DailyTech - Warner Brothers to Offer Movies via BitTorrent

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IT Warner Brothers to Offer Movies via BitTorrent
Michael Hoffman (Blog) - May 9, 2006 11:01 AM

24 comment(s) - last by Odeen.. on May 10 at 7:23 PM

Warner Brothers will be the first company to offer a movie download service via BitTorrent

BitTorrent is now one of the most popular distribution methods for pirated content on the Internet. Both the Motion Picture Association (MPAA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have taken notice and have targeted users that download torrents of copyrighted content. On the plus side, several movie studios have been discussing the pros and cons of allowing movies to be downloaded via BitTorrent since late last year -- but no studios have been very keen to make a move -- until now. Warner Brothers will be the first company to take a risk by offering content for BitTorrent users to download. The movie studio is once again trying to fight piracy by deciding to offer films and TV episodes via BitTorrent. The Los Angeles Times reports:

"The problem of piracy is getting worse, not better," said Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, the unit working with BitTorrent. "The way we're positioning this within Warner Bros. is, let's take the problem and turn it into an opportunity. If we can convert 5, 10 or 15% of these users into legitimate customers, we think it can have a significant impact."

Consumers can rent content, or decide to download permanent copies that can be burned onto DVD. The only downside of burning the movie on DVD is that it will be playable only on the computer that downloaded it. One of the concerns that may need to be addressed is that many PC users still are not very familiar with how to download torrents. The service will begin sometime this summer, but exact dates and prices of the content are currently unknown.

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ok....

By Falloutboy on 5/9/2006 12:15:48 PM , Rating: 2

so we need to pay them to download a movie, yet I can only use it on the computer I DL it too. Plus they will be using other people bandwidth to seed it?
yah thats going to work real well

RE: ok....

By xKelemvor on 5/9/2006 12:19:12 PM , Rating: 2

Exactly. I don't watch movies on my Computer, I watch them on my TV in my Entertainment Center. So they let me download a movie but I can only watch it on that same computer? That's useless.

Also I wonder what kinds of ads and things they'll cram in there since you aren't buying the movie from a retail chain.

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RE: ok....

By bob661 on 5/9/2006 1:48:17 PM , Rating: 2

Maybe they're thinking about HTPC users that are using the computer as their entertainment system.

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RE: ok....

By Trisped on 5/9/2006 2:25:59 PM , Rating: 2

Most people download and then move, so you can't use them as a file host. Since download speeds are way higher then upload, the odds are they will only share a small portion of the file.

Besides, the point is to provide a cheep alternative, so instead of having to pay all the distribution cost, you are just paying for the movie production costs.

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I thought that was AWESOME till i read this part...

By Chadder007 on 5/9/2006 12:38:34 PM , Rating: 2

...

quote:
The only downside of burning the movie on DVD is that it will be playable only on the computer that downloaded it.

Crap...and that is a MAJOR downside. Otherwise this sounds like a step in the right direction...just not a big enough step.

RE: I thought that was AWESOME till i read this part...

By daveyd on 5/9/2006 12:49:59 PM , Rating: 2

Are the downloadable movies going to be DVD-9 or DVD-5? So we have to pay for the movie and the DVD-R(DL) Dual Layer media isn't exactly the cheapest thing on the market.

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RE: I thought that was AWESOME till i read this part...

By rultin on 5/9/2006 1:00:27 PM , Rating: 2

I watch movies from my Home PC on my TV all the time. With convergence of the PC into the Home Theater this business model really isn't all that bad. Media Center PC downloads the Torrents and then plays or streams them to the device you want to view it on. Unless they block my Xbox from being able to stream it from my Media Center PC.

As for them using our bandwidth to seed the files. It's not all that bad. I'm sure they are going to seed the files as well from their own servers and bandwidth. The price of the media should be reflected by this. As we already see DVD's for sale in the $10-15...maybe offering movies via Torrents for $5-7 would be worth it.

As long as WB targets the price model according to the distribution costs and limited playback there's no reason this won't work.

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RE: I thought that was AWESOME till i read this part...

By OrSin on 5/9/2006 2:05:01 PM , Rating: 2

I wonder if that can make the model a little different.

I would perfer to be able to play it on any computer as long as I long into thier system first. I know it would mean I would need internet connection to watch it. But if your computer dies your collection is gone? That just dumb.
At least they should keep track of you in some database and let you redown you collection again to 1 pc if your first one dies. That could mean you first keys would be dead so they could not be traded it around in any.

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Has everyone lost sight of sensibility?

