New DRM : Ultraviolet

[VWW]

However, Valve is one of those few companies that actually listen to their users and I can see them allowing you to play the games you've already purchased even if their delivery system was gone. And that Steam is big enough that if Valve ever goes out of business another company would buy them up in a heartbeat.

Yeah I do like Valve and agree with you that they listen to users and probably have their best interests at heart. The problem is that the games aren't Valve's and i doubt they'd have the developer/publisher permission to distribute the files DRM free if Steam shut down.

Also if Valve ever went out of business then that would be quite a shock and there might be severe problems that mean another company wouldn't want to buy them (or continue the Steam service).

Anyway... thanks for the link :)

[Mr. Gibs]

Yeah I do like Valve and agree with you that they listen to users and probably have their best interests at heart. The problem is that the games aren't Valve's and i doubt they'd have the developer/publisher permission to distribute the files DRM free if Steam shut down.

Also if Valve ever went out of business then that would be quite a shock and there might be severe problems that mean another company wouldn't want to buy them (or continue the Steam service).

Anyway... thanks for the link :)

I don't know about games that Valve don't develop to be honest. I mean this question gets asked on the Steam forums like every hour, so to look through them all would be a pain.

However, I don't see other publishers having a problem with it. I mean you've already paid for the game, getting a patch that allows you to play even though the auth servers are offline isn't pirating or anything.

[VWW]

I don't know about games that Valve don't develop to be honest. I mean this question gets asked on the Steam forums like every hour, so to look through them all would be a pain.

However, I don't see other publishers having a problem with it. I mean you've already paid for the game, getting a patch that allows you to play even though the auth servers are offline isn't pirating or anything.

Yeah I'll have a bit of a look on the forums, but your link basically answered all my questions :)

The other publishers might have a problem because releasing it without DRM could lead to more pirating as the files could be distributed without any DRM in place. Anyway, lets just hope it never happens! lol

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

I forgot to mention, we already have software that connects to the Internet to verify your serial key and subscription, yet hackers can easily exploit this, (e.g. Windows, and pretty much every third-party software).

Adding another component to DRM doesn't make it safer, it just leaves problems for more things to go wrong.

[ilev]

I REALLY dont see the point in DRM like this, they say it will be easy to transfer or allow rights to your other devices, but those devices will have to support Ultraviolet DRM which means having to buy all new devices just to get support, this is dead in the water before its even been applied to any media. Something like this needs to be built into the spec before devices even start to be created.

NO. No device needs to support Ultraviolet DRM. The checking is done on the cloude with your personal account.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Cloud-based DRM may seem like a solution but I think it'll bring in more problems for the end-user. Firstly, you're required to have an Internet connection. There goes your content if there's an issue with your Internet connection or the cloud servers. Secondly, you'll have to use hardware that supports UltraViolet DRM. What's going to happen with that new Blu-Ray player you bought last month? Well, you'll either be left in the dark with no support for UltraViolet DRM or you'll have to wait for the manufacturer of that Blu-Ray player to release a firmware update that adds the required support.

Personally, I'm not against DRM. I'm against DRM that adds problems (or basically restricts) the end-user. This UltraViolet DRM simply makes it harder for me to view my content. Instead of happily watching X movie with X player at my cottage with no Internet connection, I'll have to get the right player and watch it at my house with a working Internet connection.

[Mr. Gibs]

Cloud-based DRM may seem like a solution but I think it'll bring in more problems for the end-user. Firstly, you're required to have an Internet connection. There goes your content if there's an issue with your Internet connection or the cloud servers. Secondly, you'll have to use hardware that supports UltraViolet DRM. What's going to happen with that new Blu-Ray player you bought last month? Well, you'll either be left in the dark with no support for UltraViolet DRM or you'll have to wait for the manufacturer of that Blu-Ray player to release a firmware update that adds the required support.

I believe you only need an internet connection for authentication purposes. As for support, this spec seems to be backed by a huge number of manufacturers so that should mean firmware updates should come out.

This spec seems to work in pretty much the same way Steam does, and the majority of people don't seem to have a problem with it.

I understand that for people who don't have reliable connections, or ones that are expensive, this might cause problems; but it seems to be a hell of a lot better than most of the other DRMs that companies are coming out with nowdays. *cough* Ubisoft *cough*

[nullie]

They're talking like the content is all stored on their servers and each device will stream the content from the Internet, but buying the physical media will get you access to it... it doesn't say anything (that I saw) about allowing say copying blu-ray content and whatnot to other device. It'll be stored on their server in many different resolutions and bitrates/formats, etc, and you'll be forced to use their software to play it (device must support updateable software and use their own provided player) ... and I bet there's licensing costs involved and there won't be any open access for people and developers who aren't authorized/certified.

