A BLOKE claims that Sony is back to its old tricks and has installed a new DRM system on its DVDs which do not work in some machines.
He called Sony who admitted that the problem was being caused by its new copy protection making these discs unplayable in some players including our own. Sony says that it does not not intend to change the copy protection.
They told him he would have to have a firmware update to his player. Unfortunately this has not been released yet. In fact they do not know when it will be released.
Obviously he is a bit miffed about spending $350 on a Sony DVD player three months ago which cannot play Sony movies. The player is still being flogged and makes no mention of this fact.
Solution: Stop purchasing anything made by Sony.
So hypothetically I buy a bluray of my favorite movie – say, “The Dirty Dozen” or “The Wizard of Oz”. Ten years from now I want to watch it with my kid or a friend.
THERE’S NO GUARANTEE this will even be POSSIBLE!
2,
That’s why I’m never giving up my laserdisc collection.
Send it back to Sony……..with a bomb in it.
2. God, can you even read? He didn’t buy the player ten years ago. He bought it three months ago. Sony is currently still selling it.
I know illiteracy is a huge problem, but how do you idiots even manage to turn on your computers?!
5. Please read and understand other peoples comments before you make a fool of yourself.
What 2. is saying is this:- He can buy a DVD now that has a certain version of drm on it…but in a few years time that DVD will not work in his *new* DVD player because the drm on the old DVD is incompatible with the new player.
I think an apology is in order from you
As for Sony…. I think 1. has it right…..Stop buying their products….and anyway the way they are going they won’t exist as a company for much longer anyway
6. “Please read and understand other peoples comments before you make a fool of yourself.”
Ok, let’s read yours. You said,
Apparently you did not read his comment. He said “I buy a bluray of my favorite movie….Ten years from now I…” He did not use the word DVD. And he did not say a “few years” he specifically said ten years. Do you know the difference?!
And regardless of DVD or Blu-Ray, what possible relevance does his example have to this instance? I think we expect that things won’t work in 10 years. However, we do expect brand new DVD players to play brand new DVDs. That’s the point of the posting: that something brand new doesn’t work now solely because of DRM. Maybe you should take the time to read the article too.
“I think an apology is in order from you”
Why, you’re the one who got it wrong. You misquoted him and you failed to show how sdf’s point was even remotely relevant.
I was going to say something ‘smart alecky’ but now I really feel sorry for SONY… what is going on with them? I used to have all SONY stuff. now It’s some other chinese/japaneese/malasian/ company…
or Designed in USA built by ????????????????
#5
Um… He said “Ten years from now” and I suppose he means ten years into the future.
Chances are that Sony and others will then give the Discs (or whatever medium of storage) a chemical expiration date.
SN,
your attitude toward the users on this site Lately is rediculous, you call them names and use vulgarity in your comments when directed toward people….
If I were John, I’d remove your posting abilities on his site because plain and simple…. Someone who posts on a blog which is respected such as this one, should not feel the need to reduce themselves to vulgarity, name calling and other veiled insults tossed around.
Grow up ffs, if you don’t have anything nice to say, then keep your fingers off your keyboard.
#5
It’s easy. We turn on our PCs every morning because we just can’t wait to discover which one of us is the target of your abuse for the day.
He’s also right. Yes, we know what the article says. It also says that the user needs a firmware update. Well, if you can update firmware, then you might also need a future firmware update for whatever lame ass copy scheme they invent next, which might break the fix that will be fixed after they fix this broken DRM product.
Further, its pretty obvious that recorded media player makers are not just going to invent a product that works and then not mess with it, so the next optical “innovation” may not be able to use the disc…
So yes, based on the article, it is fairly easy to extrapolate that in the future, your media collection will be useless.
So, I’d like to issue a big thanks to all the hardware and software manufactuerers and to Hollywood and the music biz, who decided it was better to create a big fucked up mess of incompatible bullshit standards that offer no real innovation or value to consumers.
And maybe you might wanna lay off the coffee.
I don’t expect civility out of some of these yahoos, and I’m just a yahoo too… but you work here. You already told me in a another thread that I don’t know anything about history… which was a false assumption on your part, and you’ve called at least two readers I know of today idiots… and frankly, you are making an industry out of being out of line.
