Video Remixing In Danger? Adobe Messing Around With Flash DRM
This post was published 1 year 9 months ago and its content may not be valid anymore.Adobe is now playing around with DRM in Flash. What are the possible implications? Well, sites like YouTube will not have as much content because people possibly may not be able to download Flash Video (FLV) files.
It’s entirely possible to read too much into this to claim Adobe is trying to be like Microsoft. It’s not like they’ve done anything suspicious in the past that couldn’t be explained.
-
Now Adobe, which controls Flash and Flash Video, is trying to change that with the introduction of DRM restrictions in version 9 of its Flash Player and version 3 of its Flash Media Server software. Instead of an ordinary web download, these programs can use a proprietary, secret Adobe protocol to talk to each other, encrypting the communication and locking out non-Adobe software players and video tools. We imagine that Adobe has no illusions that this will stop copyright infringement — any more than dozens of other DRM systems have done so — but the introduction of encryption does give Adobe and its customers a powerful new legal weapon against competitors and ordinary users through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
It’s a competitive move to go up against Microsoft Silverlight and it’s entirely possible that this DRM, like others, will be circumvented in some way. All I care about is that pretty soon it could mean when the next Chocolate Rain hits the tubes we’ll be stuck with that and NO remixes like this. And if I can’t have a YouTube with Chocolate Rain/Souljaboy Remixes, well, I don’t want any YouTube at all.
Read More
There is always a way around! Just set up a screen-recording program would circumvent this? Of course it is slower (real-time), than downloading the video directly.
Would YouTube really want to block out anyone who doesn’t have the very latest flash player? I’m sure that would cut out some of their audience…
What about all the plain MPEG-4 / h264 clips they serve up for the iPhones, iPod Touches and Apple TVs? Or the 3GPP version they serve up for mobile phones?
Hi, if the context is of help, then Adobe Premiere Express is explicitly pro-mashup:
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiereexpress/
I have no idea whether the people behind “Chocolate Rain” feel the same.
jd/adobe
John, that’s still not as open as being able to download an FLV and so with it as you please, right? Aren’t there going to be some limitations? Personally this doesn’t affect me, but obviously the EFF isn’t overjoyed http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/02/adobe-pushes-drm-flash
Locking out non-Adobe players?! Then come up with multi platform 64-bit capable players first! I’m using gnash on my main workstation.
Andrew: Yes, screen recording would probably work. Depending on where in the system you grab the screen.
If you’re on a 64-bit Linux box, you’ll have few extensions available. If running a 64-bit browser on that box, then use emulation to approach the functionality other choices offer:
http://gwenole.beauchesne.info/projects/nspluginwrapper/
(The Premiere Express reference was to invalidate the hypothesis “Adobe trying to stop remixing”. It’s up to the creator of the video as to whether they want it reused… it’s not the choice of the toolmaker, nor of the viewer. The creator has rights too.)
I’m not sure why the EFF page doesn’t support comments…. ;-)
jd/adobe