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User profile for user: Joe Hall
Joe Hall Author
User level: Level 2
195 points

DRM protected WMV on mac

I know this question has been asked before and I have spent ages looking at all the posts with no real answer so I"m asking again in hope of any updates etc.

I have a number of WMVs thats are encrypted with DRM for WMP 8 and I want to play them on my mac or at least convert them into another playable format. Does anyone know of any new technologies or advancements in the playback of DRM files on a mac? I have all the usual suggestions downloaded such as flip for mac, but these do not get around the DRM issue. I don't want to have to use PC emulation software either such as VPC, and I don't have a dual boot machine so can only start up in OSX.

Its seems to me a real shame that apple and microsoft can't once and for all work this thing out. So much content is now being protected to prevent copywright infingement which I understand, but it also means that access is becoming more and more limited to us mac users.

Many thanks.

PowerBook G4 1.5GHz Mac OS X (10.3.9)

PowerBook G4 1.5GHz, Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Sep 27, 2006 4:34 AM

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User profile for user: Dr. Smoke
Dr. Smoke
User level: Level 9
56,586 points

Posted on Sep 27, 2006 6:20 AM

Hi, Joe.

Unfortunately, you're out of luck. Your only lawful choice — given that you don't want to pursue the alternatives, e.g. VirtualPC, etc. — is to purchase legal downloads of the same content in Mac-compatible formats, if available.

You wrote:
"Its seems to me a real shame that apple and microsoft can't once and for all work this thing out."
That's unlikely to happen. Each firms' DRM technology enforces a strategy of locking you in to their platforms: Windows DRM to Windows, Apple's FairPlay to iPod and iTMS. There is no economic incentive for them to make their DRM formats compatible with the others' players as that makes it easier for you to switch platforms without incurring potentially substantial switching costs. To understand lock-in and switching costs as competitive strategies, I recommend the book Information Rules by Shapiro and Varian.

For example, if the WMVs in question were legal downloads you purchased, you're now faced with the following switching costs: you either (a) lose the use of those files (meaning the money spent on them originally is now wasted), or (b) re-purchase the same content, if available, in a format that is Mac-compatible.

One of the incentives Microsoft has proposed to get iPod users to switch to Zune is that they will make iPod owners "whole" with respect to their iTMS purchases. That's an expensive switching cost and an unusual technique, revealing how desperate MS is to have iPod owners switch to Zune.

You wrote:
"So much content is now being protected to prevent copywright infingement which I understand, but it also means that access is becoming more and more limited to us mac users."
If it weren't for piracy, there'd be no need for DRM. Rampant piracy has forced the owners of intellectual property to resort to DRM to protect their rights. Therefore, the real blame goes to the pirates.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
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User profile for user: Dr. Smoke
Dr. Smoke
User level: Level 9
56,586 points

Sep 27, 2006 6:20 AM in response to Joe Hall

Hi, Joe.

Unfortunately, you're out of luck. Your only lawful choice — given that you don't want to pursue the alternatives, e.g. VirtualPC, etc. — is to purchase legal downloads of the same content in Mac-compatible formats, if available.

You wrote:
"Its seems to me a real shame that apple and microsoft can't once and for all work this thing out."
That's unlikely to happen. Each firms' DRM technology enforces a strategy of locking you in to their platforms: Windows DRM to Windows, Apple's FairPlay to iPod and iTMS. There is no economic incentive for them to make their DRM formats compatible with the others' players as that makes it easier for you to switch platforms without incurring potentially substantial switching costs. To understand lock-in and switching costs as competitive strategies, I recommend the book Information Rules by Shapiro and Varian.

For example, if the WMVs in question were legal downloads you purchased, you're now faced with the following switching costs: you either (a) lose the use of those files (meaning the money spent on them originally is now wasted), or (b) re-purchase the same content, if available, in a format that is Mac-compatible.

One of the incentives Microsoft has proposed to get iPod users to switch to Zune is that they will make iPod owners "whole" with respect to their iTMS purchases. That's an expensive switching cost and an unusual technique, revealing how desperate MS is to have iPod owners switch to Zune.

You wrote:
"So much content is now being protected to prevent copywright infingement which I understand, but it also means that access is becoming more and more limited to us mac users."
If it weren't for piracy, there'd be no need for DRM. Rampant piracy has forced the owners of intellectual property to resort to DRM to protect their rights. Therefore, the real blame goes to the pirates.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
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User profile for user: AJ
AJ
User level: Level 5
7,075 points

Sep 27, 2006 6:44 AM in response to Joe Hall

I have a number of WMVs thats are encrypted with DRM
for WMP 8 and I want to play them on my mac or at
least convert them into another playable format. Does
anyone know of any new technologies or advancements
in the playback of DRM files on a mac? I have all the


There are two versions of WMP for Mac, 7 and 9.

It wouldn't surprise me if v7 couldn't play v8's files,
but v9 may be able to do so.
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User profile for user: Dr. Smoke
Dr. Smoke
User level: Level 9
56,586 points

Sep 27, 2006 7:30 AM in response to AJ

I think the real issue in his case is that

• Windows Media Player 9 for Mac (WMP9) does not play Windows Media files protected with anything later than version 1.3 of Microsoft's DRM. This is documented here on Microsoft's Web site. If the files in question use a version of Microsoft's DRM later than 1.3, they will not play in WMP9 on a Mac. Of course, WMP is also dead, i.e. no more support, no further updates, etc.

• Flip4Mac, the replacement for WMP9, does not support any WIndows Media files encoded with Microsoft's DRM on Mac OS X. It states on this page that
" Note: Flip4Mac does not support content that is protected with Windows Media digital rights management (DRM). "
Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
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User profile for user: Dr. Smoke
Dr. Smoke
User level: Level 9
56,586 points

Sep 28, 2006 9:39 AM in response to Joe Hall

1. You wrote:
" I think I just wasted $27 on a subscription! The website is choosing not to support mac playable content although it used to provide quicktime movies as its main source of download."
Then I'd contact them and demand a refund. If you just paid for your subscription and used a credit card, if they don't refund your money, you can contact your credit card company and they will dispute the charge on your behalf.

2. You wrote:
" This is whys I'm really annoyed its more difficult than it used to be."
I appreciate your frustration, but if some Web site decides to only support Windows and exclude Mac users, that's their call. They are reducing the overall market for their content, but I suppose they've made the decision based on the following: they feel it would cost them more to support Mac-compatible formats than they would earn in revenue from Mac customers as the Mac is still a small portion of the overall personal computer market. Therefore, they support only Windows-compatible formats.

Caveat emptor!

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Reply

DRM protected WMV on mac

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