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| Thread ID: 71774 | 2006-08-16 10:21:00 | DRM Limitations on Music Purchased Online | alasta (6652) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 478834 | 2006-08-16 10:21:00 | After attempting to do my own research, I have managed to gain very little understanding of what I'm letting myself in for if I purchase music with Windows DRM restrictions. As I understand it, downloaded music installs licenses onto the computer from which it was downloaded. Can I backup these licenses and restore them if I need to reformat and reinstall my operating system? Can I transfer them to another computer when I eventually replace my existing machine? If I buy a portable player, I would like to buy a small capacity player and regularly load a random selection of music onto it. However, it appears that some downloaded tracks can only be transferred to a portable player a certain number of times, so does this effectively prevent small capacity players from being used in this manner? I would be interested to hear from anyone who has any experience with these things. |
alasta (6652) | ||
| 478835 | 2006-08-16 14:10:00 | DRM protected WMA files can only be loaded on to MP3 players supported by Microsoft's DRM scheme. Essentially your computer can request certificates for a certain number of devices but only those supported. I would personally completely boycott DRM protected products as they violate the principle of "fair use" permitted under NZ law. By requiring you to use supported devices (at higher cost) or preventing you from making copies for reasonable personal use they are removing an essential consumer right. I'm not one of these fanatics who would reject all patent-encumbered or non-free audio formats but draw the line at an attempt to apply technical restrictions to consumer use of legally purchased media. P.S. By walking down the DRM path the music industry is playing with fire. Misstep and confuse users and you tip the scales towards making illegal music easier to get than legal copies. That could stir up a few tempers :) |
TGoddard (7263) | ||
| 478836 | 2006-08-16 20:24:00 | DRM protected WMA files can only be loaded on to MP3 players supported by Microsoft's DRM scheme. Essentially your computer can request certificates for a certain number of devices but only those supported. Yep, I realise that DRM encoded files will only play on hardware which supports it. So, if I understand you correctly, the limitation is on the number of devices onto which the music can be copied, rather than the number of times that a transfer can take place. I would personally completely boycott DRM protected products as they violate the principle of "fair use" permitted under NZ law. By requiring you to use supported devices (at higher cost) or preventing you from making copies for reasonable personal use they are removing an essential consumer right. I'm not one of these fanatics who would reject all patent-encumbered or non-free audio formats but draw the line at an attempt to apply technical restrictions to consumer use of legally purchased media. Yes, I'm very uncomfortable with the whole thing. If I understand my entitlements when I'm buying music online then I can make an informed decision as to whether it's worthwhile, but the restrictions imposed by DRM seem to be filled with confusion and I suspect that a lot of consumers will decide that they just can't be bothered. I'm still curious about the answer to my question regarding replacing or reformatting my computer. |
alasta (6652) | ||
| 478837 | 2006-08-16 22:03:00 | ... they violate the principle of "fair use" permitted under NZ law I should say that I am not a lawyer and cannot actually find any such provision now that I actually go to read the act. This may well have been a misunderstanding on my part. |
TGoddard (7263) | ||
| 478838 | 2006-08-16 22:52:00 | I looked up NZ copyright laws awhile back, In a nutshell...No copies for any reason of anything unless given the OK by the owner of the copyright. | Metla (12) | ||
| 478839 | 2006-08-17 05:43:00 | you could alwyas install say 'audacity' which will allow you to record to the hard drive direct from the sound card.......thus ANY sound your puter puts out can be recorded......you could then buy your drm music .....record the sound out put and then 'format shift' it to mp3/wav/cda.......whatever.. ? dunno if that'd be legal or not..... | drcspy (146) | ||
| 478840 | 2006-08-17 10:28:00 | you could alwyas install say 'audacity' which will allow you to record to the hard drive direct from the sound card.......thus ANY sound your puter puts out can be recorded......you could then buy your drm music .....record the sound out put and then 'format shift' it to mp3/wav/cda.......whatever.. ? dunno if that'd be legal or not..... To be honest, I don't really care what's legal. I do care what's morally acceptable, but I wouldn't feel guilty about circumventing DRM if I had legitimately purchased a song or album from an authorised download site. I would really prefer not to use the type of utility that you describe because I'm concerned about the signal loss that it would cause, but I might have to give it a try just to see how well it works. The problem is that online downloads are so heavily compressed that I don't think they could withstand any further loss of audio quality. With CD burning and re-encoding so easy to do, it makes you wonder why the record companies bother with DRM. If people want to pirate music then they will find a way to do it, and in the meantime honest users get shafted. |
alasta (6652) | ||
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