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AACS Is Like Every Other DRM: All It Does Is Annoy Customers
from the they'll-never-learn dept
The cornerstone of the AACS copy-protection technology used on next-generation DVDs is the ability to revoke keys on playback devices. This means that when AACS keys get cracked (as happened months ago), DVD makers start pressing discs with a new key -- and discs with that key not only won't work in playback devices until they're updated to recognize it, it renders those device unable to play back any Blu-ray or HD DVD discs at all. Sure, the system "works", but at the expense of potentially pissing off customers who have legitimately bought their DVDs. For the movie industry, though, that's a price they've long been willing to pay; the AACS scheme just further illustrates that DRM doesn't stop piracy, all it does is frustrate users.
