Does Legal Online Video Content Delivery Exist? 45
RingDev asks: "I'm working on a system integration project for my CIS capstone. One of the systems we are integrating is a Windows MCE PVR. One of the topics that came up implementing a movie on demand or rental system using an existing online content provider. But the question we have run into is, are there any? Is the only option for online video content (TV shows, movies) P2P and BT clients? Is there no company out there that handles licensing and provides DRM'd content?"
"Legal"? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:"Legal"? (Score:1)
Open Source CMS & DRM (Score:1)
http://authena.org/ [authena.org]
Authena software is based on a philosophy of creators' rights, and its three pillars are:
1. Full Artistic Control: Open Source CMS allows Artist-Hackers to get under the hood to change themes, graphics, UI, sound quality, modules, etc.
2. Distribution: Open Source CMS coupled with RDF/RSS fosters efficient searches and syndication on the semantic web, and thus effective distribution.
3. DRM: Open Source CMS coupled with an extensible rights lang
Re:"Legal"? (Score:2)
If I paid for the content, there's no way I would saturate my upstream to upload it to others while downloading it for myself.
Bandwidth is cheap, if you are running a huge media company.
If those companies arrange deals with operators as content providers, I'm sure they would get all the bandwidth they need for selling content to the operators customers.
Since MPAA/RIAA are lobbying the rant about movies/dvds/cds being different mediums for deliver
here's two that i use (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.movielink.com/ [movielink.com]
you can also get "starz on demand" through realplayer for approx $13 a month. you're limited to the current line up of STARZ movies--and they often suck. but it's better than paying $70 for premium cable. quality is ok, but still not DVD.
http://starz.real.com/ [real.com]
but i dont know if those are the kind of things the poster wants. his question was amorphous at best.
Re:here's two that i use (Score:1)
-Rick
To clarify his question... (Score:3, Informative)
As a side note, there are legal videos online. Check the internet archives [archive.org] feature film division for quite a few classics, including The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari [archive.org], Night of the Living Dead [archive.org], The Charlie Chaplin Film Festival [archive.org], and period genre shlock like sex madness [archive.org] and hemp for victory [archive.org]. That's not really what he's asking for, but it's worth mentioning for the other people who may be reading. Anywhere that has Santa Claus Conquers the Martians [archive.org] deserves a nod.
Re:To clarify his question... (Score:1)
It really seems like this technology/business model just doesn't exist yet.
-Rick
Re:To clarify his question... (Score:1)
Counterintuitive (Score:3, Informative)
Seems like you're interested in providing existing Hollywood TV and movie products. The question I throw it back at you is: why bother? Anyone who has watched one episode too many of those bad or mediocre TV shows and movies churned out by the industrial machine, at one time or another, must have thought that the home movies made by his cousin, as amateurish as they are, still beat those glossy images produced by a group of people who are in it for the money.
Speaking of money, you should know by now that TV and film producers hang on to their rights as if giving them away were akin to giving their manhood away. The notion that someone out there is thinking, "Jeez, I can't watch enough of those shows on WB network, and darn it, where can I pay to download them online?" is, you know, counterintuitive.
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
Here's the big secret that all of us whiney creative-but-poor types don't like to point out.
Most of the big talent in hollywood was a crappy kid with a videocamera once too. And the bi
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2, Interesting)
Why bother? A $50 BILLION industry? The $30 Billion battle over DVDs, 2.6 MILLION netflix subscribers? And you say why bother? A seemless open standard DRM could open up huge markets as broadband penetration continues to rise. Having tools in place to immediately take advantage of such a DRM, and the connections/money to get in bed with the content producers (Hollywood)
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, and so could a magic carpet...
Please stop dreaming about "seemless open standard DRM": DRM systems don't work.
For a non-technical explanation, you should probably read Bruce Schneier [schneier.com] or Microsofts Darknet paper [mit.edu].
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not dreaming about a PERFECT system, I'm dreaming about a system that is good enough to provide a simple way for the majority of consumers to legally obtain content online.
Look at iTunes. Personally, I think their specific DRM sucks donkey balls. BUT, all they did was provide a way for consumers to easily and legally aquire content online. And now it is a multi-million dollar revenue source for Apple. This should be a screaming fireball of a wake up call for veture capitalist to invest in DRMs and content delivery. Because if Apple can wrap content in a crap sandwich, offer it up on a silver platter and make millions, what do you think a GOOD solution could do?
Imagine an international open standard DRM. One that has a simple API for authenticating the user, and determining the date. That API could be availible to Windows, Linux, Apple, what ever. No more of this iPod/Tunes only crap. No more DMCA violations to watch DVDs on Linux. Just one open standard DRM. You could even advance the DRM technology and maintain the standard API. So if someone ever cracks the DRM, you can patch it with out having to re-write all of the readers and delivery system.
-Rick
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:3, Insightful)
You replied: "I disagree."
So let's see your argumnents to disagree
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
I would not see any point for a centralized user database, or user tracking in any case. I understand the issues of having the data in the enemy's hands, but there's no real way arround that in this case. The goal here is not to make a an inpenitrable standard. It is to make a standard where for
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
Well duh, because he did nothing illegal.
