AOL’s New Movie Download Plan
August 25th, 2006 by atari
Hey kids, guess what? AOL is —that of movie downloads. (Oh wait, they already over two years ago.) Priced at $10-$20 each, , and Windows Media DRM, it’s sure to be a hit. (Oh wait, that won’t even work on your iPod.)**
First, when will those who wish to sell downloads realize that the cost of digital distribution is virtually zero—that is, to copy an additional file. Sure, there is overhead involved in having a centralized distribution mechanism, but technologies like those of BitTorrent enable the bandwidth costs to be shared by the users. Plain and simply, digital downloads should cost less, because they’re cheaper to produce.
Second, what about the long term viability of DRMed files? At least with an mp3, or even a physical DVD, you know that it will probably work in a few years. The restrictions that DRM impose mean that it’s very likely that after you have a new computer or two, or portable video player, or even re-install your system software, you won’t be able to access the file. And not to mention that the DRM AOL is using only works on Windows Media players, and will only work on Windows-based computers or portable players that don’t use the standard. (No wonder even media industry DRM advocates are now saying DRM doesn’t , but is instead .)
So, I think it’s a safe bet that this will be yet another flop, and users will stick to such things as BitTorrent, YouTube, and even Netflix for their viewing pleasure…
**Also, I realize some people might say that if Apple were to license their DRM to people like AOL (which it has been notorious for not doing), it would work on iPods. Clearly Apple is no better than Microsoft in this sense, and some even claim that Apple could be worse when it comes to DRM and consumer lock-in. Call me completely idealistic, but I have an even better solution for everyone: no DRM! (And even some .)
September 24th, 2006 at 1:20 am
I have to admit that if a DRM’ed file was on average $0.25 per hour of video (so Bladerunner might cost $0.60) I would think about purchasing. The biggest problem I see with the current DRM model is they don’t offer anything to the consumer in exchange for the shackle of these restrictions. Not only are the consumers locked in, as you point out, but the quality is lower then a DVD. And even with the possibility of making “perfect digital copies” removed by viture of their digital locks consumers still don’t receive the opportunity to return any purchases they aren’t satisified with! Add these things up and you have
1) lower quality
2) less mobility (between computers, players, etc)
3) still no refund possibilities
4) no actual physical content like jacket artwork, case, physical disk
and all at the same price as a DVD. This goes way beyond moral arguments. This is just economically stupid.