All The Same, The Idea is Wonderful! Right?

No.

Unbox’s DRM and terms of service suffocate any real interest I may have in wasting my bandwidth to download a movie. First, once the movie is downloaded to a hard drive, there is no legal way to copy the movie to a disc since the DRM does not allow any copies to be made. I cannot transfer it to an iPod, writable DVD, or other computer.

Why, exactly, do I want to pay full price for limited functionality? I can buy the exact same movie at the same basic price from a retail store and watch it wherever I want. I can watch an actual DVD on my television, a laptop, a personal DVD player, my friend’s television, and maybe even a random TV in a large retail store if I’m feeling especially cocky.

I’m suddenly giddy with DVD freedoms when I look at Unbox as my alternative.
If the idea huddling my three warring children around a 13-inch monitor with semi-functional speakers were not a deterrent to my interest in Unbox, then the terms of service definitely is. Unbox reserves the right to end my license at any time and possibly take back the movies I legally paid for. There's a word for this sort of unfriendly practice.

Unbox has thrown out fair-use rights, consumer satisfaction, and the potential for growth in new areas in an effort to squelch potential media piracy.

Pirates of Blockbuster

Speaking of piracy, what has DRM technology done to limit the effects of piracy on the entertainment industry? Looking at my local DVD bootlegger, I’d have to say that it’s done practically nothing to impede his little sideline occupation.

Do you want to know how else I know DRM doesn’t do its job? Because I have to sit through that ridiculous anti-piracy commercial every time I watch a DVD. If DRM technology is truly God’s gift to copyright holders, then why are the movie studios trying to shame me into not pirating the movie?

DRM technology is not

an effective way to prevent piracy. It just assures the various entertainment industries that you, an honest and law abiding consumer, will maintain that honesty and trust. Of course, honest people are naturally honest and don’t generally wake up one day and decide to become the Scourge of the Internet.

Creating the Digital Criminal

The ridiculous practices of digital rights management can oft as not push a consumer to break digital rights management software on his own devices in an effort to obtain what he considers to be his fair use of purchased content. This appears to be relatively easy according to a number of websites. However, under the DMCA it’s also illegal.

The industry knew DRM was a hoax, incapable of providing any real copyright security, so they lobbied for laws to cover what its technology could not. Three decades after the initial quest to kill home recording, the industry has finally found a way to strangle it for honest consumers. When they couldn’t outright ban home recording, the Media Hoarders created DRM systems knowing the technology was not foolproof.

With the DMCA, it’s now illegal to bypass the DRM or even point out the DRM programs have definite issues. Digital rights management isn’t a tool to protect innocent entertainment companies from rogue media pirates—they’re a concerted effort to rob you of what you're entitled to under fair use practices.

To Sony-BMG, HBO, Microsoft, Disney, and all the other paranoid hosers: We salute you. You’ve made a fine attempt to limit home recording to your individual specifications and making criminals of us all in an effort to preserve your precious intellectual property. It would be beneficial if you also attempted to preserve customer service with the same rabid intensity.

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Looking to build your own box? Make an informed decision, and learn more about how DRM can affect you before shelling out that hard-earned cash on your DVD drive.

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