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January 9, 2008

speculation

Fox set to embrace DVD-ripping

Posted Jan. 9, ’08, 11:00 AM PT by Aayush Arya
Category | Apple » Speculation

20th Century foxOur friends over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog report that one of their readers, Stewart, recently received a Family Guy DVD (in advance of the 15 January release date) that shipped with an iTunes and iPod compatible, FairPlay protected movie file branded as a “Fox Digital Copy File.” The file, however, required version 7.6 of iTunes to be playable and as you might know, we aren’t there yet.

If you remember our report on the deal that had reputedly been struck between Apple and Twentieth Century Fox, you might also recall the following tidbit: “The Financial Times also suggests that Apple will let Fox provide FairPlay-encoded video files on new DVD releases.” This latest bit of news all but confirms that those plans will soon be coming to fruition.

This is, of course, very good news for consumers as it will not only save us the process of ripping the DVDs ourselves to iPod- and iPhone-compatible formats, but also make it possible to do so without violating the DMCA. If Fox is already onboard, we’re hoping that the rest of the studios will soon follow suit. I guess we’ll just have to wait for Jobs to come out in the open with his plans of Hollywood domination on Tuesday morning.


6 Comments

fletcher Author Profile Page said:

I think if Fox does it, or Apple on Fox's behalf, it would be called "transcoding" rather than "ripping". Still, sounds like a good idea. Especially if the movies are provided without more expense.

January 9, 2008 11:17 AM
PT said:

Physical media is not dead and won't be for a long time. Downloading sucks.

January 9, 2008 11:18 AM
Goobimama said:

If this happens, ripping DVDs as we know it will be absolutely legal. There's no way they can hold out the legal issue once this is done.

I love the integration though. Really proves what Apple is capable of...

January 9, 2008 12:14 PM
Dave-O said:

Apple will "let" Fox?

"Okay, you win. We'll let you include a version of the movie that plays only on Apple products like the iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV thereby strenghtening our position in the market. Damn you!"

I assume Apple collects some money for every such disc (or some annual payment for licensing FairPlay). Apple stands to make a lot more money that way than through the iTunes Store. Yep, no "enhanced interrogation" techniques here.

January 9, 2008 12:17 PM
PT said:

I don't know why ripping would all of a sudden be legal? They didn't circumvent the DRM on the DVD, they provided a movie with DRM on it.

January 9, 2008 1:05 PM
Aayush Arya Author Profile Page said:

@fletcher,
I meant to convey that Fox seems to be warming up to the idea of having a backup of purchased DVDs on your computer, whether they be transcoded by the company itself or ripped by the user. The headline does not specifically refer to the act of ripping itself. :)

January 9, 2008 1:10 PM

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