Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with drm

DRM solution for small business?

stupidsexyFlanders — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:28:48 -0800

How can a small business use DRM to protect its IP? Has anyone had success with DRM solutions for small businesses? I have researched and trialed www.LockLizard.com, www.protectedpdf.com, and www.armjisoft.com. These solutions are OK, but range from 2,500 to 5,000 per year which can be cost prohibitive for a small business.

I do have Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional which is a good first line of defense, but I don't think does completely what I'm looking for.

Here's what I'm looking for in a solution:

* Allow me to prevent a file from being copied from machine to machine without my authorization
* Allow me to track and/or permit "X" number of copies of a presentation or course to be printed
* Allow access to a file for some specified period of time (e.g., until the end of the quarter)

I may also be interested in solutions where I can put my material on a thumbdrive but somehow turn off the ability to copy the file from the thumbdrive to anything else.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

PleaseDon'tJudgeMeFilter.

halogen — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:30:29 -0800

I have a bunch of HDTV shows recorded on a HD DVR. How can I make a video compilation without knowing anything about video editing? Complication: Linux household. I suppose that step one will involve buying a HD TV tuner for my computer, won't it (our Motorola DVR has all the standard outputs and for some reason, two USB connectors – not sure what for)? Can you recommend a product that will work with my Ubuntu desktop?

Once the tuner has been purchased, what do I need to know about transferring the video from the DVR to my computer? Also, what Linux software would you recommend for video editing?

Should I expect to have to deal with DRM at any point in the process?

The show happens to be Toddlers & Tiaras (Wednesdays are girls' nights) and boyfriend, for some reason, gets a kick out of the ridiculous head-nodding/pouty lips poses that I've been showing off lately. I want to make an collection of the most ridiculous scenes along those lines.

iPhone app syncing woes

MysticMCJ — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:46:43 -0800

I just sold out and got an iPhone 3gs. After some amount of pain and a few virtual images and iTunes installs, I finally got all of my contacts synced over, and I have discovered that I can't sync from multiple PVs like I used to. Not a problem- except for apps. The problem I have is that I installed all of my apps OTA, and the first time I synced after that, it was to my work PC. Most of my media is on my home PC, so I would like to make that "master" for syncing. But when I check "sync apps" it warns me that all apps on my iPhone will be replaced with those on my iTunes library- which is blank. I know that I have all of my apps and data backed up on my work PC- how can I switch this to my home PC? My big fear is losing all of my app data. Both are running winXP.

Best way to manage decryption/decompression of iPhone app bundle resources?

avocade — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:24:27 -0800

How to best encrypt and compress a folder of html-files in the iPhone app bundle, and unpack on first start? (DRM) My client wants to encrypt/compress the html-code for their medical books inside the iPhone bundle, to protect their IP.

Whats is a good way to prepare this file for the app bundle, and what complementary libraries (C, Obj-C) should I use to do the decryption and decompressing on the first launch of the app?

Copying the file to ~/Documents, then working on it seems like the best solution. Thoughts?

Legalities of Selling Legally Downloaded Music?

Effigy2000 — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:56:34 -0800

Assuming I am true and honest to my word and delete the music from my hard drive once I sell it, how can I legally make money selling old music that I have legally downloaded and no longer want? I have bought a lot of music from the iTunes Store over the years. My music tastes have changed a bit since the days that I first started downloading music from them and so now I'd like to get rid of some of the older songs and albums that I no longer want, preferably for cold hard cash if I could. But unlike an old unwanted CD, I can't just go and sell it down at the local music shop. Is it OK to do this on eBay? If not, and assuming I am true and honest to my word and delete the music from my hard drive once I've actually sold it, how can I legally make money selling old music that I have legally downloaded and no longer want?

Please help me get my new MacBook Pro projecting through the projector

bryanjbusch — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:20:24 -0800

What do I need to look for in an HDMI switch that will enable my Mini-DisplayPort video signal to reach my projector?
I've just successfully connected the Mini-DisplayPort > DVI adapter > HDMI directly to the projector. I also tested an HDCP-crippled video through iTunes, and it didn't complain to me about the display not being HDCP-enabled, so that's a load off my mind.

However, when I pass the HDMI through my extremely generic 4-port switch from Monoprice.com, I get nothing but a blank blue screen through the projector lamp. The laptop screen blinks gray for a second as if it were attempting to make a connection, but gives up.

Is it an HDMI version thing, do you think? What kind of specifics should I be looking for in a new switch?

Or is it maybe not the switch at all?

