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The gimmick called as "Digital Copy" Of late, I have been buying Blu-Ray discs.
Some discs were advertised as special editions that had something known as a "Digital Copy". I had so far never heard of this. The BDs of "The Dark Knight" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" had the movies on Blu-Ray and the package also contained a DVD marked as "Digital Copy". A pamphlet inside the cover had a Serial Code written on this.
So I wondered what this is all about. The page said:
Since, I have an iPod Classic, I thought that iTunes would be the way to go. But here is the catch:
- Insert disc into your computer's DVD drive. A menu will appear.
Choose "Transfer Digital Copy".
Choose transfer to iTunes or Windows Media Player.
- If you choose iTunes, the iTunes window will automatically open and guide you through the transfer.
- If you choose Windows Media Player, please follow the steps below.
- Enter serial number and click "Next".
- Choose the content that you wish to transfer and the transfer location and then click "Start Sync".
So much for the great Apple Inc. and their iTunes.
- Since the disc was purchased in USA, you must have an US iTunes stores account.
- My India iTunes store account does not provide this service.
- I cannot create a US iTunes Store account without a valid US address and a valid US credit card.
(No idea if it would have worked with a UK/Europe or other countries iTunes Store; I assume that it won't)
Hence, I said, 'let me try WMP'. I followed the steps above and it worked like a charm.
But the charm lasted a few moments only. The Digital copy created as .wmv file that is protected by "Digital Rights Management (DRM)". I could not convert it to iPod's MP4 format. After doing a fair bit of research, I found the following:
The whole "Digital Copy" is thus a great advertising gimmick. It serves absolutely no purpose.
- A DRM protected file (audio or video) can be played on the same computer. The DRM keys are stored on the computer and cannot be copied to another computer.
- It is illegal to break DRM.
- If I loose my computer, or reformat it, or reinstall Windows, the DRM key will be lost forever and I will no longer be able to watch the video again, even if I save the file.
- The Digital Copy serial number works once only. Once the content is copied, it cannot be reused to create another copy.
- The serial number has a validity period. After the date is past, the Digital Copy is a disc that can be given to Autorickshaw drivers who can then proudly attach them to the mud flaps, etc.
But some good news. There are shareware software such as Tunebites or Aimersoft Video Converter than can create the DRM-free copy. Note that these software donot break the DRM. As yet the DRM has not been cracked.
What the softwares do is that they allow the movie to play and on the fly they convert the video into a new copy.
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Originally Posted by Luke Skywalker 
jedi knight..~! 