[PreKe]

Digital Restrictions Management strikes agian.

[cooky560 Veteran]

If this ever becomes part of music you can say good bye to walking with your mp3 player by your side, unless your willing to pay per use to connect and verify each song, this is bull**** that doesn't do anything except encourage piracy

[Astra.Xtreme]

If this ever becomes part of music you can say good bye to walking with your mp3 player by your side, unless your willing to pay per use to connect and verify each song, this is bull**** that doesn't do anything except encourage piracy

Any reason why you revived an old thread? :rolleyes:

[deactivated_]

I have firsthand experience with this. I bought http://www.amazon.com/Lantern-Two-Disc-Blu-ray-UltraViolet-Digital/ the Green Lantern Blu-ray, which was advertised as 'Blu-ray + Digital Copy'. I see now they have altered the description slightly to say 'Ultraviolet Digital Copy' but it wasn't there when I ordered it. You can see from the box cover, it says just 'Digital Copy'. Now 'Digital Copy' means a VERY SPECIFIC THING. What it does NOT mean is that you have to have access to the web to 'stream' the file only. Totally defeats the purpose. You can't actually have it downloaded to your portable device like oh... ALL the other 'Digital Copy' out there. Aside from your opinions on the quality of the movie, you should really read the reviews for this title if you want to gather the opinion of UltraViolet.

[Amarok]

It's kind of funny to look back on this thread and realize how right people were about DRM like this getting cracked fairly quickly. The people who implement these DRM schemes really underestimate the determination of people who want things for free. I read an article about how some of UbiSoft's games sort of use a system like this one. Timers for door switches and important things like that in-game are stored server-side and so when a player steps on a switch to open a door the server tells the game how long the door is supposed to stay open. Without the data it becomes impossible to actually get through the door. I guess the first time around the pirates missed this and this lead to a lot of unhappy little leeches. It didn't take them long to figure out a way around it though and little pirates everywhere rejoiced that their piracy heroes defeated the big scary DRM again. Sorry, had to throw a couple little digs in there at pirates. =p

[PGHammer]

I REALLY dont see the point in DRM like this, they say it will be easy to transfer or allow rights to your other devices, but those devices will have to support Ultraviolet DRM which means having to buy all new devices just to get support, this is dead in the water before its even been applied to any media. Something like this needs to be built into the spec before devices even start to be created.

Ultraviolet will *not* be applied to existing retail media (such as DVD or BD media) - it will be in the form of *extra/additional* content (such as the digital copies of included content - some of which uses Ultraviolet today, such as the digital/WMV included version of "Atlas Shrugged").

[MillionVoltss]

As great as the DRM might be, people don't like accounts for everything, Itunes for an example, Ive bought a couple of itunes films which i cant watch as i dont want Itunes and Bonjour on my computer any more.

[fintechfooty]

If that is not enough there is a new anti-piracy Blu-ray encryption : Cinavia , which protects the audio tracks.

"Movies protected by Cinavia technology carry inaudible codes embedded by the copyright owner in their audio tracks that indicate where and how they are allowed to be used. For example, movies that are being released to theaters can carry a Cinavia code that indicates that they are supposed to be duplicated by professional replicators and played back on professional projection equipment only,"

if the watermarked audio source detects a difference, the movie will either be mute (but most likely not play at all)."

http://www.afterdawn..._aim_at_pirates

If that is not enough there is a new anti-piracy Blu-ray encryption : Cinavia , which protects the audio tracks.

"Movies protected by Cinavia technology carry inaudible codes embedded by the copyright owner in their audio tracks that indicate where and how they are allowed to be used. For example, movies that are being released to theaters can carry a Cinavia code that indicates that they are supposed to be duplicated by professional replicators and played back on professional projection equipment only,"

if the watermarked audio source detects a difference, the movie will either be mute (but most likely not play at all)."

http://www.afterdawn..._aim_at_pirates

Yeah Cinavia is a good DRM but can be bypassed by either directly connecting your PC and TV via HDMI, or by using a WDTV or another media box for the TV. UltraViolet because it's based in the cloud is obviously going to need some sort of offline mechanism to let people watch and share files offline and that's what hackers are going to exploit!

[Rudy]

Ultraviolet is a pain for all the real customers they have.... the pirates don't care, their digital copies don't have drms :/