By segagenesis on 5/9/2006 2:18:29 PM , Rating: 2

I dont know who exactly they are trying to convince now that the Kazaa era is dead, but offering movies for download at the same price as a physical copy wont move mountains. I disagree with above posters... this is a step backwards rather than a step forwards. $20 DVD with extras that you can move between players or take to a friends house, $20 download with possibly no extras thats stuck to that computer. Yeah, really good incentive there.

If you really want to convince people that you are trying this time, offer the stuff for cheaper seeing how your not having to not only make DVDs but also distribute them. Maybe I'm missing the point here but to me it sounds like this... "Hey heres a $20 bag of dirt that you can use however you want. Also heres our NEW $20 bag of dirt! It's the same dirt but you cant get it wet. Also you are only getting half the dirt because were letting you do all the work."

RE: Has everyone lost sight of sensibility?

By Trisped on 5/9/2006 2:51:23 PM , Rating: 2

Price was not mentioned in the article.
I expect the cost to drop down to about $2-4 to rent and $5 to burn.

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RE: Has everyone lost sight of sensibility?

By segagenesis on 5/9/2006 3:14:51 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
Warner says users will be able to buy downloads of films and TV shows on the same day they become available on DVD.

Pricing for a feature film will be about the same as the DVD release.

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4753435.stm

Which unfortunately, does not give incentive to "go legit". Not only that it really gives no incentive whatsoever seeing how they could offer it first over this method since they dont have to press DVD discs.

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RE: Has everyone lost sight of sensibility?

By deadrody on 5/10/2006 9:30:20 AM , Rating: 2

Don't count on it. The Grateful Dead (of which I am a fan) have been about as fan-friendly as any form of entertainment ever. They've allowed public domain copies of their shows (3000+) to be traded freely ever since their inception 30 years ago.

They now offer hard to find concerts for download. They also offer other previous concert releases on download. For a 3 disc show, with CDs, case, liner notes, cover art, etc., they charge $25. For the DL - $20. It is a HORRIBLE value.

If you think the money grubbing likes of Warner Brothers are going to offer a better value than a historically fan friendly band like the Dead, you're nuts. Expect a movie that sells regularly on DVD for $20 to be offered on BT for $15 at best. Rentals could be in the $5 range, though once their protection scheme for rentals is broken, expect to see rentals disappear completely.

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ARRRRRG!!!

By vingamm on 5/9/2006 12:14:38 PM , Rating: 3

The pirates win matey!! Seriously, You know it kinda reminds me of prohibition in the 30's; people were told they could not have something and they just found other means to get it. I think WB has finally got it. granted it will take sometime to catch on and the only on your PC thing is bogus, but this is a step in the right direction. I mean, look at how much money they claim to be losing to bittorrent users and piracy. If this works I see a lot of other companies changing there business model. I have said it 1000 times, make the product affordable and accessible and you will sell. Good work Warner Brothers

RE: ARRRRRG!!!

By Trisped on 5/9/2006 2:23:46 PM , Rating: 2

Actually, it sounds like they will be charging for the downloads, so the only thing the pirates won was the system of content distribution. Paying for the product is still there, so I see it as customers and Warner Brothers won.

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RE: ARRRRRG!!!

By Lifted on 5/9/2006 3:34:28 PM , Rating: 2

Think about all the money in servers and bandwidth they have been throwing away on bogus p2p files. They finally realized that they could have been making money off those downloads the entire time, and it only took a few years of hitting them over the head with the obvious.

The point being, the 60 year old's with MBA's and are afriad of computers are running these very profitable companies into the ground because of their fear of change. You'd think that they had learned their lesson after they reluctantly got a lot richer after having the VCR "forced" upon them.

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The dam begins to break...

By koomo on 5/9/2006 4:15:42 PM , Rating: 2

From the DT article:

quote:
One of the concerns that may need to be addressed is that many PC users still are not very familiar with how to download torrents.

WB might get a trickle in revenue for this idea, but they will be exposing others to the ideas and concepts of torrents, and in a way, validating the tool while not condoning its use for illegal or questionable purposes. No doubt, many people who would not otherwise have heard of torrents, or who had but didn't know where to go for information, will eventually find that they don't need to pay money for these things.

RE: The dam begins to break...

By Quasmo on 5/9/2006 5:44:58 PM , Rating: 3

I think it would be great if they had distribution like steam. I know some of you hate steam, BUT, if my computer dies and I have to reformat, all I have to do is replugin my information, and BAM I have the movie again, because it downloads in the backgroud when it's ready, it lets me know I can watch it again. I can goto a friends house, download the DVD and watch it on their TV, but when I leave they cant play it, because they dont have my used ID and pass word. GREAT DEPLOYMENT.

