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May I Have A Download Please?

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Renegade:
Well, I hear about this web site with alternative films, so of course I visit.

And, oooooh~! This one looks interesting... (I love supernatural flicks!)

http://pureflix.com/wp/portfolio/the-encounter/

So I watch the trailer, and figure I'll go buy it. But what I really want is a download and not a DVD... The whole waiting a few weeks thing is just kind of like, oh so entirely 20th century and lame.

Sigh... No luck.

In other places, I've watched movies for free, then gone out and bought the DVDs simply to support the film. (e.g. The Corporation - it was available to view for free somewhere, and was so good I had to buy a copy.)

This stuff isn't that hard to do. I think I'm going to go ahead and see about creating a relatively secure "shareware" (try before you buy) downloadable movie. I've got the basics in my head already, and it shouldn't be that hard... We'll see...

But all I want is to download the movie... It's cheaper for the seller that way even!

40hz:
Well...be careful what you wish for. The US recording industry has plans to discontinue all "hard-media" sales and only make their music "assets" available via download starting in late 2012 if they can keep it on schedule. Probably the only reason the movie industry hasn't announced similar plans is because of the size of their files. (In the US, most people are still on residential grade ADSL for their broadband so you're looking at 3+ hours per movie download.)

Of course once hard copy is gone they can go hog wild with more and more restrictive licensing and crazy DRM schemes.

Sometime not too long from now:

-------------------------------------------------
(Customer at work on his lunch break calls ToonSmith Central)



ToonSmith: Thank you for calling ToonSmith Central, your premier music and media source. This is Customer Support, and my name is Pashmini. How may I help you today?

Customer: Yes...uh hi! I'm having a problem getting a song I recently bought to play on my home theater system.

TS: Let me transfer you to technical support...

Cust: No wait! I already spoke to technical support. I was in the queue for over 20 minutes waiting to talk to them. They transferred me over to your group and said you'd be able to help me.

TS: (skeptical) Tech support said we'd be able to help you with a playback issue?

Cust: Yes. They said it was a licensing problem and not a technical issue.

TS: (long annoyed sigh) I see... What is the problem you're having?

Cust: Ok...I just bought a copy of 2x4's song Scrapwood on my iPhone. How do I play it on my home stereo?

TS: I thought you said you bought it for your iPhone. Does it play on your iPhone?

Cust: Yes. But that's not what I was asking.

TS: (with exaggerated patience) The song is licensed for a single device.

Cust: You mean it will only work on my phone and nowhere else?

TS: That is correct. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Cust: Yes. Can you tell me what I need to do to get it to play on my other devices?

TS: You'll need to obtain separate licenses for each.

Cust: (incredulous) By that you mean I'll need to buy and download a completely separate copy of this song for each device?

TS: That is correct.

Cust: Ok. I'm confused. I used to be able to play anything I bought on any device I owned...my home system...my phone... the mp3 player in my car...

TS: We have recently made amendments and changes in our license to the 'Allowed Usage' section. If you read it you will find these changes spelled out very clearly in Section 27 - Subsection 1-33.1.1.4 along with a relevant footnote. You indicated your acceptance of these terms when you loaded up the song. Have you read the license agreement? Or did you just click through it?

Cust: Well I...

TS: You really should read a license agreement before you accept it.

Cust: I tried. Once. But it's a 97-page long PDF. And it's in 9-point Ariel type...

TS: It's 106 pages actually. As I mentioned earlier we've, recently amended it.

Cust: So you're telling me I now need to buy a separate copy of every song for each device I want to play it on?

TS: That is correct.

Cust: I'm not very happy about this.

TS: We're very sorry you feel that way.

Cust: This quite SUCKS you know...

TS: Sir, I must inform you that if you continue raise your voice or use foul language I will be forced to terminate this phone call. (a chorus of faint giggles can now be heard in the background)

Cust: ok, ok, look...how can you possibly expect people to buy separate copies of every song they want to hear for every device they want to hear it on? People aren't going to put up with that.

TS: Actually, our industry statistics indicate that music sales are at an all time high. And furthermore, current period sales have increased at least 25% over each prior year period since February of this year. So au contraire sir, business is booming.

Cust: Really! What happened in February?

TS: February is when the amended licensing terms we were just discussing went into effect.

Cust: You know you're lucky people don't all start throwing everything up on the torrent sites.

TS: It wouldn't matter. Each downloaded media copy is individually serialized and licensed to a specific buyer identified by their credit card at the time of purchase. If a song shows up on a P2P fileshare site, we'll know who it originally belonged to and, therefor, who uploaded it.

Cust: That wouldn't prove who uploaded it.

TS: Whoever downloads a licensed media file is fully responsible for protecting it and putting reasonable safeguards in place to prevent it being copied, shared, or otherwise tampered with. So it doesn't matter if the buyer or somebody else uploaded the song. The buyer is still legally responsible for it happening.

Cust: Says who?

TS: It's all spelled out quite clearly in the license terms agreed to whenever a licensed media file is installed.

Cust: That's just your license that says that. Not the law.

TS: Actually it is the law. I assume you've heard of ACTA?

Cust: Now wait a minute. I actually happened to have read ACTA when I was in school. We studied and discussed it in class. ACTA doesn't say anything like that.

TS: The United States Congress has recently made amendments and significant changes to the original ACTA. I believe they're calling it ACTA-II now. (more giggles now in the background)

Cust: Let me guess...back in February, right?

TS: Yes sir. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Cust: Apparently not.

TS: Very good! (with obvious faux enthusiasm and again  in a rapid rote voice - Pashmini has recited this kiss-off speech at least a a hundred times since she started her shift three hours ago) Thank you for calling ToonSmith Central, your premier music and media source -  soon to be offering ebooks for all major reading platforms! Please hold after this call to participate in a brief customer satisfaction survey...

Cust: (hangs up)

Renegade:
40... dammit... stop ruining the moment and predicting the future! :P

All I want is to be able to reasonably download stuff and use it... I suppose that's too much to ask... sigh... :(

Innuendo:
40... dammit... stop ruining the moment and predicting the future! :P

All I want is to be able to reasonably download stuff and use it... I suppose that's too much to ask... sigh... :(-Renegade (February 13, 2012, 09:00 AM)
--- End quote ---

Yeah....the 20th century isn't sounding so lame anymore, is it? ;)

40hz:
40... dammit... stop ruining the moment and predicting the future! :P

All I want is to be able to reasonably download stuff and use it... I suppose that's too much to ask... sigh... :(


-Renegade (February 13, 2012, 09:00 AM)
--- End quote ---

From what I've been reading? Yes. It is. (Sorry) :(

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