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Tom Potts wrote: > > I watch a video on a copy of windows XP and probably Vista On Vista it is likely to depend on the DRM in use. Vista does its best to prevent this if you use certain DRM systems. But I think this pushes at the crux of the issue, the DRM technologies are by nature proprietary and thus limited to a selection of platforms. Secondly by choosing to use DRM the BBC have spent their time and effort negotiating on the basis of DRM. As Becky says, they now have to support every DRM system (not scalable, and still exclude an unknown proportion of their licence fee payers*), or go back and renegotiate with the rights holders an agreement without DRM, if they want to use an open protocol. It isn't a technical issue in that sense although the ramifications of the decision are technical. I think that is where backstage interview falls down, too many techies, saying "well we have the content without DRM, we don't see your problem". As they say the BBC apply DRM at the last stage possible, because it is inconvenient for themselves to handle DRM encoded content. But they have arranged with rights holders that the inconvenient content will be all that the end users get. As such unless you are prepared to run a system the BBC is prepared to support, you are going to get an inferior experience. And there is no change of position on this as far as I can see. So yes you might get a streaming service, it sounded like they were going to use proprietary streaming protocols, if you happen to have a relevant plugin for that service. The irony is that most of the content is already out there. And it is being extracted (in some cases from inherently ineffective DRM systems) and injected into other networks, so they are effectively encouraging folks who don't use the "preferred platforms" to go out and use exactly the kinds of services the rights holders are worried about. Expect no change soon. Simon * Those using new technologies, which DRM introduces an innate disincentive to develop and use, since the DRM technologies won't be available on them. Why do you think Microsoft are so keen on DRM, they see it as a barrier to entry into the market for competing products.
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