you delete the file, you're SOL.

At that point, you might as well download an HD version of the film and call it a day.

 

[Smiley]

I did not even know about the one-year expiration date on the digital copies. That's a killer for me, as my computer storage space is not that great.

Why not just put an insert with instructions on how to download a converter program (official, if necessary) and make your own digital copy? The ones who will actually use digital copies are tech-savvy enough to understand the process, and those who have been doing illegal stuff with the products have been doing so for years now anyway.

As a humorous aside, in the fine print on my Clone Wars digital copy insert, the last sentence is "Don't steal movies."

 

[bigdaddy]

I did not even know about the one-year expiration date on the digital copies. That's a killer for me, as my computer storage space is not that great.

Yeah, that's why it's bullshit. I own the disc, I own the movie, therefor I own a copy I can stick on an iPod.

I tape (on those VCR thingies) movies from "On Demand", and I think that is "illegal". My favorite is the college guy who had 2,000 CDs, that he bought legally, ripped to his computer and that damn recording group sued him.

So fuck the laws, they make no sense, there is a law about no spitting on city streets near me, that's one to ignore too.