Andre Yoskowitz
8 Sep 2008 14:05
This morning RealNetworks, the digital media company best known for their RealPlayer and Real video and audio codecs announced the launch of RealDVD, a $30 USD software application that will allow users to make a copy of their DVDs and it play it back on their PCs.
Robert Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, says the program is “a compelling and very responsible product that gives consumers a way to do something they have always wanted to do,” such as backup their favorite movies and have them available digitally.
The program itself is very straightforward. You simply insert the DVD in your drive and open the program. The program will then rip the entire disc (including the special features and all audio streams) to your HDD as well as adding all metadata and covert art. You can then only watch the movie in Real's "powerful" video player that comes included.
Of course the only way the program will last is because Real has added DRM so that users cannot abuse the system and rip their movies and place them on P2P networks. The ripped movie will retain all DRM that the disc started with and Real adds a second layer of DRM that will stop users from moving the movies to portable players or other PCs without buying a license. If you want to play the digital copy on another computer you will need to buy a $20 license for that computer.
Real says the program is perfectly legal thanks to the Kaleidescape precedent which was set last year. Kaleidescape won a suit against the DVD Copy Control Association which allowed the company to sell a $10,000 USD server that can make and store digital copies of up to 500 movies. The Association has appealed however and if they win then RealDVD has no chance.
“If you look at the functionality of the product, we have put in significant barriers so people don’t just take this and put it on peer-to-peer networks,” Mr. Glaser said. “I think we’ve been really respectful of the legitimate interests of rights holders.”
One significant feature that will most likely gain the ire of the Hollywood studios is that the program does not know if you own the disc you are ripping, meaning you can take all of your friends DVDs or head to the local Blockbuster and stock up on movies that you do not own. For under $20 USD a month you can have a Netflix account that will allow you to build a massive DVD library without ever owning the disc.