Seriously man… You are one of the smartest guys around. It just isn’t that cool to smart if you also have to be the angriest most short tempered guiy around too.
10. “your attitude toward the users on this site Lately is rediculous, you call them names and use vulgarity in your comments when directed toward people…”
Not true, if someone says something idiotic, I call them an idiot. If someone says something really interesting, I point it out.
“If I were John, I’d remove your posting abilities on his site because plain and simple…. “
And john is completely free to do that. Anytime he wants.
“Grow up ffs, if you don’t have anything nice to say, then keep your fingers off your keyboard.”
And my point is that if you don’t have anything intelligent to say, keep your fingers off your keyboard.
11. “Yes, we know what the article says. It also says that the user needs a firmware update.”
I just wanted to clarify this, Sony said his player needed a firmware update, but it also said that one was not available.
And what about all of the other players out there that will not be updated by firmware? What about the player you bought last year that’s now considered legacy?
I think the biggest mistake Sony ever made was to get into the content business. Once it had movies and music to protect, it has been messing with its hardware ever since. Sony used to make cool hardware because it wasn’t obsessed with protecting copyrights. Now its interests are generally antagonistic with users of its customers.
Generally I only add to conversations when I see something needs to be said, and pointing out every person that “says something idiotic” is a completely subjective view….
If you Think they’re an idiot does not mean everyone else does, or for that matter it doesn’t even mean they’re an idiot… because, hypothetically one could say that you are behaving in an idiotic manner by posting insulting comments as you have been.
Disagreeing with someones view, opinion, or loose grasp on reality is one thing, calling them names and insulting them in the open is completely another…
14. “and pointing out every person that “says something idiotic” is a completely subjective view….”
Oh thank you. If sdf’s comment was only subjectively idiotic, please tell me how it could possibly be construed as even subjectively intelligent. On one hand it wasn’t even remotely analogous to the article. And at best it was utterly obvious. So, please inform me. Thanks!
“an idiotic manner by posting insulting comments as you have been.”
Yeah, and they’d probably be correct. I am an idiot. I’m always the first to admit that.
“Disagreeing with someones view, opinion, or loose grasp on reality is one thing, calling them names and insulting them in the open is completely another…”
Yep, those are different concepts. Wow, you’re amazing! You must have watched a lot of Sesame Street!
Well, I was going to post “No intelligent life here, beam me up Scotty”, but why bother? Nothing like a flame war to mess the whole topic up.
** I’ll agree with #2, sdf, at my own risk. Soon, all articles / comments on this blog will be DRM’ed. **
Let’s see Sony try to DRM my collection of 15ips reel-to-reels, now being converted to DVD. And they still sound absolutely fabulous. Go, analog, and thank goodness I can still buy tubes !!
I posted this on this site last week. Been keeping a list of the DVD players unable to play these DVDs. MANY Toshibas…surprise, surprise…
DVD Player List
SN……I was not quoting 1.’s comments…I was paraphrasing them in order to to put across what I thought his meaning/point was.
If I had wanted to quote him I would have written his exact words.
I actually agree with you and other posters here….insofar as I think it would be ridiculous to expect a standard DVD or Bluray or HDD etc to be current in 10 years time
What I DO expect however is it to work in a machine that claims to support that format and not to be useless when I next upgrade my machine.
I am new to this blog…I discovered it after listening to Twit….I have absolutely no intention of getting involved in any kind of flame war with you….I have just read some of your blog….you are obviously far more intelligent than me….I just think you are doing yourself a disservice by your intolerant attitude
18. “I was paraphrasing them in order to to put across what I thought his meaning/point was.”
Oh, what exactly was his point?
“I am new to this blog…”
It’s nice to have you. I mean that sincerely. I just have a low tolerance for idiotic comments. sdf is one of those guys who likes to be a smartass. I should have simply deleted the comment, but I figured I’d have some fun with him instead. That’s the sort of stuff we do around here. Anyway, I hope you enjoy further visits and come back again. We’re cranky, but you’ll have fun.