HDCP on DVDs?

middleclasstool — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:32:02 -0800

What is the future of HDCP -- are DVDs likely to adopt it, and is it going to mess me up? I'm going to buy a laptop, quite possibly as soon as Black Friday, and the new Macbook appears to be the big winner. My only concern now is the new revelation that Apple put HDCP in the new Macbooks, limiting your options on playing protected content on external screens.

This blows but is normally is not an issue for me, because I try like all hell to avoid downloading DRMed content and never shop iTMS, but what's the likelihood that future DVD releases could start putting HDCP protection on them? I anticipate using this as a DVD player while traveling, and I'd hate not to be able to hook it up to a TV or external monitor to watch a movie while on the road.

Found an iTouch!

Justinian — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:38:30 -0800

What can I do with a thrown away iTouch? A good friend of mine (not me, really!) found an iTouch in the garbage. The glass on it is all cracked up and it appears to have been abused which may be why it got tossed but it's still functional. I'm going to try to replace the glass for her with some plastic and a dremel... but that's not the question. The iTouch has 12 gigs of music on it. Is there any way to get the music off a found iTouch? I realize doing so is of extremely dubious compliance with the copyrights of those songs, so let's assume this is theoretical. I promise not to take off any music I don't own on CD. Cross my heart. Um. Anyway. It's all a bunch of hip hop crap unfortunately.

It seems that , given this particular iPod isn't authorized on my computer that I can't do it, even with third party software. But surely somebody has figured out how? iTunes won't do it for obvious reasons. And I can't copy it manually or with the third party software I use because the iPod isn't enabled as an external device and the enable option isn't available (as far as I can tell) in iTunes unless the iPod is authorized on that computer. But how can it be completely impossible to copy these files when I have access to all the hardware involved? Or is it just a matter of more trouble than it's worth? But it bothers me on a philosophical level that I have this device plugged in to my computer via USB and I can't see any of the files on it except via iTunes.

Secondly and relatedly, once that is done or found to be impossible can the iTouch just be formatted somehow so my friend can put her account on it and sync it with her computer? She has an iPod already but the iTouch is WAY COOLER.

And yes, I believe her that this was found in the trash. It's pretty banged up but I believe I can fix up the case! Then I will be a hero.

DRM free me baby!

doorsfan — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:51:26 -0800

How can I be sure I buy DRM free? I'm trying to get away from buying actual CD's and there is a lot of good music coming out this month (and the rest of the summer) but how can I be sure what I am buying/downloading is DRM free? I have no preference where I buy from (historically itunes) I just want to be sure I can backup as much as I want (no software needed) or I'll have to turn to buying actual cd's.

So my question really is where can I go to be sure my legal downloads are DRM free and how can I make sure it is DRM free going fwd?

Do I need to deauthorize old or unused iPod devices on iTunes?

KokuRyu — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:05:44 -0800

iPod / iTunes help (Windows)... After Mrs. KokuRyu dumped her iPod nano in the toilet, I bought her a new one. I had an iPod nano myself, but I lost it. Prior to that, I had an iPod shuffle, which I still own and would like to continue to use. ***Before I hook up the new iPod for Mrs. KokuRyu, do I have to deauthorize the old iPods? Is there anything I should do?*** As well, we have music libraries bought on iTunes spread across three computers, and the music is all encoded using Apple's AAC.

Need a player to listen to audiobooks

reenum — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:42:17 -0800

Looking for the best portable players for DRM audiobooks and other large MP3 files I've tried to play DRM'd audiobooks from NetLibrary and OverDrive on my current MP3 player (Lexar JumpGear), and have not been successful. The files are so big that the player hangs up while trying to load them.

Ideally, I'm looking for a player that can handle the following:
1. Files of 100 MB or more.
2. Has bookmarking capabilities so I can save my place in the file.
3. Upgradable firmware.
4. Is sturdy enough to use at the gym.

I have no allegiance to any specific brand. I'm just looking for the best player for my needs.

I've looked into iPods, but they aren't able to play the WMA files used by NetLibrary from what I can tell.

What do you all use to listen to such files?

I think it boiled down to having a cooler name for the technology.

geckoinpdx — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:58:37 -0800

Now that the HD format war is apparently over, should I renew my search for a 60GB PS3, get a standalone player or wait a while longer? I knew the minute I handed over my card at the video store a while ago that I was backing the wrong horse. I went with HD-DVD anyway because at the time the number of releases were about equal and I figured, well, every HD-DVD I get is another couple of bucks Sony doesn't get from me.

I really have a problem with Sony.

