I was setting up Windows Media Center to work with like, the 15 channels of basic cable I have ( I only have them cause they’re $10 and I still get the $30 cable internet “discount” for keeping that.) when Windows asked to install “PlayReady”, which near as I can tell is a DRM system similar to PlaysForSure (Plays For Now), I of course refused the EULA for it and it told me I’ll be unable to record “premium content” without it.
This got me thinking, what exactly is premium content?
When is the last time I got anything on cable I would consider to be “premium” or even worth recording? Well, since I had the full digital package and got rid of it to spare me $60 a month, I would have to venture a guess and say “Why do I even give a shit what they call premium content?”
I think this “premium content” is like a codename for stuff that hasn’t been on cable in the last 10 years anyhow, namely first run movies I want to watch.
If I wanted to make “illegal copies” of something, it’s trivial to rent the DVDs on release day out of the redbox machine for $1 and rip them, and less expensive than using Comcast’s “On Demand” crap for $6 a movie and copying something that comes in over an analog cable line.
Microsoft is ridiculous and if you need me, I’ll be in the bathroom taking a major “premium content”.
