[IP] Intel quietly embeds DRM in it's 945 chips firmware
Begin forwarded message:
From:
Date: May 31, 2005 1:15:49 AM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] Intel quietly embeds DRM in it's 945 chips firmware
Dave Farber: Please remove my name and identity from this mailing,
due to fear of reprisal. (I still work in the entetainment business
from time to time.)
I do not know all about Intel's DRM, but I do know more, perhaps,
than I should. What I do know is that Intel has been working very
closely with the entertainment industry on a DRM that, I've been
told, seeks to satisfy EVERYONE'S wishes. Of course, such a system
would mean, by definition, that it will satisfy either no one, or
only the studios.
But I do know that the Intel "dream" DRM system would allow content
to be moved from one platform to another on a network, presumably
through a check-in/check-out procedure, to make sure only a limited
number of (legitimate) copies would be made and in service at any one
time. Intel's system also acknowledges, for example, that a high-
resolution (e.g. high definition video) copy of a film could be used
to create low-res (like Quicktime, Real or Windows Media) versions
that could be used in portable video players. Users might even be
able to "loan" time-limited copies or be allowed to make a small
number of copies, like Apple's Fair Play DRM permits. You can check
out Intel's ideas for such a system, and the participation of an
entertainment and consumer electronics industry panel called the
Digital Home Working Group, on which Intel sits, which has been
addressing such a system in this article from February, 2004:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/02/24/HNbarrettdrm_1.html
(Note: The Japanese system for hard disk and DVD recorders that
Barrett alludes to is called CPRM. It is neither new nor flexible,
and there has already been some consumer backlash against it in
Japan, where it is used for the transmission of digital TV b'casts --
sort of their "broadcast flag.")
At the root of the problem, of course, is the personal computer
that's used as a media player platform. This is also, not
coincidentally, Intel's cash cow. Such a DRM system, with the PC
playing a pivotal role, would also mean that IBM or other chip
vendors would not be allowed to play without building in the same
chip-level protection. Without these important security pieces,
Apple, for example, would be cut out of the picture for playing
content protected by the Intel-endorsed DRM, as would (most likely)
Linux-based devices.
This is a GRAND PLAN that relies on it being either almost completely
transparent to consumers (like Apple's Fair Play) or simple to
understand. Unfortunately, almost no DRM is easily understood by
consumers. Even most of the customer's for Apple's iTunes Music
Store only become familiar with the terms under which they've
purchased their music when they bump up against the limitations that
have been set.
The real nightmare scenario, in my opinion, is a world in which
several such DRMs co-exist, creating a chaotic environment in which
you never know whether content will play on one plaform but not
another. This is a potentially really sticky mess.
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