Slingbox gets new siblings

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Expect to see lawsuits soon: Slingbox is a great product, but I have a hard time seeing media companies just sit back while someone else is profiting from what they feel is their fundamental right to charge customers for everything they do. Anything you can do of value with content, the media companies feel you should have to pay them. Expect either lawsuits to drive Slingbox out of business, or DRM to stop them from functioning.

Here's an explanation directly quoting an MPAA vice president:
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/15/amazon_unbox_to_cust.html

I once attended a DRM negotiation where an MPAA vice-president said, "Watching a show that's being received in one room while you're sitting in another room has value, and if it has value, we should be able to charge money for it." Siva Vaidhyanathan calls this the "if value, then right" theory -- if something has value, someone must have a right to sell it. So while you might be accustomed to extracting unexpected value from your old media -- ripping a CD to play it on your iPod, copying a cartoon and sticking it on your fridge, taking your books with you when you move overseas -- forget about it from now on.

Every conceivable source of value for DRM digital movies is now potentially for sale. I've heard proposals for "discounted" movies that you can't fast-forward ("discounted" in the sense that products you buy with a store loyalty card are "discounted" -- they raise the price unless you use the card). Prepare for the future where every button on your remote has a price-tag on it.; Posted by: tic swayback Posted on: 09/28/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use