It’s time for a DRM showdown, according to experts and industry executives. The debate over digital rights management (DRM) is as contentious today as it was five years ago. But industry experts on a panel at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) said Monday there will have to be some industry consensus soon over digital content protection as the purchase of digital multimedia files become more pervasive among the average consumer.
Pundits on various sides of the debate weighed in on where the future of DRM is headed, agreeing that the issue that has plagued music downloads will get even more complicated now that digital downloads have moved beyond music to television and films, both of which have their own set of complexities.
The two companies setting the tone for DRM are those who have been most successful at selling and marketing multimedia digital content–Microsoft and Apple Computer. The latter’s iPod reigns as the most popular digital music player, and critics have slammed Apple for the iPod’s take on DRM — which is that any files purchased through its iTunes service can’t be played on anything other than the iPod and Apple computers.
The company may have to revise that policy if it wants to be successful in the digital home, where it will likely have to interact with Microsoft-compatible consumer products such as the Xbox 360 game console, IPTV services, and Windows Media Center PCs, said Jim Ramo, chief executive officer of movie download service Movielink.
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