Digital Rights Management

[Jeppe]

A new trend is beginning to show on adult pay sites. It's called Digital Rights Management (DRM) and is designed to prevent unauthorized users from playing copyright protected videos. Some info from Microsoft on the subject can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/drm/default.aspx

Unfortunately it can also be used to luring more money from the members. The DRM license enables the content owner to define how the user is allowed to watch the video. In short, the user downloads a certificate that allows the user to play the video while the certificate is valid. So it is possible for a webmaster to prevent the user from playing the videos when they stop being a member of the webmaster's site.

What do you think of this? Would you consider this ripping off people? Of course you would be aware of it before signing up to the site, but would you actually be willing to sign up for the site again to play videos you have previously downloaded, or would you find a site that doesn't use DRM?

[Hokey]

I joined Adult Bouncer and came across DRM, not only did I have to use Internet Explorer and their settings but I found that how I used the computer was determined by them. This DRM was a total pain especialy when I needed to update my computer I need to reset my Licences. I just avoid sites that have DRM.

[Jeppe]

Agreed. DRM pretty much sucks in my opinion. Maybe we should get an icon so sites with DRM will be easy to avoid.

[bill]

DRM raises more questions than it answers.
How do I know when a site uses DRM for the videos that I download?
When do the DRMs expire?
Can I move a downloaded video to a CD or DVD and view it on another computer or DVD player?
What happens if my harddrive crashes and I have to restore all the files with a backup? Will the DRMs still be there?
Is there any viewer besides Media Player that I can use to get around the DRM lockup?

[Jeppe]

DRM raises more questions than it answers.
How do I know when a site uses DRM for the videos that I download?
Unless it is stated on the site before you download the video, you don't know until you start playing it. Media Player will then download the license, and if required, you have to type in your username and password before the playback starts.

When do the DRMs expire?
That is entirely up to the webmaster/owner of the site. I am not sure if there is a way to find out when a license expires.

Can I move a downloaded video to a CD or DVD and view it on another computer or DVD player?
It works like this: You can download the movie file itself to anyplace you want, even copy ot to dvd's cd-rom's etc. BUT to actually be able to watch the video, you have to have the license, which probably means that you have to have internet access, since the license has to be downloaded from a license server in the first place.[/quote]

What happens if my harddrive crashes and I have to restore all the files with a backup? Will the DRMs still be there?
If the actual movie file is lost, then you will have to download it some way again. The same with the license. A tricky situation arises if you for example reformatted the hard drive, and have the actual video file, but not the licenses. Another reason I think DRM significantly reduces the value of the videos.

Is there any viewer besides Media Player that I can use to get around the DRM lockup? I don't think so. And even if you are referring to unauthorized play back of the video files, it doesn't exist. And by the way, DRM won't work on a Mac!

does anyone know if ALL SITES ACCESS sites uses DRM. Or any good sites that so not use it.

[Jeppe]

All Site Access do not use DRM.

Can you guys let us kow what other sites do not use DRM

[Jeppe]

It would be very difficult to make such a list, but actually most sites do NOT use DRM. It is a relatively new phenomenon and it takes some work for the webmaster to set it up, so many sites don't bother.

If there is any info on the video formats on a site's tour, then that is a big help since only .wmv files are compatible with DRM. That doesn't mean however that all .wmv files use it, but e.g. .mpg or .avi files cannot use it no matter what. So if there are multiple formats on a site, it shouldn't be a problem.

We also mention it en our review if a site uses DRM and link to the FAQ section.

Use Camtasia studio and copy the movies that way.

You'll need a fast pc.

No password needed thereafter :D

[Steve]

Camtasia works, but you lose a lot of quality doing that and Camtasia will not touch a DivX DRM file because it will not play without hardware acceleration on (Camtasia can only capture with overlays off, or the hardware acceleration disabled)

DRM in some circumstances is good. If a site has exclusive content and wants it to remain that way then DRM is an alternative. However, what they should do is give a lifetime license to the user. The DRM then stops it being spread about on other sites, or on P2P, but allows the legitimate user to view it whenever he/she wants.

DRM used as a means to make people join again cause the files stop playing after the membership expires is mean imho.

Steve

[Jeppe]

Steve, thanks very much for your input in the forum, it is greatly appreciated to hear a professional's point of view :D

[Guest]

I joined VideosZ yesterday, they are using DRM for their new videos.
Most videos are still available without DRM, but I asked them to refund my money because they didn't mention DRM in their Terms of Service or preview pages (In my country, this type of DRM is violating privacy protection laws).

I'm not against all sorts of DRM, for example it would be OK to include some sort of encrypted serial number with the videos (that is impossible to remove without re-encoding or destroying the video). This has to happen before downloading, so the customer doesn't notice the existance of DRM, except in the TOS of the porn site.

Good sites that don't use DRM:
- FTV girls
- abbywinters.com

[Jeppe]

Thanks for the info. That is actually very interesting and new to me.

[guest2]

I joined VideosZ yesterday, they are using DRM for their new videos.
Most videos are still available without DRM, but I asked them to refund my money because they didn't mention DRM in their Terms of Service or preview pages (In my country, this type of DRM is violating privacy protection laws).

I'm not against all sorts of DRM, for example it would be OK to include some sort of encrypted serial number with the videos (that is impossible to remove without re-encoding or destroying the video). This has to happen before downloading, so the customer doesn't notice the existance of DRM, except in the TOS of the porn site.

Good sites that don't use DRM:
- FTV girls
- abbywinters.com

I discovered this forum because videoz reckon adultreviews.net gave them a 9.5/10. Seems reasonable, the content is great, but it seems newer videos are protected and you will NOT be able to use them once your membership lapses. I've requested a refund as well, I can't even log in half the time, it's very disappointing.

[jake]

None of the 18 or so sites in my members area plus thousands of hours of extra content use DRM ... it's all downloadable and saveable .. burnable .. yankable great crazy hardcore content ..... but thats just my humble opinion ..lol

[Jeppe]

I discovered this forum because videoz reckon adultreviews.net gave them a 9.5/10. Seems reasonable, the content is great, but it seems newer videos are protected and you will NOT be able to use them once your membership lapses. I've requested a refund as well, I can't even log in half the time, it's very disappointing.

I agree that is very disappointing, and we will now make sure that an updated review of Videosz is going online as soon as possible. At the time of the current review, the videos were not protected by DRM.

can we get a complete list to date of DRM sites, so we can skip them?


like:

http://www.karadavis.com/home.php

and others...?

thx

guest

read this for example:

http://karadavis.com/moviehelp.php