Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
Show me a copy-protection scheme without negative effects, and I'll go for it.
One of the hang-ups preventing DVD-Audio from moving forward is the fear that high-quality digital signals make piracy too easy. As a result, the format will likely incorporate various copy-protection schemes---possibly including watermarking. Does this matter to you?
I am unconcerned, if the method does not interfere with the sound.I am not prone to making custom discs, so it makes no practical difference to me if the manufacturers and publishers conspire on this. If economic theory holds true, we all will pay higher prices due to an iron-fist on distribution by those who would profit by such control. The added value of the format may not be worth the incremental cost. A potential tragedy for all of us who want better sound.
I have no problem with a business protecting its source of revenue and fighting piracy, if (and only if) it has no impact on the sound quality. The challenge will be to develop a scheme that allows me to exercise my right to fully use what I have purchased for personal use (i.e., full fidelity and allow personal copies) while preventing illegal usage.
Copy protection should not matter to honest audiophiles: 1) If you want a convenience (i.e., portable) copy, just record on tape or MiniDisc from the single-ended outputs (hey, they're good enough for your preamp, and who can use 24/96 in a car or Walkman?!). 2) If you crave D/A conversion options (as any real audiophile would), don't worry---FireWire is on its way. 3) if you want to make identical copies for your friends and family, you're not an HONEST audiophile (or don't understand the concept of copyright protection)!
Time and again, copy-protection schemes have proved to be ineffective (there's always a way around them), and just a nuisance for buyers of legitimate copies. If there is any degradation of the audio signal (as there would be for the proposed schemes that would stand up through analog copies), then I will have no interest in the format. A digital-only scheme supported by consumer gear (and possible to bypass with pro gear) would be more acceptable, but still, IMO, unnecessary and pointless.
Imagine that one day in 2002 you drop your favorite SACD on the floor. You put this disc in your player but it won't play. Unauthorized Copy!!! scrolls on your display. #@#$% I should have made a backup copy on my reel-to-reel!
If DVD-Audio does not make available high-quality output of at least 24/96kHz without downsampling, as well as the ability to make your own "playlists" via the MP3 format, then I will not purchase the product. "Watermarking" does not bother me as long as the sound quality and the portability of the product are not hindered in any way. If they are, I will simply not purchase the product.
If the retail price of DVDs is reasonable---e.g., no more than CDs---then I see no reason for concern with copy protection. After all, the artists are entitled to royalties on their work. If the new medium is superior, I will contentedly purchase a single copy and not concern myself with dubs. DVDs are robust; one copy will suffice for multiple use. Who has time to make compliations? Certainly not me. Do you? If so, perhaps you have too much free time.
Any copy-protection system that contaminates the material (e.g., watermarking) is a bad idea. A system that doesn't (e.g., the serial copy system applied to MiniDisc) is fine---I can live with that because I'm honest: I buy the disc, and make a copy to use only when I'm on the move.
How typical! Corporations will go to the nth degree to ensure that the freedom of music and the personal joy that it brings become privileges that they control. This is nothing short of neo-draconianism. Art should not belong to one group or class. Music should not be an advantage or favor that only a few obtain. Where are the music artists on this subject, hunh?
Record companies are digging their graves faster each day. With the Web---both MP3 and online retailers---they add no value in distribution anymore. With the waves of consolidation and dumping of even gold artists, they're adding no value in promotion any more. For a long time, there's been little or no value added through A&R. Technology and artists' creativity will fill these voids, and they will be history. Record-company strategies are fast becomming irrelevant. Like the railroads in the days the jet appeared, they fight back through monopoly and government bribes. And like the railroads, their reluctance to embrace technology rather than fight it is defining their death.