#17 – John
I wouldn’t be surprised if a Toshiba player doesn’t play certain discs – in actual fact, considering the luck that people I know have been having with them (4 dead players, all replaced N/C, 2 of them died), soon I expect I’ll be amazed when I see a Toshiba player that plays anything…
I’ll never again buy any player but a Denon. (OK, maybe a Meridian) Mine plays everything I put in it, and quite nicely, too.
SN,
Yes, the best way you could have handled sdf’s post (which did sound like a blathering dimwit if you want my real opinion) is to delete it… rather than make yourself look worse by comparison by name calling and insulting his intelligence.
Now, as for tossing an insult or two my direction, sticks and stones… and all that… I’ll simply chalk it up to for some reason, you need to try and make yourself feel better by insulting those of questionable intelligence on the internet…. (questionable in your eyes… at least)
21. “Now, as for tossing an insult or two my direction, sticks and stones…”
Seriously, I meant it as a compliment when I said “you’re amazing” and that you watched a lot of Sesame Street! Seriously! The only show I love more than Sesame Street is Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood! Seriously.
“Yes, the best way you could have handled sdf’s post is to delete it…”
Yeah, I should have dumped it. But what’s done is done.
[edit: and SN wasn’t the only one to consider that – but, I decided there’s some use to including the pitiful]
Wow, what a bunch of stupid pointless comments…
Here it is, all simplified:
There isn’t a standard for ‘higher-def’ — there are two competing standards. There are also issues with millionaires not making enough money off of selling the same work over and over and over and over and over…
Welcome to the bleeding edge…
You bought too early. You bought too early. You bought too early (PS & BTW: notice the proper usage of ‘too’?)
Now, bleed. Bleed. Bleed.
They make the rules, or don’t, and you consume. Bleed. Sucks to be an “early adopter” — I’m not trying to get ahead of you, “Jones”… you just make my life more difficult by competing to see who can have the fancier TV, who can have the fancier playback device, who can have the spiffiest car.
Amerikano {moron} CONSUMERS just complicate life for the rest of us.
Ah Lauren (#20), somehow I knew we had a connection somewhere… My Denon DVD-5900 has been rock solid for three years!!!
#23, “Wow, what a bunch of stupid pointless comments… Here it is, all simplified: There isn’t a standard for ‘higher-def’ — there are two competing standards.”
Stupid comments? The story is about DVD. Not Bluray, not HD-DVD. Just plain old DVD.
“Now, bleed. Bleed. Bleed.”
As long as you read. Read. Read.
Preferably before your lovely simplification makes it clear you didn’t even read the article, and probably not even the excerpt.
Thanks to intelligent remarks on this blog . . . !
No more new Sony hardware in my house. My recent home theater upgrade, roughly 3k$, Samsung + Harmon Karden.
What I had before, bought in 1997, was a Sony Trinitron 32″, Sony DVD, Sony VHS, Sony Dolby surround. Speakers non-Sony (PSB).
My only Sony hardware left in my house currently is the aging Sony PS2. A far cry of ten years ago.
Looks like SN has got his panties in a wad again. Don’t bother arguing with him, as he always has to have the last word.
Pirate everything and if you want to take it somewhere use a USB stick, after you burn off that stupid U3, it’s probably got DRM slipped into it somehow or it will…
On the one hand they say trust us, buy our stuff and then every time we turn around they’re putting date rape drugs into our drink.
They deserve gnutella et al.
Haha way to go SN, cover up your own buffoonery, you misread his post and reacted wrongly and instead of admiting it you decided to attack. Must be those “leet” lawyering skills you possess. Either that or a bad attempt at creating controversy for it’s own sake.
[off topic]
When there is DRM all the way to the speakers (like M$ is trying to do with monitors) I’ll give up and just watch the sun set with a cold one and an old 8-track.
If you’ve never heard these speakers, I urge you to give ’em a try.
http://www.bwspeakers.com/
#20 Lauren, I’ve got a Rotel that has served me well since 1996. Hope that Denon is still working well. Can you (or anyone posting here) recommend a PC card with audio-in that can convert A-D with precision? Thanks.