Piracy

[Tigranes]

Star Wars will forever be awesome because it gave us http://winterson.com/2005/06/episode-iii-backstroke-of-west.html

 

[Malcador]

 

Sums it all up

[Hurlshort]

Because the Star Wars blurays seem the only in existance with this sort of security, giving these issues.

(For recent, HP 7.2 or The Lion King works fine, which are both newer)

It's not like getting a software update, it's more like some games like Just Cause II to require you to use Vista/7. If you have XP then, and *just* one game of that type, and no interest to shell hundreds of dollars for a Windows update... well...

 

And just to make clear... it's a software player, I try to run it on my PC (since, no TV). The updates for my player are not enough, I need a paid version increase... yay (not)

 

Wait, so it's not really a blu-ray drive?

 

I looked into this a bit, it still doesn't sound like a DRM issue, but rather a compatibility issue.

[Hassat Hunter]

It's a blu-ray burner drive to be exact.

And that's not the issue. However my software bluray player is. Which runs everything fine... but Star Wars. Only if I get a payed software update (version increments, you know them...) can I run it.

Why? Because they stuffed something on those discs that no other disks have just to make it harder to read them... :/

What kind of compatibilty issue would a blu-ray disc have that no other have then their copy protection scheme?

[Humanoid]

Do OEM versions of software players get free updates? Would be poor form if the software included with the drives weren't able to be kept up-to-date. I know they're hobbled in some ways (limited audio options usually, no bitstreaming or whatever) but one would think they'd at least do a basic job okay.

 

 

 

Aside, I do buy a lot of blu-rays of older movies (and when I say old I mean right back to the silent era - Chaplin on Blu looks amazing), and they gain, arguably, more than recent films do. The result is more to do with the mastering than with the age of the film because even very old film has better resolution than 1080p. 16mm film certainly does, though I'm guessing 8mm film probably is marginal. That's before we get to the audio where the difference is often just as big.

Edited January 31, 2012 by Humanoid

[Gorth]

Do OEM versions of software players get free updates? Would be poor form if the software included with the drives weren't able to be kept up-to-date. I know they're hobbled in some ways (limited audio options usually, no bitstreaming or whatever) but one would think they'd at least do a basic job okay.

Depends on the hardware. I once bought a card which gave me Soldier of Fortune II and one that came bundled with the original Unreal. They worked nicely. Anything else has been a bad joke, usually older non-upgradeable versions of media players, media makers or antivirus software. More in the nature of ad-ware than usable soft-ware.

[Humanoid]

Hmm, just popped in the CD I got with my drive (an LG combo drive) and it's PowerDVD 9 (never used it personally), and updates ceased for it middle of last year, so one would be out of luck regardless of using the paid or OEM versions. Apparently the OEM version does have an autoupdate feature though so I assume you'd get updates until the parent product is discontinued. Bastards either way want you to cough up another $50 for the current version - the hardware basically costs that much now.

 

I use a HTPC and free software like Media Player Classic HC and VLC Player can play the main feature on unencrypted discs - you just don't get menus since they're in a licenced format. Not sure of the etiquette/legal status of decrypters here though so I'll leave it at that - just that I've had no issues with any of 200+ discs so far.

Edited January 31, 2012 by Humanoid

[Mamoulian War]

Another awesome story about Ubisoft

 

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/02/drm-server-transition-to-make-some-ubisoft-games-unplayable-starting-tomorrow.ars

 

TLDR:

[*]Assassin's Creed - Mac

[*]Tom Clancy

[sorophx]

I don't see a problem with cracking a game I bought, unplayable shmanplayable

Edited February 7, 2012 by sorophx

[Lexx]

But there is nothing like that for HAWX 2, as far as I know (probably not enough interest from anyone). That's why I haven't played it a single time yet, since I bought it on Steam some month ago.

[Rosbjerg]

I don't see a problem with cracking a game I bought, unplayable shmanplayable

 

You might not, but it's still illegal.. and that's really the crux of it, that they introduce these measures which makes it illegal for you to actually play a game you bought and own.

[Hurlshort]

At this point, I don't know why anyone would buy a Ubisoft title on the PC.

[Rosbjerg]

At this point, I don't know why anyone would buy a Ubisoft title on the PC.

 

That and the quality has really taken a nose dive too imo.. so I only buy the interesting titles when they are dirt cheap.

[BobSmith101]

If you own something then I don't see a problem with watching/playing it somewhere else. If I'm away and I feel like watching Star Wars it's easier to just download it rather than have to get the original disc. I'm not costing Lucas Arts anything, I've already made my purchase.

 

Anime is a bit a of grey area for me as well. If I can't buy the product in my country I'm not really in a position to own it. Add to that If I was in Japan it would be free on TV anyway.

 

Pirating just because you don't want to spend money though. That's just wrong. Those sorts of pirates can hang just like in the old days.

[Hurlshort]

That's a pretty slippery slope you've got there.

[BobSmith101]

Well I put my own spin on laws.

It's like speeding , if it's a nice day and an open road I'll gleefully ignore the law. In traffic or poor weather I'll either be on the speed limit or even under it.

[mkreku]

I've never cared about DRM especially much before, but after trying to play Test Drive Unlimited 2 online and failed miserably because it (the game) thinks I am a dirty thief, I do. And this is after buying it on Steam..

 

It basically has two DRM's and they are at war. With me.

Edited February 7, 2012 by mkreku

[Orogun01]

I've never cared about DRM especially much before, but after trying to play Test Drive Unlimited 2 online and failed miserably because it (the game) thinks I am a dirty thief, I do. And this is after buying it on Steam..

 

It basically has two DRM's and they are at war. With me.

Funny how DRMs can become an argument for piracy, If you buy a product you should be able to enjoy it without any extra hassle and with full support from the companies. On this day and age pirates seem more involved with the quality and schedule of their releases, while game companies continue to shoot themselves on the foot. No surprise that most people have gone into consoles.

[Brayko]

I used to pirate all the time, but not so much now.

Edited February 7, 2012 by Brayko

[Hassat Hunter]

Funny how DRMs can become an argument for piracy, If you buy a product you should be able to enjoy it without any extra hassle and with full support from the companies

It's a sad day when you buy a boxset of your favorite series and have to return it just because they screwed up the disks.

Also, to try and install Beyond Good & Evil on Windows7 and have it fail due to the DRM. Ugh...

 

Any workarounds are welcome... :/

[Lexx]

I used to pirate all the time, but not so much now.

 

Until you got an arrow into your knee?

[Mamoulian War]

I used to pirate all the time, but not so much now.

 

Until you got an arrow into your knee?

 

Nope it

[Malcador]

Or just ran out of stuff worth getting.

[Mamoulian War]

one thing is not exclusive to other

[Walsingham]

I used to pirate all the time, but not so much now.

 

Until you got an arrow into your knee?

 

I want some sticking plasters with "Your adventuring days are over" written on them.