DRM is another way to spell DUMB

I recently bought a new TV, a Samsung one. I’ve never owned a Samsung TV until now, and I can understand what all the hype is about. It truly was a great find, and an awesome buy. I've been burned By LG twice on a DVR and a fridge, So it was either someone that i don't know too much about, or Samsung, which I've heard good things about.

In fact, the TV is soo awesome... (How awesome is it?)... It shows the world how dumb, DRM can really be. Like most devices that are media intensive, the TV allows me to play MP3s, but WAIT! That’s not all... I can play AVIs, MKVs, MP4, Divx, Xvid, H.264, even WMV files! Oh yea, and Images like JPEG can be viewed too (whoopee!). I didn’t exactly know for sure that this TV had these specific capabilities... I knew something was up with the Ethernet interface and a lot of options on the menu... I really got lucky in picking a TV with these features in it and more. Dumb luck is great isn’t it!

According to the manual, I quote on page 32, (with my emphasis in bold) ”MP3 Files with DRM that have been downloaded from a non-free site cannot played. Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a technology that supports the creation of content, the distribution and management of the content in an integrated and comprehensive way, including the protection of the rights and interests of the content providers, the prevention of illegal copying of contents, as well as managing billings and settlements.“

Basically: Interchangeability

In one short response: LOL! According to this statement, if you actually PAID MONEY for an MP3 (or WMV?), you would NOT be able to play this music on the TV. However, if you owned the music CD and ripped the MP3, you would. Same goes for the DVDs and WMV.

Whoa, break lights, brake lights – Is this really implying what it says: If I DOWNLOADED this music from say a torrent and my MP3 is not DRM locked... does that mean it plays on my TV? Yup... the ones I paid for that have DRM? Nope. What about the video files...? I hate those MPAA companies and I download movies all the time from axxo... do those play? Yup. What about the WMV that I paid for with DRM? Nope. Can you buy movies in WMV format with DRM? I’m not sure, but anything file with DRM in them, simply won’t play.

...Oh shit son! Are you serious! You can play Blu-ray rips and H264 HD encodings on your TV... even the 1080p ones? Thats right... but your telling me if you actually bought a Blu-ray disc would you be able to copy it into MP4 or H264 format for easy playback on the TV...

Has anyone ever tried to copy a Blu-ray disc?

They’ve really severed the consumer’s wrists in this.

This is quiet humorous... but it’s also dangerous. Could we see a day (somewhat likely) where all media is encumbered with DRM? Would it be likely that that media cannot be broken/cracked with things like Trusted Computing(Secure IO) running under our tower’s hood? It sure is. My biggest worry is that some day, all media players (from iPods to PC) enforce DRM 100% and anything none DRM can’t be played. But for the mean time, it shows how dumb DRM really is.

A system that rewards media that has been broken, DRM freed, or blatantly pirated, yet punishes those who “do the right thing” and pay for it (In more than one way!). This TV is proof of such a system... and I really should get back to watching Spiderman 3 in 1080p now... You can take that as what you will.