Blu-Ray and why piracy is good for business
I believe that piracy is good for business. How so? Allow me to divulge.
I started thinking about this the other day when Lyris mentioned that the next generation of home video formats, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, will require completely new display hardware to be played, in order for the new methods of copy protection to be enforced (display devices will require inputs that support this newfangled copy protection technology). This, of course, stems from the movie studios' paranoia regarding privacy. In my opinion, this will be a huge stumbling block in the uptake of either format. Already, many people are saying that they can't be bothered upgrading to a new format when they've only just finished replacing their VHS libraries with DVDs. When you consider the number of people that hold that opinion, imagine how many people will baulk at the prospect of having to buy a new TV or PC monitor!The way I see it, a format requires the proliferation of illegal copying and file-sharing in order for it to take off. The same can be said of audio tapes, music CDs and copies of Microsoft Windows: the reason that they eventually became successful stems from the fact that more people started using them than would have been the case if it was impossible to copy them. When you look at formats that cannot be duplicated at an amateur level then you see nothing but a string of commercial failures: LaserDisc, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD, GameCube... All these formats failed, in my opinion, not because they were bad ideas, but because that necessary stepping-stone, the proliferation of unlicensed pirate copies, was not present.
My advice (like anyone would actually listen to it!) is for the developers to think very carefully about imposing such stringest copy protection methods. The debut of two rival formats, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, at roughly the same time, is already going to take a huge chunk out of the revenue pie. The various companies involved should be doing everything in their power to make these systems available to as many people as possible rather than restricting them even further. Not long ago, I was very much looking forward to adding a Blu-Ray drive to my PC. Now, the news that I will quite possibly have to replace my monitor (god forbid that I actually buy one of the current crop of crappy TFTs) and indeed my operating system (if Lyris' hunch that the new formats will only work on Windows Vista is correct) is making me shudder. Guys, I'm one of the people that is always looking for the best possible image quality. If I'm having second thoughts, imagine how Joe Bloggs with his 14" fishbowl TV is going to react.
Update, 21:22: One user at AVS Forum suspects that PC users might be required to buy new graphics cards with the requisite copy protection built into them. I sincerely hope not. I just upgraded my card, ya fuckasses!
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