Comments on: RealDVD: Is it Really Legal?

By: Ross Rubin

Ross Rubin — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:53:48 +0000

@Glenn, yes, the files are MPEG-2 and the sizes are the same as the original DVDs. Good part of that is faster copying. It also may be a natural barrier to mass infringement by consumers not willing to invest in massive hard drives.

I had a chance to talk with Real last night about RealDVD’s legality:
http://tinyurl.com/3rqw9g

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:47:36 +0000

Okay, so they’ve got a DVD-CCA agreement allowing them to play back DVDs. So they don’t have to break the DVD’s encryption to bring it onto the PC, just copy it. Which makes the legal situation similar to the Kaleidescape. Except where its different… software vs. hardware, not sure this software actually has a license, probably some other software, etc. And didn’t the DVD-CCA tighten up the license after the Kal ruling?

I won’t be buying this, because like others it isn’t that useful to me if I can’t play the content on my iPod or Tivo or whatever.

It could be interesting as a legal precedent however, and I do appreciate having all of the extra features of the DVD, including the graphics and such. Would be nice if there were a standard supported in something like DVDShrink that was also supported by Tivo/AppleTV etc. Seems unlikely this will be that standard…

I assume these rips will be full MPEG-2 sized rips, i.e. basically ISOs wrapped in DRM, so 4.5GB per movie. The illegal versions are of course less than half that since they reencode with better codecs…

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:09:24 +0000

Yeah, I’m still doubtful – being a “member” of the DVD-CCA is not the same as the DVD-CCA (or studios) endorsing this methodology.

By: Ross Rubin

Ross Rubin — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 05:34:28 +0000

It was these parts of the NYT story that ledme to question the legality:

>>
The DVD association has appealed the ruling. But Mr. Glaser thinks the decision has created the framework for a legal DVD copying product with built-in restrictions to prevent piracy.
<>
one technology executive at a major studio, who did not want to be named because the matter is legally delicate, predicted there would be staunch resistance to RealDVD
<>
“…you wonder why they would be quite so bold in doing this…”
<<

Again, what is “bold and “delicate” about releasing a product that is incontrovertibly legal? In any case, again, as I remember it, that Kaleidescape had a license was never in question. The question was whether the license enabled them to do what they did. So, while it is good to hear that Real has a license, that may not be enough. It’s clear that the studios doesn’t like the idea of DVD copying, regardless of the protections put in place.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:50:57 +0000

Steve, I had the exact same idea. I was hoping that iTunes 8 would have managed copies of DVDs. Alas, we’ll have to wait for iTunes 9…

By: Carlton Bale

Carlton Bale — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:22:11 +0000

How exactly am I supposed to play back a DRM-crippled Real file in my Home Theater? I’ve never heard of anyone using Real Player as their HTPC front end. And I couldn’t play in on my iPhone either. Or move it over to my TiVo.

Why pay $30 for a potentially illegal (and likely to be sued out of existence) software that is DRM-hindered when there is free software (DVD Fab Decrypter) that gives a DRM-free solution – and allows you to keep the DVD menus and bonus features if you so choose.

By: Brent

Brent — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:24:29 +0000

I prefer my content to be DRM-free. That being said, this does seem to be a step in the right direction and does have the potential to meet the needs of both the content providers as well as the average consumer. But in the end, I doubt it will work out.

I see the content providers (and media companies in general) forcing this product to restrict the content from being moved from the PC to the actual devices such as Digital Media Players, Xbox, Media Extenders etc. While I do watch much of my content from a PC, most folks don’t Until their DRM allows the ease of use for viewing and moving the content the way the consumer wants, we’ll continue to use handbrake and other means to make it work the way it should.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:07:43 +0000

Hey, if software players can legally do stuff like this, I wonder if Apple might introduce something like this someday (tomorrow at “Let’s Rock” perhaps?) in a future version of iTunes?

I’m sure that would be a huge hit, though I bet they’d rather just stick to selling movies to people through iTMS regardless of whether you’ve already bought it on DVD.

Or better yet, what if you could insert the DVD to prove that you own it, then download the (smaller, more portable, but still FairPlay’d) version from the iTMS? Now that would “Rock”!