Filed under: iTS, Multimedia
Microsoft DRM means no BitTorrent Media for OS X
BitTorrent is opening up a new site that's going to sell TV shows and movies in direct competition to iTunes. But... Engadget reveals that the new BitTorrent Entertainment Network plans to use Microsoft DRM to protect its TV shows and movies, making it a pretty good bet that OS X users will not be able to play purchased or rented media on their computers without using Windows.
BitTorrent has not released much in the way of specifics as to which DRM flavor they'll be using, but I'm guessing it's something along the same lines as the DRM used by the new Walmart service. BitTorrent will offer movies from Fox, Paramount, Warner, and MGM.
Update: Fixed the inline link from bittorent to bittorrent. Thanks everyone who pointed out the error.
Update 2: From the site: "There are clients available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, but purchased or rented content will only work on Windows at this time."
Update 3: No portable media: "We do not permit transfer or download to portable devices such as iPods, Zunes, PlayStation Portables, or similar devices at this time."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JT said 7:58AM on 2-26-2007
Does this mean it's the end of BitTorrent for Mac? Oh my god!!!!
Wait a minute, it's only BT "the company" as opposed to BT "the network"... OK, back to downloading The Office s03e15.xvid .
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Nick said 8:09AM on 2-26-2007
The link to BitTorrent Entertainment Weekly is linking to bittorent.com which seems like a pretty shady site. Obviously the only difference is the single r in the name but I wouldn't imagine you want to send people to a site that advertises sketchy services.
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Kichigai Mentat said 1:04AM on 2-27-2007
Bah, no matter. This online store will likely do poorly, since it can't compare to the quality demanded, leaving a void that only piracy can fill. Still, I could have seen this coming a mile away. Unless Apple develops it, everyone seems to default to MS DRM.
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rsilvawashington said 8:36AM on 2-26-2007
Yeah, I think the BitTorrent Entertainment site you have in the link is faulty. You may want to update it by adding the second 'r', as #2 said.
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Kishor Gurtu said 8:51AM on 2-26-2007
Since His Steveness won't share "Fairplay", Microsoft is the only DRM option available.
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D said 9:22AM on 2-26-2007
@Kishor Gurtu:
You might have a point if Apple didn't provide Fairplay compatibility for Windows. Microsoft makes no such effort with their DRM.
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cduran01 said 1:00PM on 2-26-2007
I agree with #4, Steve's stuborness will drive a lot of customers away.
The letter to remove DRM was just a cop out, we all know thats not going to happen any time soon.
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Dave Schultz said 9:43AM on 2-26-2007
The one who dies with the least DRM'd media on their box wins, anyway... .
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Joe said 9:54AM on 2-26-2007
@Kishor Gurtu - I was thinking the same way. How can a third party include Apple users? If you want to put DRM on your content, you have to either roll your own or use a third party which will license it to you. Apple won't license Fairplay to anyone, so Apple users are pretty much screwed out of getting any DRM content that isn't from Apple. Our only option is to wait and see if Microsoft will port their DRM to Mac OS.
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Michael R Johnson said 10:03AM on 2-26-2007
@ D
Wow... To be perfectly honest I never thought about that way. Good point.
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Thomas said 10:11AM on 2-26-2007
You would think that a load of big retailers and producers would band together to set up their own DRM solution. Sure it would involve work and money but they seemingly want control of everything so why tie themselves to Microsoft?
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wade said 10:35AM on 2-26-2007
Who effin' cares whether or not we have more options for DRM'd content downloads? Even if it was compatible on a Mac I wouldn't use it for anything.
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iBran said 2:11PM on 2-26-2007
I don't like the idea of paying for a download where the bandwidth is basically subsidized by the users themselves.
With iTunes, for example, I know that part of my $0.99 is going to support the infrastructure that will deliver a file quickly, securely, and reliably.
Although BitTorrent is usually reliable, I have had some issues with certain trackers going down, corrupted files, and hardware problems (Torrents can put a heavy load on routers/WAPs).
That, and the concept of "renting" a downloaded file is just ridiculous.
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