Blu-ray getting mandatory Managed Copy

O

OldCorpse

Rockin the Boat
Blu-ray gets Managed Copy next year, requires new hardware.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/12/blu-ray-gets-managed-copy-next-year-requries-new-hardware/

"It took over three years, but mandatory Managed Copy is set to become a reality next year as each studio is required to sign the recently finalized AACS license by December 4th 2009, and any studio that signs early receives up to a 25 percent discount on licensing fees. What isn't mandatory, though, is hardware support, and although the current generation of players definitely won't work, most expect the majority of new BD devices to."

Oops, meant to post this to the Cafe, not here. Sorry! I emailed a mod to move it.
 
Last edited:
What exactly does this mean? I'm a little confused... does this mean that my current BD won't play new disks manufactured with Managed Copy? Or that it won't play a copy of that disk?
 
It means unless you pony up the $3000 one time fee, $1500 per title fee, and $.05 per disc fee you Blu-ray discs won't play in any player (except for the ones that don't get the firmware update). Meaning the Toast or any at home PC solution will not work.

This by the way is the main reason Apple has not made a Blu-ray option yet.

BTW the h.264 fee moratorium is ending soon as well. Nobody I have talked to really knows what is to come in that clusterf@*k.

UPDATE: I just read TFA and see it is more about some bizarre "Fair Use" scam for making us of Blu-ray media copies. My rant still stands though legally our prosumer Blu-ray discs should not work and only a matter of time before they close the tiny loopholes we have enjoyed in the last year or so.
 
Last edited:
Looks like I won't be offering blu-rays to my clients for a while yet, at least until this mess gets sorted out. So far none of my clientele seems to give a rat's arse about blu-ray yet.

So what happens when blu-ray players get down to a hundred bucks in the next two to three years and everybody and his brother is then switching to blu-ray and leaving DVD in the dustbin of history? If I buy a blu-ray burner for my Mac, will the discs I make for my clients play on only the old players or on new ones?

Will small scale production houses and content producers like many of us on this site are get shut out of the blu-ray party?
 
Last edited:
A lot of bitching about Apple not providing Blu-ray.

Steve Jobs:
"Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. It's great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace."
Click to expand...

Once people switch to BR en masse, it'll be a little late to say "help! I'm trapped!". I'd hang onto the DVDs for awhile yet. I'm not buying BR discs, I don't have a BR player - I see little point. The quality difference between DVD and BR is not the same jump as between DVD and VHS. I love the data storage aspect, but first, media are still quite expensive, and it is not clear to me that the other media alternatives are not actually superior GB/$ wise. Besides, frankly, there are other solutions on the way that will give just as much room, but with fewer hassles. I'm hoping to skip over the whole BR thing - sort of like I dodged the laserdisc bullet. Cool idea (kinda) in theory, but in practice? Not so much. Oh, and do I see Sony as one of the prime movers? Highly proprietary media, overly expensive, restrictive and getting into your @ss and pocket? You don't say... Sony? Well, I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. Right - pass.
 
I wish I could have found that quote from Jobs. I remembered it but was to lazy to look for it.

I have to disagree about Blu-ray though they look amazing and have some really nice features the DVD can't touch. I just wish HD-DVD had not **** the bed so hard.
 
There's a reason why I try to avoid all things Sony... too bad some of their stuff is decent... but I still make a conscious choice to look elsewhere.
 
Mike Harvey said:
What exactly does this mean? I'm a little confused... does this mean that my current BD won't play new disks manufactured with Managed Copy? Or that it won't play a copy of that disk?
Click to expand...

The way I read it, it sounds like the old good news/bad news thing. Good news: you'll soon be able to make a copy of a Blu-ray disc, which you currently can't. Bad news: it will require updated hardware. Evidently both players and copiers must have specific hardware and communication protocols, including an internet connection, for the copy process to be 'blessed' by the Blu-ray Police.

But I don't think it means that current players will not play these discs. They just won't be able to copy them, even to approved copying hardware. You'll have to buy a new player as well for that.

I also don't infer that it will directly impact things like Toast, where you can make a Blu-ray disc with your own content from scratch. I believe the restrictions are entirely about copying rights-protected Blu-ray material.

On the other hand, I may have all the above completely wrong... : )

Regarding Apple and DVDSP, I fail to understand why they can't simply add Blu-ray support for creating original titles, just like Roxio Toast does (after all, Apple's resources make Roxio's look like...well...Toast). If the discs can't include DRM, then so be it. At least it would allow users to create HD content that can be played (on viable players that is, i.e. not HDDVDs) at home, on friend's systems, at festivals, etc. It would seem these discs could also be mass-produced, just without the copying permission codes. I'd happily take that deal...
 
One more thing (as Jobs loves to say)...

I almost never read the "Cafe" (yesterday was my very first visit, after 1500+ posts elsewhere). I pretty much ignored it because of its self-description as an "off topic" place, which seemed like where I'd got to discuss baseball teams or favorite chili recipes. Who'd have thought I'd stumble onto a topic as "non-off" as this one?

I'd like to humbly request that it be moved back into an on-topic forum so more people are likely to find it. Maybe Business/Post or something. We ain't exactly talkin' chili here...
 
Ted Spencer said:
Regarding Apple and DVDSP, I fail to understand why they can't simply add Blu-ray support for creating original titles, just like Roxio Toast does (after all, Apple's resources make Roxio's look like...well...Toast). If the discs can't include DRM, then so be it. At least it would allow users to create HD content that can be played (on viable players that is, i.e. not HDDVDs) at home, on friend's systems, at festivals, etc. It would seem these discs could also be mass-produced, just without the copying permission codes. I'd happily take that deal...
Click to expand...

Yes. That is what I was thinking too. I don't care if they don't include a blu-ray drive in their computers. I'll gladly just buy one and install it or maybe get an external one. Just basic burn to blu-ray options in DVD SP and even iDVD would be great.

I'm thinking it could be that Apple is thinking if they support the pros now, but then wait for Blu-ray to become more mainstream before going whole hog with it, then the non-pro customer base will complain that the Macbooks, iMacs, and consumer oriented software like iMovie and iDVD doesn't have Blu-ray support yet. Add to that the costly and complex licensing tango that they need to dance with Sony and the BDA, and it starts to make more sense.
 
Ted Spencer said:
Then you might enjoy this:

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/sony_releases_new_stupid_piece_of

...major R-rated language warning though...
Click to expand...

Wow... that was so sweet I got a cavity. :beer:



But seriously... my point is just like minidisc... that COULD have been a location sound revolution back in the day, but Sony was so afraid that they were empowering people to bootleg music from bands that Sony already owned... that they cut the balls off all the minidisc recorders and made sure there was no way to preserve digital "perfection" through a file transfer.

Re-got-damn-diculous.

We see how well that worked out anyway... nice job... all they did is sell tools that didn't perform the actual purpose of the thing in the first place (again... onion? BRILLIANT!)
 
Ted Spencer said:
If the discs can't include DRM, then so be it. At least it would allow users to create HD content that can be played (on viable players that is, i.e. not HDDVDs) at home, on friend's systems, at festivals, etc. It would seem these discs could also be mass-produced, just without the copying permission codes. I'd happily take that deal...
Click to expand...

All the info I have researched on this matter says with Blu-ray, unlike DVD-Video, the AACS copy protection and licensing is mandatory and not an option. Each studio is required to pay $3000 once, $1500 per title and $.05 per disc. Right now this is only imposed at the Dup house and is all before you pay for actual duplication. The issue is the want to make it mandatory for all disc's to prove your Independent film was not made by evil Pirates.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top