Ghostbusters Is First Film Released On USB Key 448
arcticstoat writes "Are you the USB keymaster? You could be soon if you pick up PNY's new 2GB USB flashdrive, which comes pre-loaded with Ghostbusters. A spokesperson for PNY explained that it comes with a form of DRM that prevents you from copying the movie. 'They have DRM protection,' explained the spokesperson, 'so customers can download the movie onto their laptop or PC if they wish, but they have to have the USB drive plugged in to watch the movie, as the DRM is locked in the USB drive.' The music industry has been playing around with USB flash drives for a few years now, but it hasn't been a massive success yet; will USB movies fare any better?"
terrible idea (Score:3, Insightful)
countdown (Score:5, Insightful)
Waiting to hear news that the movie's been unlocked in 3... 2... 1...
No thanks, I like to own media and do what I want (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:terrible idea (Score:5, Insightful)
and let me guess, requires windows visa with the latest service pack (DRM++)
Re:terrible idea (Score:4, Insightful)
"Go ahead and steal it", says spokesman (Score:5, Insightful)
You probably can't even get Ghostbusters down at your local "Three DVDs for $20" guy on the corner; his stock is all newer. Everybody who wants this movie already has it. I can't even imagine who they expect to sell it to, except as a novelty.
Presumably they're keeping an eye on how long it will take for the DRM to be broken. People will break it for the challenge and because they hate DRM, but it's like stealing cockroaches from my kitchen: you're welcome to it.
Re:No thanks, I like to own media and do what I wa (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:One positive (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Betamax vs. VHS (Score:5, Insightful)
Blue Ray won't "win" the format wars until they sell more than standard def DVDs
Re:terrible idea (Score:5, Insightful)
I would rather use the device and medium of my choosing without dongles.
Re:terrible idea (Score:3, Insightful)
Sounds just as easy if not easier than dealing with an optical disc in some kind of a case. Easier to store, easier to carry. Doesn't help if you prefer something that's just a file stored on your hard drive, but it does have portability going for it.
Re:correction (Score:5, Insightful)
The industry is looking to set a record on longest lived DRM scheme. Everyone has this already, so no one will need to crack it, and a presentation will go to a CEO somewhere about this new scheme that has not been broken in over a week.
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No thanks, I like to own media and do what I wa (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How is this better than DVD? (Score:4, Insightful)
You can erase it and store actual information on it?
Re:terrible idea (Score:5, Insightful)
That can be easily fixed.
Get a 4 gig usb key instead, a DVD of ghostbusters and a copy of handbrake. (you will want to rip with settings that give you about 3.2gig because the film was created on very low grade film it cant be compressed hard without artifacts.)
rip the dvd to a OPEN unencumbered codec. place on USB key.
Voila. same thing in BETTER quality without the DRM and is compatible with most computers.
hey hollywood, until you offer me something that is NOT DRM encumbered I aint' buyin' it! I'll violate your copyright instead...
The better question... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No thanks, I like to own media and do what I wa (Score:1, Insightful)
Wasted space? What about wasted money? £29.99 for a 2gig pendrive with a film or £4.50 for one without.
Buy the DVD and rip it and still save yourself over £20.
Re:countdown (Score:1, Insightful)
Having just come out of a meeting that was mostly dominated by the discussion of several outright ludicrous, impractical, and benefit-free ideas, I have a very vivid appreciation for just how good an obviously stupid idea can seem (to certain types of people).
Some people just can't think things through. They can't visualize realities of use. They can't form a mental picture from a verbal description. They can't get their heads around *anything* until you have it completed and show it to them.
And many such people manage to work themselves into decision-making positions (their incentive to do this is higher, I suppose, since they can't actually build anything themselves).
So, no, Hollywood will not learn. At least, not any time soon. They are going to have to pour a lot more money into DRM, and see it outright fail many, many more times, before they get the idea that it just won't work.
