PS3 Video Store provides more reason to avoid DRM

It took awhile to shake out, but the DRM nastiness associated with the Sony Video Store is becoming an issue now that those tiny PS3 hard drives are beginning to fill-up. Turns out that if you delete purchased video to free-up space then you'll have to place a call to Sony customer service to authorize a one-time only re-download from your PSN download list. Not too horrible, after all, you can just swap out the hard drive yourself and then migrate all your video, right? Probably not -- as spelled out by the terms and conditions of Sony's Backup Utility:

If you perform any of the following operations after backing up, copyright-protected video files in the backup data may not restore correctly.

• Format the hard disk
• Restore the PS3™ system
• Move copyright-protected video
• Download copyright-protected video
• Play copyright-protected video that has a time restriction for the first time

In other words, your PS3 (and up to 3 PSPs) owns the purchased video, you do not.

Read -- PS3 redownload limits
Read -- Sony PS3 Backup Utility

[Kieran @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:11AM]

Get it right Sony, DRM free has 10 times the potential of DRM. Almost puts me off wanting a PS3.

[Colin Jones @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:40AM]

Makes popping around the shop buying DVDs on offer or even piracy more convenient than a PS3 movie...

[Extinction @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:22PM]

I fail to see the issue. You can back up your movies to any usb device or flash card by pressing triangle, copy.

360 doesn't even let you buy movies at all, only rent them.

[Ian Kennedy @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:31PM]

If you cannot do what you want with the movie you have not bought it. You are renting it and just don't know it.

[gad get @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:41AM]

Ugh.

[dennis @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:47AM]

You can always count on Sony....er, yeah.

[CaramelZappa @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:48AM]

I think I'll stick with the "rentals" on the 360 marketplace.

[Sam Zebian @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:58AM]

I think so too. But you can buy tv shows from the video marketplace and you won't get these sane problems the ps3 is hacing with drm.

[MjW @ Sep 22nd 2008 8:03AM]

I thought the PS3 rentals work the exact same way as the 360 rentals. Anyway the article is about buying not renting.

Personally I think all these digital distribution methods suck, for example Apple store, 360 or PS3. Nothing beats a physical copy. I guess with the exception of a pirated copy.

[KingDeb8r @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:49AM]

Well, just another reason I backup my own DVD's!
I buy them thus I own a copy of that movie.

These DRM'd downloads will soon die if enougth people stop using them!

I wont use the XBOX 360's or the PS3 (or PSP). I will continue to rip and enjoy!

And for the HD/BluRay's I own - I will just download HD Rips from the inter-web!
Job done!

[B @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:04AM]

Fail.

[Wwhat @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:26AM]

AKA win

[Kelmon @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:26AM]

There's a poetic justice to comments consisting solely of "FAIL" being Low Ranked. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy on a Monday morning, which just goes to show how depressing it all is really...

[Stereobot @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:27AM]

IF people stop using DRM protected material? It sounds to complicated to use DRM infected media..

It is doomed to fail. There is no way to protect against illegally copying movies or music, these companies will just have to find a way to punish those that do.

[ginandphotonic @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:52AM]

*sigh* The future's sucking more than I expected it to.

[Bobjim @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:03AM]

And it's only going to get worse. Under DRM schemes, you don't "buy" the music per se, but instead "rent" the ability to play it (and the ability to play it depends entirely on the discretion of the company you purchased it from).

I'd like to to think that one day, we'll look back at DRM schemes and laugh, but it's seeming ever more likely that we'll be looking back at 2008 DRM as being relatively "free" in terms of media playback.

[Kawaiipikachu @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:21AM]

I would like to think 2008 were we laugh at the silly bad DRM but 2010-12 were the fool proof drm finally been invented were we still have all these software working fine without any stuffups able keep all our software forever but piracy is reduced to nothing .

DRM beginnings all messed up & stupid but evolved into the perfect piece of pirate proofing software that we all reliey on .

I just realise the Wii got better DRM downloaded games are locked to one system but can be redownloaded unlimited times & can be backedup on SD cards & most people won't even relise it .

[Steve Childs @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:56AM]

I'll stick to buying the discs and ripping them onto the network & play them via TwonkyVision instead. DRM is evil and the studios need to start recongising that.

[Trev @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:00AM]

i would only download DRM'd videos if i was only renting. thats the only good use for drm if i want to buy a video i want to be able to lend it to my friends.

