Re: Netflix HTML5 player in IE 11 on Windows 8.1

On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 4:35 PM, Duncan Bayne <dhgbayne@fastmail.fm> wrote:

> > As I've explained multiple times, anyone could build a CDM that makes use
> > of platform capabilities, as indeed the one Microsoft is shipping does.
> > There's no reason in principle why such a CDM could not be Free Software,
> > as far as I am aware.
>
> Except that for *GPL the keys would have to be in the clear, which means
> that - in practice - no Hollywood-accepted DRM system will be released
> as source.
>
> I thought this was fairly well agreed upon, & that the debate centered
> on whether the incompatibility between CDMs and FOSS was a proper
> concern of the W3C?
>

No, you are missing my point entirely. Microsoft ship PlayReady as part of
Windows Media Foundation. In principle, any browser running on Windows can
make use of the same APIs that Internet Explorer uses to play back
protected content. The DRM is contained in the Operating System, not
shipped with the browser. What we call a CDM in this case is the shim
between the EME API and the platform APIs. This does rely on MS making
those APIs publicly available, which is why I say "in principle".
Nevertheless, we hope MS will do this and that browsers will take advantage
of those APIs or find some other way to support the JS APIs.

You are right that a CDM that implements all the capabilities of the DRM
itself, in software, without making use of platform APIs for that purpose,
couldn't be Free Software as it is required to be non-user-modifiable.


>
> > What browsers implement and ship is up to them and we've every reason to
> > believe that browsers will want to support these APIs in order to enable
> > their users to access what we call "premium" content (on the basis that
> > it's only available if you pay for it - I don't really see how that's
> > propaganda).
>
> I've explained my position on this elsewhere on the list:
>
> "My concern with the term is that it implies a hierarchy of value - with
> that type of content (basically, Hollywood movies and expensive TV
> shows) at the top.  I don't think it's language we should be using."
>
> Several alternatives were floated, my favourite of which is "DRM-enabled
> content".
>
> But that's a side issue, which distracts from the main concern: that the
> Netflix press release is pure sophistry;  while it's true that it's
> *possible* that Hollywood-approved CDMs will be released as FOSS, in
> practice, that won't happen.
>

See above.

...Mark


>
> --
> Duncan Bayne
> ph: +61 420817082 | web: http://duncan-bayne.github.com/ | skype:
> duncan_bayne
>
> I usually check my mail every 24 - 48 hours.  If there's something
> urgent going on, please send me an SMS or call me at the above number.
>
>
>