Possible to play DRM-protected videos in the Mac?

Sorry, but if this site has their video in Windows Media format, other than running Windows by one of the various methods there's no way to play content protected with Microsoft's DRM on a Mac. Microsoft has never ported their DRM to Mac OS X nor licensed anyone else to do so.

Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

Unfortuantely, that's like asking if the Mac can run "software". The answer is yes, but it's naive in that it doesn't answer the question whether it can run the software you're interested in running.

DRM (Digital Rights Management / Digital Restrictions for Media / Fair-Use Circumvention Kits) refers to any number of technical schemes to deprive the end-user of certain rights with regard to access and use of digitally stored media. It's not a technology in and of itself and come in many forms, from simple key-based methods, to ones that, when you install them, explicitly subvert the security on your computer, patch hardware drivers, and grants control of your system and it's contents to the broadcaster (Sony, famously installed trojans and rootkits on unsuspecting Windows-user's computers that not only made them susceptible to being taken over by hackers, but also destroyed files on the person's computer).

Since you have a specific DRM plug-in in mind, why not enquire as whether a Mac version of it exists. You should also make an effort to determine if the DRM technology is passive (such as a key or watermarking method), or active (it modifies the operating systems, monitors your activity, sends details of your identity and contents of files on your computer to the media provider or a third-party).

OK, let me say this again; there is no way to play any video that uses Microsoft's DRM in any Mac application, nor can they be converted using Mac software. If these videos are indeed Windows Media Video with DRM, then there's nothing you can do to get them to play or to convert them in Mac OS X. You'll have to use Windows just to play them and there's probably no way to convert them to any other format.

If you are unsure what format these videos are and whether they're protected, post where you go them and we can check it out.

As Dave said you could use VMWare or Parallels. It would be a "sledge hammer to crack a walnut" but it would work.

I use VMWare in unity mode. It works very well for issues like yours.

Google Flip4Mac plugin for playing Windows Media formats and check their website. The plugin is free but there are other plugins for $ that might work for DRM content

The Flip4Mac plugins cannot play DRM-encoded WMV.

Microsoft abandoned Mac support for Windows media stuff about ten years ago when they discontinued windows media player.
Whatever DRM scheme they have, they have chose not to make it available on the Mac platform.

There is no work around, hack or whatever.
Windows DRM'ed media will only play under windows.