But. My other half is all about the shiny new toys (and I admit that the few HD DVDs we have look pretty damned cool). I had expected that I would eventually be getting both anyway.

I was holding out for a 60GB PS3 as I need full backwards compatibility...I have too many devices as it is and want to combine where possible. There are rumours that a 120GB model is in the works which fixed what they broke with the compatibility, but I haven't seen anything really solid supporting this.

Should I resume my eBay search for the existing 60GB model (that way Sony doesn't get more money from me; childish, I know but still important in a way), get a standalone player (which one?!) or hold out for a while more?

I'd be in the market in a few weeks time, it's not like I'm rushing down to the video store after work today or anything.

Played Playa

ninazer0 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:02:12 -0800

You guys gave me some brilliant music suggestions in a previous question. So here's the next part of the problem. I need to manage my music. There are issues and I'm feeling very stupid. I have 43 songs from a DRM source (Bigpond music)(very bad idea). The rest of my stuff is ripped from CD's. The 43 songs need to have licencing information in order to play. Being a slacker, I was using Windows Media Player to manage my music as that was what came with the laptop and I wasn't picky. Version 9 allows you to backup the licence information as well as the music. Version 11 doesn't seem to do this (if it does, I couldn't find out how). The DRM source no longer supports V9. I'm currently on V11 and looking at re-downloading the whole shebang again. I'm deeply unhappy with both Bigpond Music and Media Player and I don't want to go through this hassle every time I need to upgrade or reinstall.

My basic requirements are to play music on my PC in some sort of jukebox style and to transfer music to a portable player (I currently have an old Creative MuVo) or to a backup drive - all with the minimum hassle possible.

What is the easiest way to do this? Should I just bite the bullet and get an iPod? Frankly, if I threw away the 43 songs it wouldn't kill me but as I know nothing about the market, perhaps someone has a more practical suggestion? (God - I never want to have to feel this dumb again)

Does emusic use watermarking ?

pixx — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:00:16 -0800

Does emusic.com watermark mp3s and if so, what is in the watermark and can you provide technical details on this watermarking ?

What is the best (or any) Mac software to put protected WMAs on my iPod?

x41-pbj — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:48:26 -0800

What is the best (or any) Mac software to put protected WMA audiobooks, from my local library via NetLibrary, on my iPod? I'm trying to put the free audiobooks that my library offers on my iPod, but can't find a Mac solution.

My library, like many many others, is using NetLibrary to offer audiobooks to its members, but for whatever reason, not only do NetLibrary's wma files not work on iPods, there is no way to access the site with a Mac -- I've tried Firefox, Safari, Camino, Flock and none of them have worked. Bleh!

So there is one previous AskMeFi thread on this topic -- posted here -- which offers the good suggestion of TuneBite on Windows, but I can't find anything comparable for Macs, or anything free for Windows (Tunebite is $25).

Any help is hugely appreciated. Libraries are supposed to be free, right? Right!

Part 2 in a 2 part series of questions regarding DRM and public speaking...

zacharyseibert — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:11:00 -0800

Part 2 in a 2 part series of questions regarding DRM and public speaking... In my last question, I asked the hive mind to help me properly word my purpose statement for my persuasive speech on why people should stay away from DRM'd music.

Now, it's time to write the speech. The audience that I am speaking to is not necessarily tech savvy, so I want to try and stay in layman's terms as much as possible, but I know technical details are unavoidable.

So, AskMeFites, gives me your best sources and information on DRM you can find.

*Bonus* I also need to have some sort of aid, be it visual, auditory, etc. I'm kinda stuck on this one. Ideas?

A couple of iTunes/iPod questions ~or~ How do I make my 2 computers and 2 iPods love each other?

bradn — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:40:44 -0800

A couple of iTunes/iPod questions ~or~ How do I make my 2 computers and 2 iPods love each other? I have had a 4GB 1st gen iPod Nano for 2 years. I juggled music on and off of it from my library on my home computer, and brought it to work where I listened to said music, plus podcasts. I could download said podcasts at work, and have them with me, listen to them on runs, etc etc. I have been loving the size, the shape, the Nike+, the disk mode, all while daydreaming of having all my music with me, tons of space for files, and a little video. Yesterday, I got the 160GB. Things are more complicated now.

Two questions, hopefully not quickly answered with three ugly letters (D..R..M..):

1. With my new Classic in Sync mode, I can't play music off of it in iTunes at work (everything's greyed out), and with it in Manual mode, it doesn't automatically sync. Am I forced to add every track I add to my home library to my iPod manually? WWWWHHHHHYYY???

