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

[JohnS1111 Posted Sep 22nd 2008 1:28PM]

As long as there is no significant price difference between downloaded media and the hardcopy I will anyway always go for the hardcopy - I do not need the download type of instant gratification ;)

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 22nd 2008 1:35PM]

My PS3 does not have a job. It does not pay for any videos, so how is it that they tell me that my PS3 owns the video and not me? Maybe I bought it and gifted it to my PS3? I don't know but I'm not buying anything that I am forced to gift away.

[danijami23 Posted Sep 22nd 2008 3:18PM]

Well, you see, the tree goes a little like this. Studio A licenses a movie to Sony, so that they can license the download of the license to watch the movie to those who are licensed to use THEIR hardware. You don't own shit, I'm afraid. Sony own the console, Studio A owns the movie, you own a serious feeling of being done up the wrongun.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 22nd 2008 2:01PM]

Amazon VOD looks better every day.

[danijami23 Posted Sep 22nd 2008 3:14PM]

oh look! Yet another way to alienate legitimate buyers! Let's all switch to digital distribution, quick! Fucking idiots. This is worse that the Mass Effect / Spore Lunacy. At least you could activate those THREE times.

[bloop Posted Sep 22nd 2008 9:19PM]

HAHAHA IN YOUR FACE PS3 fanboys!!! I knew this was gonna happen. Sony always privatize every products they make and spy on you with their rootkit. Booooooooooooo sony!

[ChiWax Posted Sep 23rd 2008 6:32AM]

So now the three letters D R M are being used to hide Sony and Engadget's complete ignorance and incompetence....bet the stock market troubles could be blamed on D R M...Q