Moreover I would say he did absolutely nothing wrong. He wrote some extremely useful software which, amongst other things, enabled people to view the DVDs they bought on their Linux machines and enabled people to ignore stupid region coding on DVDs they bought and enabled people to skip the SEVERAL MINUTES of advertizments with the fast-forward and menu buttons LOCKED OUT at the beginning of some DVDs they bought
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
DVD Jon is not a copywrite infringer. He is a DCMA violator. His (US) cohorts from DeCCS were arrested. At the time, I beleive he was living in Sweeden where the laws are a bit more lax and he wasn't extridited to the US. Since then, he has released new tools that break actual DRMs, but I beleive it was Apple that finally just hired him on instead of press
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
Huh? Who or what is an 'innocent infringer'? And why would you or I want to defend infringers? I certainly did not defend infringement.
I moved this part to the top because maybe it highlights some communication problem?
I would like to commend you on your excellent use of a loaded question. Although I think my favorite is still "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"
If you want to claim it was a "wife beating" question, fine. Please explain how so. You may not LIKE the question, but th
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
That implies that I do justify the imprisonment of the innocent. Thus a loaded question which I have no desire to answer, any more then you have a desire to answer my question about your wife beating habbits.
As for the communication break down between what you are calling "noninfringers" and what I am calling "innocent infringers". Making a
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
Actually it's more than just a petition. If you enter your address it figures out who your representative is in Washington and it fires off an individual message right to them. You can edit the message to say anything you like. In fact you will almost certainly get a snailmail reply from your congressional represenative with a form letter thanking you for your input.
Now lets say someone in Sweden figures out your security grabs a copy of your entire library, then sells them all for
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
What the?!?! Hypothetically, You are not a murderer and you have not raped anyone. But if we remove both of those negatives, you are a murdering rapist? That makes no
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
If option one is that I ham not a murderer, and option two is that I am not a rapist (and in this particular case options one and two could overlap), and *IF* we were to hypothetically pass on both options one and two, then YES, in fact the ONLY REMAINING POSSIBILITY would be that I am a murdering rapist.
That is not any sort of personal attack, and you should not have taken it as a pers
Re:Counterintuitive (Score:2)
My point being that wether or not I refute you claims of not being a rapist or a murderer, you are (with all likelihood) not a rapist or a murderer.
"TYou proceed to describe a DRM system that will p
Pipe Dream (ain't nothin' wrong to dream) (Score:2)
There is already a "legal means" offered by Hollywood, and it's called "syndication", which is how they put old, popular shows on Sunday afternoons and Weekday mornings at 2am, so the fans can set their Tivo timer and record them.
I may be harsh on Hollywood people for their greediness, but I'd never call them stupid, in fact many of them are quite smart. Hollywood has already looked at this model of put
heres one: (Score:1)
Re:I'm an engineer, not a marketeer. (Score:1)
CIS is Computer Information Science. I have an Assoc CS degree, and the CIS degree takes that technical framework, adds other general technical knowledge and builds up managerial and entrapanurial skills.
The goal of the project is actually technology integration. Using a wireless PDA to connect to a "home" net
Re:I'm an engineer, not a marketeer. (Score:3, Interesting)
Someone has pointed out movielink... beyond media has it integrated into it's frontend... I believe Meedio does or would have a plugin for it. Meedio has a ton of HTPC/home automation stuff that might be worth investigating fruther.
it's not hollywood, but creative common's licensed material of interest is Downhill Battle's Particpatory Culture DTV thingie [participatoryculture.org]
e.
Re:I'm an engineer, not a marketeer. (Score:1)
-Rick
Re:I'm an engineer, not a marketeer. (Score:2)
If using MCE 2k5... (Score:2)
I personally use Cinema Now and Movielink and the quality is excellent.
Re:If using MCE 2k5... (Score:1)
Streaming video does... (Score:3, Interesting)
ESPN Gameplan [go.com]
MLB.tv [mlb.com]
Probably not exactly what you're looking for, though...
Akimbo (Score:2)
Offers VoD service. They have ~40 or so 'channels' covering cartoons, sports, movies, travel, adult, indie & music. Service is roughly $10/mo. with some individual programs having a small charge.
Their service does require a set-top box from them right now, which runs WinXP-Embedded and contains an OEM MSI motherboard. Their docs specifiy that they are using WindowMedia9 with DRM to deliver the content. They are claiming that you will be able to use their service with a PC soon (WinXP-MCE).
DivX VOD (Score:1)
DivX certified DVD players have a built-in code which you provide while downloading the movie from DivX.com. This then you burn to DVD RW, etc and play in your DVD player.
There are some restrictions on how many times you can play the content though.
Just as the "dept" line says... (Score:2)
Adelphia Cable has it, although it's limited to what they're currently showing that month (you can't just watch anything you want).
http://adelphia.com/cable_entertainment/inDemand_
Video on demand in Canberra (Score:2)
The content is provided by VOD [vod.net.au] and AnyTime [anytimeworld.com].
Availability (Score:2)
From all public channels and some commercial ones, pretty much everything that is aired is afterwards available via the internet, indefinitely, for free (streamed, no DRM) from here [omroep.nl] and here [talpa.tv]. You can watch entire seasons of shows online without commercials, which is really great.