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RE: The dam begins to break...

By SunAngel on 5/9/2006 10:51:10 PM , Rating: 2

You are exactly right. A download manager will be instituted. If you've ever subscribed to YME (Yahoo! Music Engine) or a similiar service you'd have a very good idea of what to expect. You will be given the right to view movies on up to three pcs. The three pcs will require installation of the download manager. In the event the download manager can not connect to the authentication server, the movie will nolonger play after 120 hrs of the last authentication verification. To change pcs, one or more of the current pcs needs to be deactivated and those movies will nolonger be playable but will still reside on the hard drive until manually deleted (content providers are forbidden from automatically delete files from viewer's computers). As usually DRM will accompany the movie, but tv viewing is available through s-video and composite outputs.

It will be a very efficient process. The download manager handles all the authentication, downloading and seeding processes. What makes the service different from current BT D/Ls is the elimination of leeches. Servers will be maintained to ensure a minimum file share rate, yet the community will determine the maximum speed of downloading. Movie prices will be competitive priced.

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WTG

By Quiksel on 5/9/2006 12:14:48 PM , Rating: 2

I, for one, welcome our new WB bittorrent file overlords. :D

Long overdue, glad to hear it. :)

DVD Burning Limitations

By CKDragon on 5/9/2006 12:23:56 PM , Rating: 2

While I'm sure the encryption will be broken a week or two after release, the DVD Burning limitations are quite the bummer on otherwise great news.

Maybe if I had an HTPC that I used to house all my movies on hard drives this wouldn't be such a lousy idea. But if I DID have an HTPC, I'd imagine that I would probably D/L bittorrent movies on my regular PC and then transfer them to the HTPC (not do the original downloading on the HTPC). Maybe those more well-versed in HTPCdom can offer up their opinions.

Oh well, I'm sure there will be ways around everything, regardless.

CK

Doesn't sound too hot.

By akugami on 5/9/2006 2:35:16 PM , Rating: 2

Pricing will be key. It needs to be cheap enough that people won't mind paying for it. Don't expect a $10 or higher price to sway downloaders into buying content. If the full movie is not $5 or better yet less, it's not going to sit well. Older content better be in the $3 range as well. Somehow I think they will be trying to charge $10+ and not $3-5.

The killer feature, and I mean product killer and not killer product, is that downloaded content will only be able to be played on the computer you download it to. Seriously, this is not going to sit well with anyone. You want this to work, take a look at the iTunes DRM model. You can download content and authorize up to 5 devices to play the content on. You can de-authorize devices as well in case you don't use it, perhaps computer died or your iPod died or got sold. It's still more restrictive than being free but at least you're not tethered down to one device and only that one device.

Joke, yeah!

By muppetman on 5/10/2006 10:55:09 AM , Rating: 2

Ok all they've got to do now is offer cinema release same day downloads, offer them for free and enable them to be burnt straight to discs. Then and only then do they stand a chance.

Not paying to use my own upload bandwidth, guys.

By Odeen on 5/10/2006 7:23:32 PM , Rating: 2

If I'm paying for something, I expect NOT to do the work, and consume my own resources to get it, with the possible exception of the places that let you pick your own fruit. At least then I know I'm getting fresh fruit (whereas the movies offered by WB will be at best identical to the store DVD's, and possible recompressed down to DVD5 size and/or missing the extra features)

If they're selling content, I, as a customer, better be able to max out my cable modem downloading it from them.

If, instead, my (scarce) upload bandwidth is used to send the content to other people, they better be paying ME. Now, I'm cheap, I'll share the content for a few days per movie if I'm paid in, well, content.

But paying to have my own resources used for distribution strikes me as pointless. Maybe because the only way I can justify paying for duplicatable media is that I'm paying for the "experience of ownership." I want a nice shiny jewel case with a nice shiny disc in it, with a nice pre-printed label that I didn't have to slave over my computer to create. Anything I have to fiddle with my computer for to get, anything that's subject to my computer being functional for the "ownership" to continue, anything that can be turned off remotely, is largely worthless to me.

I will continue to pay to watch movies at a movie theater, because it can still be a superior experience, especially because of potential social interaction, to watching movies on TV at home. I will continue to buy DVD's, because they're convinient, platform-agnostic, and the stacks of DVD cases tell something about me to anyone who happesn to be at my house. But computer files.. really not worth it to me.