Media on OS X is dead unless someone comes up with a licensed DRM scheme

[CraigyP]

If that's the answer, then it's a pretty meaningless question. I don't want clips, out takes and trailers - I want the on-demand service for programming. This is just the BBC bigging itself up about something thats really not that interesting.

If there was a wide range of half-decent movies and TV shows on the iTunes store (in the UK there are currently approx. NONE), and they were of DVD quality at least, then I wouldn't moan about the way Apple is dealing with DRM. But there isn't. And the inability to play Windows Media DRM is really inhibiting my internet experience now to the point where I'm seriously thinking ploughing my savings into a Windows machine instead of a Mac.

Right now, the YouTube implementation is a very limited 'solution' to the lack of licensing on Mac problem. However, in principle, its a very important step, as it shows there is a mature, robust video distribution mechanism out there that isn't Microsoft- (or Apple- come to mention it) only.

Sure, right now my understanding is that YouTube don't have movie-length videos on their network, and they don't have any kind of DRM scheme. But these would be relatively simple extensions to the YouTube service, and is arguably the way that YouTube might actually start to make some money from their service. Therefore, it is entirely conceivable that the BBC is toe-in-the-water trying the YouTube partnership right now with small clips, etc. as a test the feasibility of putting much larger content on there later.

The really probing question the astute reader should be asking is, are YouTube going to a) support much larger videos via their network AND b) going to provide a limited-access system similar to DRM?

Without them providing this service, the 'YouTube as the saviour of large media on the Mac' argument is moot, of course.

 

[craigp]

Looks like 6,970 people seem to agree too:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/iplayer/

 

[slu]

Don't get me wrong, I hold Apple largely responsible for this problem as well, and whoever said Apple's reasons not to license Fairplay were not as altruistic as Jobs open letter states is right on the money, in my opinion. This is about making people with Macs (and to a certain extent iPods) use iTunes over anything else. How is that for taking your most loyal (and profitable) customers and sticking it to them?

But, and I can't believe I am saying this here first, why no hate for Microsoft for not continuing development of Windows Media Player for the Mac? They, just as easily as Apple, could step up and offer a cross-platform solution. But MS wants people to buy Windows, so that's why they stopped development of WMP for the Mac. This may be true, but MS could charge for WMP on the Mac. They could increase license costs for WMP DRM if there are more users that can consume the content. You could argue that Mac users are unlikely to buy Windows anyway, so this is incremental revenue that MS would not have gotten. My point is that while Apple is doing a fine job of screwing us here, MS is doing almost as good of a job. MS is just smarter because they are screwing people that are not already customers (or are crappy ones at best).

Can a 3rd party develepor license WMV DRM and build their own cross platform media player? MS probably would not allow a competior to WMP, but since they do not offer it anymore on the Mac, perhaps a 3rd party could pick this up...like Flip4Mac...except Flip4Mac kinda sucks.

I don't know what the solution is, and I love Macs, but it will suck if in 5 years I have to switch back to a PC.

Great thread, btw. I wish more people would weigh in on topics like this that affect every Mac user on this forum instead of the incessant threads about if refurbs are a good deal or if one should buy their Macbook now or wait...but I digress!

 

[Wolfpup]

Interesting point, except I think Microsoft is being worse IMO, and in a way, stupider. They really would have something close to being "universal" if they supported the Mac-at least as far as content producers are concerned. As it is, Windows Media isn't a viable option for anyone (ironically Microsoft doesn't even support their own DRM on the Zune!)

 

[slu]

Now that I thought more about this, maybe MS is on to something here.

The new "war" will be over digital content, not the player.

As it gets easier to consume content on TVs that is downloaded from the internet, physical media will go away.

If the physical media goes away, and the content you want is not on iTunes, who is going to buy an iPod or an TV? Nobody.

Now granted this is many years from now, but perhaps Microsoft is smart. They know that they cannot defeat the iPod in a hardware "war", but if they control enough of the content, they can eventually control the hardware as well.

 

[Wolfpup]

Now that I thought more about this, maybe MS is on to something here.

The new "war" will be over digital content, not the player.

As it gets easier to consume content on TVs that is downloaded from the internet, physical media will go away.

If the physical media goes away, and the content you want is not on iTunes, who is going to buy an iPod or an TV? Nobody.

Now granted this is many years from now, but perhaps Microsoft is smart. They know that they cannot defeat the iPod in a hardware "war", but if they control enough of the content, they can eventually control the hardware as well.

Unfortunately that sounds extremely probable to me

Can you imagine a world where Microsoft controlled not only most computers and most documents, but also most media (and most games)? What a nightmare

 

[craigp]

I don't know what the solution is, and I love Macs, but it will suck if in 5 years I have to switch back to a PC.

Dude, as serious as this issue of DRM and media on the mac is, there's no way it would cause me to move from the Mac. So much of my computing life has been improved since my switch to the Mac, and almost every other area of the Mac (other than DRM and media) has a bright future. Its the only OS that is actually doing innovation and pushing the market forward. If I ever NEEDED Windows to watch digital content, I wouldn't watch the digital content.

Great thread, btw. I wish more people would weigh in on topics like this that affect every Mac user on this forum instead of the incessant threads about if refurbs are a good deal or if one should buy their Macbook now or wait...but I digress!

Thanks very much :-D

I used to write a weekly Mac column, where I'd talk about stuff like this. But I much prefer this approach where you guys can shout back

 

[craigp]

Just to follow up on my original post, just before Christmas here in the UK, the BBC released a flash-based version of their iPlayer initiative.

Originally designed as an application, it required users to subscribe to the programme they wanted to watch, and shows would be downloaded to their computer (complete with encumbered WMV DRM to limit playback to seven days after original broadcast) using a pee-to-peer technology to limit the cost on the BBC's bandwidth.

Of course, this was Windows-only, and was the root of the non-Windows users' woes.

This new iPlayer development means that BBC license-fee payers here in the UK can now watch the programmes up to seven days after they are broadcast streamed through their website using any computer that runs the latest version of Flash (i.e. everyone).

I can't even begin to tell you how awesome this service it. It is a quality hotspot on the web, and is probably the single biggest factor that I won't be bitching about my mandatory ~£150 (~$300 USD) TV license fee this year. The streaming is quick, stutter-free, and draws a perfect balance between buffering times and quality. Probably helps that I have a 20MB internet connection too ;-)

So, we've come full-circle in this discussion. And the BBC have answered my original question. If more organisations adopt the delivery method and technology implemented by the BBC, then the future indeed looks bright for non-Windows users.

Well done the BBC. Implementing this service is one of the most forward-looking things a media organisation has done in a very long time.