[Roxei @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:14AM]

Sony punishes the legit consumer yet again. Will they ever learn? Especially after that rootkit fiasco!

[Blooper62 @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:16AM]

Just so everyone knows if you do use the back up utility and restore it on the new hard drive all of the videos are brought over.

[JerkfacedFed @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:52PM]

shut up liar

sony fanboys make me sick

[jared @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:27AM]

How is this just now being figured out? All of the PSN downloads are like that including the games.

[tuaamin13 @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:05AM]

No, PSN games allow for infinite redownloads on the originally purchased system, and up to 5 downloads on other activated PS3s, but for those other 5 systems, you must be logged in on your account to play. On the original system, any account can play the games.

[Vidikron @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:17AM]

"and up to 5 downloads on other activated PS3s, but for those other 5 systems, you must be logged in on your account to play."

That's not right either. You don't have to be logged into the account that puchased them, but the account must exist on the system. I know this because I've "traded" games with someone before.

[TMM @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:32AM]

Wooo ... I didn't see that comming from Sony.

[Qsat @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:47AM]

Why bashing Sony again????? Itune is much more worse, i lost around 400$ worth of tune on itune after a crash and they would not let me re-download at all. (oh no, i just talk against the emperor....)

[Kelmon @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:36AM]

Twaddle. While it is your own responsibility to ensure that you backup your music (what happens if you lose your CDs?), Apple will allow you to re-download iTunes Store music that you have bought. Go to the link below and select Category = Purhase(s) - missing, Sub-Category = My hard drive crashed/all my purchases were erased. They will help you to get your music back at least once per year.

With respect to the thrust of your "argument", just because one company does things badly does not mean that it is acceptable. Clearly Sony's policy here is absolute crap. If you are going to run a store like this then you need to provide facilities to backup your data and archive it since a single hard drive isn't going to go that far.

[Kelmon @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:37AM]

Drat, forgot to add the link:

http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/browser/

[required @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:40AM]

Kelmon, thanks for the info, but I must point out a couple things. Apple and their iTunes Store hasn't always allowed this. The other thing is that the PS3 store isn't even a year old. Just saying.

[Rob Bourne @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:51AM]

Thanks, Sony, but I think I'll stick to Blockbuter/Lovefilm.

[Joe @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:59AM]

This is only a problem if you actually pay for the crap they have available on the PS Store. Rambo??? Cloverfield??? I Am Legend??? My dog made better entertainment while crapping on the lawn.

[Kelmon @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:43AM]

Currently, Cloverfield still gets my vote as the best film of the year. Mind you, the level of competition thus far hasn't been great with both The Dark Knight and Indiana Jones 4 really disappointing. I'm hoping that Quantum of Solace will turn things around, although I still have yet to see Hellboy 2 or Burn After Reading.

However, I totally agree about Rambo and I Am Legend.

[Ruben @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:12AM]

This isnt a heavy DRM system. Its just a poorly designed and coded system. Sony should be maintaining your purchases on an online database, and when you login with your account, you should be free to download any movie you have purchased freely. Instead, they maintain no history of the delivery of your movie, and thus you have to contact Sony to reset the status on your movie just so you can download it again.

Its an easy fix, but its irritating they didnt take this senario into account.

[oneofmany @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:29AM]

as if iTunes was any different ... this is no way to stop people form pirating content. Most of my friends use pirated movies/music because it is actually easier and not mention cheaper than getting the same content through legal means. Sure iTunes has gone a long way but there is still a lot to be done and Sony dropped the ball AGAIN. But then again maybe that was exactly the point. How else are you going to make people purchase DVDs and BlueRay movies if they can download them and store them on replaceable media?

[Kelmon @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:52AM]

@oneofmany

I'm rather confused as to why you think iTunes is the same. Apple maintains a fully purchase history that can be used to raise issues with media purchased years ago and, if necessary, download your library of purchased tracks again. Certainly a fundamental difference is that iTunes places no restrictions on where you store your music and you can move it around your network as you see fit, although it does need to be in a library to be playable by iTunes itself. Perhaps we should consider a distributed library similar to those used by pro photography applications like Lightroom or Aperture, where your library can contain media stored in completely different places rather than a single directory. I expect that there are media management applications that work similarly.

