DRM Strikes Again: Why I won't buy Transformers

Having enjoyed the theatrical release of "Transformers," my wife and I decided to purchase the DVD upon its release. Tonight, we drove 20 minutes across town to the local store to purchase it so we could enjoy watching it again at home.

Upon inspecting the box, I noticed a little logo with the text "This DVD is copy-protected." Though I can find little online about the subject, the fact that the DVD may contain DRM above and beyond the easily defeated CSS caused me to sit it back on the shelf and walk out of the store without purchasing it. Movie studio executives can't be that smart, so let me be very clear: DRM cost you a sale. Josh wanted to buy it. Josh saw DRM. Josh didn't buy it.

Great Job MPAA! I am exactly your target demographic. I have disposable income, I made a special trip to a store to buy your product and your inclusion of DRM turned me from someone eager to give you money to someone who will tell everyone he knows *not* to buy the product.

By the way, there are already dozens of Transformers torrents out there. It truly makes one wonder: When will the massive media companies learn that they can only compete with piracy by offering a superior product at a fair price. Though this particular DVD was fairly priced at $15, the fact that it contains DRM instantly makes it inferior to the dozens of torrents of the same product available at this very moment.

I sincerely hope the product does not contain DRM as I would honestly like to own it, but Dreamworks won't be seeing a penny of my money until I know one way or the other.

For those of you unfamilar with Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), check out Defective By Design by the Free Software Foundation.