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Unusual Stuff

Goodbye Blu-ray DRM, Hello Copied DVD

Posted 3/21/2008 11:40 am by Ron Hogan and Andrew Sorcini

cracked-blu-ray.JPGOne of the big selling points of Blu-ray technology, at least in the eyes of the movie industry, was Blu-ray’s supposedly unbreakable Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology.  That meant that your Blu-ray disc is, in theory, unable to be copied or backed up.  Of course, the moment you say something is unhackable, the hackers see this as a challenge and it doesn’t take long until someone manages to break the DRM for fair-use purposes.  Congratulations SlySoft!

I’m not going to defend piracy at all, but all DRM software does is infringe on the rights of the legal user to make use of the media he or she has already purchased.  I keep my DVDs in the basement entertainment center, but my big TV is in the living room and there’s also a DVD player in the bedroom.  If I own a DVD, and I want to make a copy for my personal use, I should be allowed to do that.  I could record the same movie off of television legally; why can’t I copy the DVD I already own?

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