2. If I download a podcast at work, can I listen to half of it, bring it home, and then sync my Classic with my library, and then add the podcast (with where i left off intact) to the Nano to listen to when I run? I "understand" the copyright paranoia, but since all of these devices are "authorized" by my iTunes account, I should be able to do this, right? RIGHT??

HD DRM + PCs. Sort out yet?

krisjohn — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 19:55:37 -0800

I want a computer that can play Blu-ray and HD-DVD at full resolution out an HDMI port. And can play World of Warcraft. Can this be done yet? (Bonus points for an ultra-quiet solution.)

Protecting/Encrypting Source Code

jxpx777 — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:39:11 -0800

I have reason to be concerned that source code I am turning in for programming projects at school might be being burgled for the professor's own purposes. I would like to protect my code some way. I am thinking this is a great place for DRM to actually be useful. Anyone have experience with this? What are my options?

Help me mainline Showtime

hototogisu — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:21:03 -0800

Is there some way to get DRM-protected .wmv files to play on a Mac? Flip4Mac says they aren't supported--is there some 3rd party application that would do the trick? For the record, I'm trying to watch an episode of a television show that Showtime has put online (Californication, specifically). I'm a new mac user, so I don't really even know what direction I should be looking in. Failing all of this, is it possible to download the file and convert it to some other format?

Book scanning business

stbalbach — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 21:29:19 -0800

Business idea feedback. Scanning copyright books into PDF format and lending those books out for a weekly rental fee, similar to what is being done with DVD movie download rentals. A DRM enabled self-destruct system, such as Adobe Digital Editions, would provide the technical framework. Since libraries lend books, why not lend a digital copy of the book. One digital copy out on loan for every paper copy kept in stock. Legal, or publishers nightmare?

Help me figure out why my DVDs won't play on my computer.

MadamM — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 19:39:10 -0800

Why won't these DVDs play on my computer? For some reason, a few new DVDs I've tried to watch on my computer recently won't play properly. They won't play at all on my usual DVD program, and when I use VLC (my usual last resort) they play without any dialogue. Because older DVDs still work fine, I figure it's some fancy pants new copy protection scheme. Why aren't these DVDs playing properly, and how can I force them to? Some sound still comes through (mostly music and background noise), but dialogue comes through about one line out of twenty. So far, A Knight's Tale works fine, and A History of Violence and The Devil Wears Prada have the no dialogue problem on VLC.

When I try to play either of these DVDs in Windows Media Player or the standalone DVD player program I use, they won't play at all, giving wierd error messages or saying that the disc isn't a format recognized by Windows.

Oh yeah, this is a Windows machine. I haven't installed any new software since this problem arose. I haven't had any other audio problems. I'll try to answer any other questions that might help diagnose the problem.

Mostly I just want to know how to play these DVDs on my computer. I'm also interested in what the heck is happening though, because none of my googling has found anyone with a similar complaint (which makes me doubt my copy protection scheme theory).

MP3 download sites

twine42 — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:43:55 -0800

Can you recommend an itunes type site that lets me download DRM-free mp3s? Must be either UK based or (preferably) US based allowing downloads from the UK. Preferably US based because of the exchange rate... $0.99 sounds much nicer than £0.99 when the rate is nearly 2:1.

What is this 'iPod' you speak of?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 07:35:40 -0800

So, I've got my lady an iPod for christmas, and I'd like to preload it with some vids - help me understand Apple's way of doing things... I've got my girl a 30-gig video ipod for Christmas, but I'm a bit of a stranger to Apple products. I've seen my buddies setting up their iPods, and there seems to be a lot of 'enter your email address here to LOCK this ipod to your computer FOREVA!' type DRM stuff going on.

Basically, I'd like to charge the thing up, connect it to my WinXP laptop, and then shift a few TED Talks onto it. I don't have iTunes on my laptop and ideally I'd want to do this through an Explorer interface, with no wizards, no authorisations and no DRM involved.

Am I going to inadvertantly lock the iPod to my laptop, or use up one of the 'authorised computers'? Or am I just a total Apple n00b who doesn't get the beauty and elegance of Apple?

Posted anon cos she reads Metafilter sometimes

Decemberists DRM?

xmutex — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:15:20 -0800

So I bought the new Decemberists' record The Crane Wife and iTunes (7.0.2) on OS 10.4.8 won't recognize it; just spits the CD tray back out. This is making me really angry(!!) as I'm thinking it's some DRM issue. Anyone else have this experience?