Right now, you can use AnyDVD to do the same thing and it allows complete copies that can be burned back to blank DVDs. The company that sells AnyDVD (Slysoft) has escaped legal action, because of it's corporate location in Antigua. It will interesting to see whether Real Networks has the "blessing" of the MPAA or they get sued.

http://nab365.bdmetrics.com/NST-2-50113172/story.aspx?utm_source=nab365&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=enewsletter&ocuid=NDA4MDY5NQ==-kvyoT0FtRTw=&r=t
This story is far from over.

Wow, talk about the industry being "out of touch." There are literally dozens of easy-to-use programs out there that can take virtually any copy-protected Hollywood DVD and clone it (sans encryption) to either a double-layer DVD+R, or, if you prefer, a single-layer disk.

I would bet money that nearly every teenaged boy who knows his way around a PC can rip a DVD, regardless of protection. All that encryption does is make the copying hurdle high enough so that soccer moms don't know how or don't want to bother.

Incidentally, there is a fascinating cat-and-mouse game taking place between a few of the studios and the makers of DVDFabDecrypter. Sony in particular seems to be inserting various tweaks and intentional errors into their DVDs, which stops some clone programs cold. Then, a month later, DVDFab issues a newer version of their product which recognizes the tweak and works around it. At this point I don't know if there is ANY protected disk that cannot be cracked by them.

i think i've just dragged/dropped the data from the dvd to my hard drive many times with copy protected dvd's. just to see if it work. Maybe it doesn't work in vista. :?

From today's NY Times - >> “RealDVD should be called StealDVD,” Greg Goeckner, executive vice president and general counsel for the Motion Picture Association of America, said. “RealNetworks knows its product violates the law, and undermines the hard-won trust that has been growing between America’s moviemakers and the technology community.” <<

The "hard-won trust"? What on earth is this guy smoking?

I find it amusing that RealNetworks, a company that has made it *illegal* to even DECODE their media format (which is why you will never be able to drop a RealMedia file on your Vegas timeline, or have a RealMedia file play in your Windows Media Player) sees absolutely no problem with ripping off other peoples content!!! They have stooped to a new low.

> Wow, talk about the industry being "out of touch." There are literally dozens of easy-to-use programs out there that can take virtually any copy-protected Hollywood DVD and clone it (sans encryption) to either a double-layer DVD+R, or, if you prefer, a single-layer disk.

So who do you think is MORE out of touch? The Hollywood studios who don't realize that these programs are already freely available? Or the RealNetwork Sales & Marketing Team who "doesn't realize these programs are already FREELY available"?

Like someone is going to pay to lock a DVD to their hard drive when they can already copy it for free... great "go to market" strategy... let's charge for something that's free. The next thing you know people will be putting water in a bottle and selling it for $2 a pop... no wait... they already do that! Hey, maybe there is something to this charging for stuff that's free idea? (I need to get working on my canned air patent) ;-)

~jr

Maybe this will finally put Real out of our misery.

"The next thing you know people will be putting water in a bottle and selling it for $2 a pop... no wait... they already do that! "

How about a product called Instant Water - "open bottle and just add water, then shake and drink"

Hey, if the bottle technology is good enough, provides an upgrade path, has really useful features and incorporates DRM (Drinking Rights Management) - then "Instant Water" could really be a hit.
--
Mike

<How about a product called Instant Water - "open bottle and just add water, then shake and drink" >

It's called ' dehydrated water'
>
>
Just add water to reconstitute.

Actually i did come up with a chemical to do that once upon a time. I wish i could remember what it was ... aluminum-something-hexohydrate or something like that. It's crystal structure holds six water molecules in a ring and it's normal state is a dry powder.

Add one tiny drop of water, say, by spitting in a glass full of it, and that drop dissolves a few crystals. This causes those crystals to release the water molecules which can then go on and dissolve a few more crystals. The chain reaction results in all the water being released into liquid form. One drop of saliva and voila! a whole glass full of water. Great way to carry water in a form that won't leak or evaporate.

Oh, one slight difficulty in the plan though. The water will still have the original chemical dissolved in it, and that chemical is very poisonous. Oops. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

So you sell it with an integrated filter, like the ones backpackers use.