The Digital Lockdown
Today we are a highly digital society. We are beginning to move away from the physical and more to the digital. I know my media buying habits have changed. I buy my music and books digitally. I buy the books I want for my miniature gaming in pdf format. Movies I still buy in physical formats because Hollywood hasn’t caught up with technology. They are packaging in a digital copy of the movie you just bought in new releases, but you are restricted to viewing it on a PC or approved mobile device that works with their DRM scheme. Thus your options are a Windows Media file or an iTunes file. This seems so backwards to me.
To me when I think about a digital file I think about being able to take the file on my tablet with me. The digital file then can go with me where ever I bring my tablet. From waiting at the mechanic to the beaches of Waikiki. I could view the movie I purchased. With being tied to iTunes or Windows Media files there are no current players in the Android market that allow you to view the videos. This in my mind completely defeats the purpose of having a digital copy. It makes me tied to my PC.
I could go out and buy an iDevice to be able to access the digital copy on the go, but that defeats my decision of picking an android tablet. Another option is to get a laptop to be able to watch the movies. While this is probably the best solution, it will allow me to do what I want. This also defeats why I purchased a tablet.
Today’s technology changes at a quick pace that old media are slow to be able to embrace new technology because they fear that all their customers are pirates. In today’s digital lifestyle it is far easier to pirate a movie then it is to get a digital download to play nice with your computer or mobile device. I believe that when the digital movie copy becomes as open as the mp3 has in the last 5 years that there will be a drop in piracy. Piracy will never really go away, some people will refuse to pay for any entertainment.
The group that won’t face this issue is the one with the tech smarts. They will be able to successfully figure out a why to format shift their media to take it with them. I do not advocate piracy. The format shifting topic is being discussed by the FCC as an exception to the DCMA and would make it legal for users to do that, like it is legal to root/jailbreak your phone.