Re:Betamax vs. VHS (Score:5, Insightful)
I dunno. USB keys have a far superior form factor, and the installed players need only have a USB port and whatever processing is needed to actually view the movie.
You could have media players smaller than a Nintendo Wii, far better future compatibility (both the players and the disks are likely to be backwards compatible in a way that either could work with the other for quite some time)
The media is far less susceptible to scratching, impact, and even heat and chemicals: I've put USB sticks through the washer AND drier and what came out has worked perfectly for over five years.
It's also more portable. You can grab a handful of films and stick 'em in your back pocket before visiting friends (so they're also likely to be lost easily.. a big win for Hollywood!)
The only drawbacks are capacity at the moment (it's not anywhere near as cheap as optical disk. Although I wonder how expensive 30GB mask roms would be for a print run the size of a typical hollywood film (if anyone was making mask rom of anywhere near that size, that is)) and DRM: a usb stick can have active crypto circuitry, which really changes the game quite significantly.
Battlefield: Earth (Score:0, Insightful)
Was written by the same whack job who created Scientology. Go figure.
http://www.whyaretheydead.net/
Re:terrible idea (Score:3, Insightful)
And if enough people do this, we will ensure that no content provider ever dares to give us free movies in promotions! They'll just stick to selling them, and we can then pay for the movies instead. Yay progress!
DRM, in this case, is a choice between DRM'd content and no content at all. I'd rather have DRM'd content than none.
If every file on my hard drive... (Score:5, Insightful)
...required me to keep possession of a USB-key-sized physical object in order to maintain access to it, then I calculate that I would need to keep about two thousand pounds of USB keys, which would be enough to fill approximately twenty desk drawers.
I guess it's not impossible on the face of it.
I could store them in shallow drawers, vertically, alphabetical order, with little P-touch labels on the end of each one.
One possible application (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:countdown (Score:5, Insightful)
Even without DRM, this is doomed to fail.
Why would one buy a movie in less than 2 GB quality on a device that costs dollars to produce instead of an 8.5 GB version on a storage device that costs pennies to produce?
And the latter being playable on computers and consumer devices, while the former needing not only a computer, but a certain operating system and special software?
Surely, the producers must know that this is doomed to fail, and only use it as another example to show the ignorant politicians that "See, we gave them more options, but they STILL pirate! Legislate, legislate!"
Re:HAHAHAHAHAHA! (Score:5, Insightful)
As I can't fathom cocaine users, I asked a crack whore why she thought the coke shooters running the movie studios would do this.
"Sure, I'll tell you, but it'll cost you twenty dollars".
"Twenty dollars??? Sorry, babe, I'll buy you a double cheeseburger at McDonalds, how's that?"
"OK, that'll do. See, they want this to FAIL and fail hard. They're doing this to prove that the concept is unworkable."
"Ok, I'll take you to McDonalds now."
"Man, I ain't goin' nowhere, I'm tweakin', dude. Just go get the burger, it's for my dog anyway, I'm not hungry. OK?"
Re:terrible idea (Score:3, Insightful)
Even worse are the "extras" they throw in that get in your way. I want my DVD's to play the movie (and ONLY the movie) on insertion. That means ripping them and discarding the original DVD's. I also want to store DVD's in a binder, so my movie collection isn't a dominant fixture in the room. That means discarding the original cases. Notice how all the materials I paid for end up in the garbage 30 minutes after getting it home?
And don't get me started on Blu-Ray. Unskippable commercials?!! I would rather copy the movie to VHS!
After all the junk mail content, packaging, marketing, distribution, etc, the actual profit on a movie sale has got to be only around $3. So instead of stockpiling landfills, why not just let us download and burn it for $5.00? I'd put up with DRM's for that. If Universal can license their music to iTunes, why can't they do online distribution?
Bigger Picture (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:terrible idea (Score:3, Insightful)
I think Lumpy is talking about how much time it takes him. How much unattended work is done by the computer while he's off doing his laundry or whatever is another question.