We've seen digital copies of Blu-ray via separate DVDs before (e.g. Watchmen), and just recently Sony finally cut out of the middle disc and put the transferable video on the high-def disc itself. Joystiq recently showcased how it's done using a copy of Godzilla and a PlayStation 3. For this you'll need a PSN account and the 12-digit code included in the disc case. The standard definition video, here clocking in at 2GB, will copy to the hard drive (not a separate download, thankfully), and then if you want to the PSP. All in all, it's approximately a five-minute process. We can't help but agree, the early batch of supported films -- The Ugly Truth, Angels & Demons, and Godzilla from 1998 -- isn't exactly fine cinema dining, but surely this is just a sign of things to come. Want to see all the nitty-gritty details in action? Check out the video after the break.
Digital Copy will continue to be a dumbass idea until you can load it onto whatever device you want. iPod support will get you most of the market, but there are enough other devices out there that iPod alone just isn't enough.
@chefgon_ign Keep in mind folks that Sony is doing this to compete against the 360. Since Sony owns a lot of these distribution companies, what better way to give yourself an exclusivity. I'm quite impressed with where this is going and you're right, it needs to be available for many other devices. The Apple and the iPod sucks - not the technology but the intentional limitations Apple is putting on the device. Almost criminal.
@chefgon_ign I like the digital copies as a perk. I can put them on my phone (i) or put them on my netbook for travels. Quality is much better than what i used to see on 'The 'bay". All in all not bad.
I like the fact that Sony is including this feature..I just find 2gb a little steep for my 4gb MS Duo on my PSP. All in all good feature for other things or people with 16gb sticks.
Digital Copy is a joke. I got one with Dark Knight. One activation and it's useless. (So for any of us who reload our OSes with any kind of frequency, we're hosed.)
Major update; virus; desire for a fresh, clean start; HDD failure; power spike corrupts files; change of OS; downsize to a smaller, faster SSD; new computer... that a long enough list of reasons for you?
@Alex You can reuse it. If you did the iTunes version all you have to do is authorize your computer. I keep the copies on a flash drive and can play them on any of my computers. Since you have to do that with your music library (if you use the closed ecosystem of iTunes) you've already done it.
A couple come to mind: - Upgrading from XP to Vista like a year and a half ago - Trying out the Win7 beta - Putting a couple hard drives in RAID and reinstalling 7 Beta - Installing the final release of 7 last month
This is called Managed Copy and is a mandatory part of the Blu-ray spec that is being phased in the early part of 2010, although there is no standard as to how the studios implement the Managed Copy feature, they are required to implement it. Bottom line is that you will be able to make legal copies of Blu-ray discs with the the content provider determiing the quality of the copy or copies.
and why exactly would i want to use this thing that is tied to ONE machine/device rather than just ripping it myself and making the exact same thing thats NOT tied to one single machine/device? oh yeah which also by the way does not work on linux? (or mac the last time i looked into digital copy...)
with the knowledge that my windows machines are already ticking timebombs just waiting to blow up in my fingers, no thanks... its already useless and i have not even bought anything with them yet.
Why? Because it's a lot easier. It wouldn't be managed copy if you were able to copy it and share it with as many people as you like. The fair price for that kind of digital rights is a lot more than what you're paying for when you get a blu-ray, even if you may think blu-rays are too expensive.
This is the deal they are offering, and a lot of people will think it's advantageous. those who already pirate or rip the movies they buy will not think so, of course. Personally, I think they are making it very easy to use your movies in a modern way. They are answering to a lot of the complaints about their system. Of course, they will never answer the 'I want 1000 free movies!' complaint.
as for only being able to use the copy once, who cares if you have the original bluray. you can easily rip m2ts to mp4/mkv if you have a laptop/desktop w/a bluray drive. just takes some hefty hdd space and decent spec'd cpu in your system. (bluray drives are now down to the $60s for non burning pc drive)
i assume all sony picture films will start including this. makes me wonder though, if you can use that digital copy on say a se phone or vaio laptop soon as part of their UX ecosystem.
2GB is ridiculous. xvid can happily compress a full-length movie to 700MB with no real loss of quality at the PSP's resolution. There's no incentive to use this feature over finding a copy on the net. It's a good first step, but it definitely needs work.
If it could be transferred to a net storage device for streaming throughout the house to any device this would be welcome. The problem I see is the file size, at 2GB would it be enough to provide DVD quality playback on an HDTV?
I heard that it's possible to make backups of both your blu-ray movies & blu-ray games and play them on the PS3... I don't have a PS3 so I wouldn't know first hand. Does anyone know if this is true?
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
posted November 19th 2009 9:08PM
ISO
..typo..
Seems pretty quick.. not bad.