Still, depending on the quality of the video and speed of download, downloading when needed from Sony would be quite convenient, although the bandwidth costs for Sony would likely make such a solution prohibitively expensive.

[zmjjmz @ Sep 22nd 2008 7:19AM]

Jeez guys, it's DRM.
What'd you expect, rainbows and marshmallow ponies?

[Michael @ Sep 22nd 2008 8:11AM]

That is why I only rent from the PS3 Video Store, if I want to own a video I will buy it on blu-ray.

[alexignatiou @ Sep 22nd 2008 8:16AM]

Well, DRM should die. I started boycooting it three days ago, effective immidiately by buying music at 7digital and not iTunes anymore. Movies will go DRM-Free as well soon. For now, it is sh***y that all these services treat us like criminals.

You can only download the movie YOU are supposed to OWN twice. Like WHAT will happen if I get it a third time???

[sarcasm]
Well... drinking the kool aid, it should be easy to understand: When we had DVDs, if there was not sufficient space and we threw some away, or if we lost them, we are not subject to get another copy for free. This is genius! This is the way it was actually working great until now. Why change this?
[/sarcasm]

[Bones3D @ Sep 22nd 2008 8:23AM]

"In other words, your PS3 (and up to 3 PSPs) owns the purchased video, you do not."

Really? No one else saw this coming?!

This type of crap is the reason I despise digital-only distribution of content. It completely destroys the very foundation of "trade" as in "exchanging an item of value for another item of value". With digital distribution models like this, you are exchanging your hard-earned cash for literally nothing.

At least with a physical object where the content isn't linked specifically to you alone, you have some opportunity to recoup some of your losses back at a later date. Come time to pay off the debt collector, your fancy digital-only distributed games, movies and music won't help you.

[Madden09fanatic @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:07PM]

+1
If it solely about piracy they're worried about then why not simply (waterstamp, track, etc) each individual file created.

[csmitty @ Sep 22nd 2008 8:48AM]

So...If my PS3 owns the videos, I'd expect the PS3 to pay for them. In my opinion at least.

[gregdemetrick @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:25AM]

I actually wrote about a similar topic in my blog titled "Why would you buy a movie from the PS3 store?" (http://snurl.com/36hvi) My biggest complaint is that the cost to buy a movie through the download store and the DVD is only like $4 and with the DVD I can bring it anywhere and play in almost any device. Downloading full movies has never seemed viable to me primarily because you can't burn a backup.

Rentals are nice but the fee is equivalent to my local video store and I only get to hold on to it for 48 hours. My rental store lets me hold a disk for a week. DRM is only part of Sony's problem. They need to adopt a rental model like Netflix in order to effectively compete against the 360.

[k0biw@n @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:16AM]

All this Sony / Apple / Microsoft bashing is lame, the real reason these companies have DRM in the first place is to comply with the wills of the Movie Studios, until the RIAA can find sensible ways to distribute music electronically all these DRMe'd online music/video purchasing / rentals is never going away

[Zeus.:God @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:15AM]

Not to start crap or anything, but that does look VERY similar to XBL's Marketplace aside from a few select things.

[jaioxung @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:19AM]

Just another reason we are not quite ready for digital distribution.

[jorvay @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:49AM]

Treat me like a criminal and I won't disappoint.


Seriously though, if you have some time, research the history and reasoning behind copyright protection and patent law. You quickly realize how far we've strayed from the original intent for the good of artists and society.

[Jason @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:49AM]

The use of digital watermarks on files as well as discreetly placed at a certain point in the content would go a long way towards making digital downloads more "friendly" for the typical consumer.

All you have to do is get on Xbox Live and start talking to all of the red neck hick idiots who are bragging about how many movies they've bought for their Xbox to realize that, sadly, digital downloads are the way it's going to be.

Unfortunately the sheeple create the trends for this stuff and there's no convincing them that putting on a wife beater and going to Wal-Mart to actually buy the disc is better than sitting on their fat ass eating potato chips and hitting a button on their remote to get it.

[Rick @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:07PM]

I wish Sony and even cable HD payperview would take a page from Apple and offer 'previews' of the movies. I'd prefer to see a preview of the movie before I rent it, as it helps to decide if you aren't familiar with the movie that well.

[Rogbog4299 @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:13PM]

PS3 hard drives are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Many are discovering their supriority to other systems.