@MR A simple "first" would have sufficed.
@Mark It would have, if that was the reason for my post.
And the bay of the swashbuckers go wild!
@Mark OMFGNOWAI
Digital Copy will continue to be a dumbass idea until you can load it onto whatever device you want. iPod support will get you most of the market, but there are enough other devices out there that iPod alone just isn't enough.
@chefgon_ign
Keep in mind folks that Sony is doing this to compete against the 360. Since Sony owns a lot of these distribution companies, what better way to give yourself an exclusivity. I'm quite impressed with where this is going and you're right, it needs to be available for many other devices. The Apple and the iPod sucks - not the technology but the intentional limitations Apple is putting on the device. Almost criminal.
@chefgon_ign I like the digital copies as a perk. I can put them on my phone (i) or put them on my netbook for travels. Quality is much better than what i used to see on 'The 'bay". All in all not bad.
I like the fact that Sony is including this feature..I just find 2gb a little steep for my 4gb MS Duo on my PSP. All in all good feature for other things or people with 16gb sticks.
If it did some converting to reduce the file size before going to the PSP, that would be great. There's no use having HD video on a PSP anyway
Bahumbug
Digital Copy is a joke. I got one with Dark Knight. One activation and it's useless. (So for any of us who reload our OSes with any kind of frequency, we're hosed.)
DRM-free or bust.
@Alex
I never reloaded my OS. Why would you want to do such a thing?
@topspeed
Major update; virus; desire for a fresh, clean start; HDD failure; power spike corrupts files; change of OS; downsize to a smaller, faster SSD; new computer... that a long enough list of reasons for you?
@Alex
You can reuse it. If you did the iTunes version all you have to do is authorize your computer. I keep the copies on a flash drive and can play them on any of my computers. Since you have to do that with your music library (if you use the closed ecosystem of iTunes) you've already done it.
Exactly.
A couple come to mind:
- Upgrading from XP to Vista like a year and a half ago
- Trying out the Win7 beta
- Putting a couple hard drives in RAID and reinstalling 7 Beta
- Installing the final release of 7 last month
How long till this gets cracked and we get official scene released from the studios lol
This is called Managed Copy and is a mandatory part of the Blu-ray spec that is being phased in the early part of 2010, although there is no standard as to how the studios implement the Managed Copy feature, they are required to implement it. Bottom line is that you will be able to make legal copies of Blu-ray discs with the the content provider determiing the quality of the copy or copies.
and why exactly would i want to use this thing that is tied to ONE machine/device rather than just ripping it myself and making the exact same thing thats NOT tied to one single machine/device?
oh yeah which also by the way does not work on linux? (or mac the last time i looked into digital copy...)
with the knowledge that my windows machines are already ticking timebombs just waiting to blow up in my fingers, no thanks... its already useless and i have not even bought anything with them yet.
@harbingerofdoom
Why? Because it's a lot easier. It wouldn't be managed copy if you were able to copy it and share it with as many people as you like. The fair price for that kind of digital rights is a lot more than what you're paying for when you get a blu-ray, even if you may think blu-rays are too expensive.
This is the deal they are offering, and a lot of people will think it's advantageous. those who already pirate or rip the movies they buy will not think so, of course. Personally, I think they are making it very easy to use your movies in a modern way. They are answering to a lot of the complaints about their system. Of course, they will never answer the 'I want 1000 free movies!' complaint.
2Gb per film does seem a little large, don't ya think?
Digital Copy isn't really to promote the Blu-Ray standard; rather it promotes the PSP. PSP penetration might be low in your market but try Asia...
nice to see this is finally rolling out.
as for only being able to use the copy once, who cares if you have the original bluray. you can easily rip m2ts to mp4/mkv if you have a laptop/desktop w/a bluray drive. just takes some hefty hdd space and decent spec'd cpu in your system. (bluray drives are now down to the $60s for non burning pc drive)
i assume all sony picture films will start including this. makes me wonder though, if you can use that digital copy on say a se phone or vaio laptop soon as part of their UX ecosystem.
Well what would make even more sense if they'd support iPhone / iPods...
Hmmmm no thanks for me. The idea is handy though for PSP users.
"Godzilla", seriously?
2GB is ridiculous. xvid can happily compress a full-length movie to 700MB with no real loss of quality at the PSP's resolution. There's no incentive to use this feature over finding a copy on the net. It's a good first step, but it definitely needs work.
If it could be transferred to a net storage device for streaming throughout the house to any device this would be welcome. The problem I see is the file size, at 2GB would it be enough to provide DVD quality playback on an HDTV?
I heard that it's possible to make backups of both your blu-ray movies & blu-ray games and play them on the PS3... I don't have a PS3 so I wouldn't know first hand. Does anyone know if this is true?