DRM Is Coming To Firefox

[Neeckin]

What have you done Firefox? You've made Internet Explorer more user friendly then you

 

[Phrozenflame500]

...what? How the fuck do you put DRM into a web browser?

Also if my permission is required then permission not granted.

As it says in the article (hint hint), they're adding support for a video playback DRM meant to stop people from just ripping streams off of Netflix, etc. or otherwise illegally misusing the data. This playback DRM already exists in internet explorer and chrome, and really doesn't practically negatively effect the consumer at all.

 

[Roxas1359]

What have you done Firefox? You've made Internet Explorer more user friendly then you

...You are aware that Internet Explorer and Google Chrome already have this type of DRM in it right? It's been in both browsers for ages now, and the article even says it. Frankly I'm surprised that FireFox didn't already have this in it's coding, as I assumed it did.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

Whew, we can deny it permission? Done deal. Guess I'll stop downloading Chrome now...

Captcha: Umbrella Corporation

Holy shit, I fucking KNEW it! They're the reason why! Better pack up and leave before they unleash and entire zombie apocalypse on my town just to kill me.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

...what? How the fuck do you put DRM into a web browser?

Also if my permission is required then permission not granted.

As it says in the article (hint hint), they're adding support for a video playback DRM meant to stop people from just ripping streams off of Netflix, etc. or otherwise illegally misusing the data. This playback DRM already exists in internet explorer and chrome, and really doesn't practically negatively effect the consumer at all.

I read the article thank you very much. However I still wasn't clear on how DRM could be integrated into a web browser.

Well yeah, of course you can, but what are you DRMing in a web browser esp. an open source one?

I don't know, I don't know how these idiots coked up on DRM madness think things throe. If it was up to them everything would be DRM'ed to the max and we'd have to sign EULA's for every damn button press we made in our lives. They don't care about functionality, they live in fear and are stuck in their old ways of the pre-internet era idiocy.

Yeah? Well I say they can take their DRM shove it someplace unpleasant.

 

[major_chaos]

Also if my permission is required then permission not granted.

Hope you don't want to use Netflix or its contemporaries, because that's what this is for.

OT: I read the headline and I was worried, then I read the article and realized this is a total non-issue.
Although I suppose that's just proof that sensationalist headlines work.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'm sorry but I really don't get it... Doesn't using an internet browser require you to always be online in the first place? Isn't that kind of what DRM is? I really don't get it. I use Chrome and if there's some kind of hidden DRM in that, I'm not aware. Is this actually a big deal?

Only always-online DRM requires you to be online. DRM can come in many forms, including stuff that never needs an internet connection.

 

[ntfwc]

The article is a bit misleading. From what I've read, the CDM that will process the DRM-protected content will be a sandboxed third-party module you download from Adobe (Flash anyone?). It won't be part of the browser, it will be like a rather special plug-in.

See I don't have any problem with that. It doesn't force you to do anything, just gives you more choice.

 

[bug_of_war]

Wait, so what does this DRM actually do? And what does it do with the other internet browsers?

 

[DoctorM]

I guess there's always Opera... I've been meaning to install it.
Between this and the ads, I don't see the point of staying with bloated FF.

 

[Roxas1359]

Wait, so what does this DRM actually do? And what does it do with the other internet browsers?

It encrypts the data for streaming videos so people can't illegally download full movies from places like Netflix and Hulu. All this is doing is encrypting the data, something that Google Chrome and Internet Explorer have always been doing.

 

[RJ 17]

See? This is what happens when you go on a witch-hunt and oust a CEO based on his personally held beliefs!

Spoiler: For those that disagree, I have only this to say to you...

=P
Chill out, it was only a joke.

 

[WeepingAngels]

Netflix has been available on Firefox for years, why this sudden need to add DRM?

 

[Roxas1359]

Netflix has been available on Firefox for years, why this sudden need to add DRM?

You answered your own question: Netflix probably pressured Firefox along with other streamers. This type of DRM will not affect you unless you've been illegally downloading the videos you were watching on Netflix while they were being streamed. What this DRM does is encrypt the data so that it makes it harder for people to download and copy the streaming footage. I say make it harder, because they will never stop it and then there is the fact that Google Chrome and Internet Explorer have been doing this for years now, and people are still able to download the stuff. Hagi I believe posted an image and explanation earlier in the thread. All this DRM does is encrypt the data that is being streamed to you; for another comparison thing sorta like how you can't use an HDMI capture device on something that's HDCP encrypted.

 

[Strazdas]

Sigh. just need to have yet another 3rd party software to circumvent this, which btw is completely legal. this is as bad as the audio files in the 90s where they would need to "authenticate online" and they couldnt because the online servers were down so the music you bought cannot be played. that is, unless you used a player that didnt support the authentication process so then you would just be listening to music like normal files.

This story is more like "Mozilla Firefox accepts sad reality of modern day DRM in services it's users expect". I know Firefox hasn't exactly been at it's best lately but sadly it does seem to be the reality that W3C EME is too ubiquitous not to be compliant with.

So marches on the death of the open web.

this. so much this. people wil lread the headline and go on a rampage but they really should read this post first.

To give a real world example: it's like DVDs. Commercially produced DVDs have all their data scrambled to prevent copying. So DVD players need special software to unscramble said DVDs before they can play them, this is Firefox including said special software in their browser to unscramble things because idiots who don't understand computers thought they should be scrambled. Note how there's a million freaking programs all over the internet to allow the copying, decryption and ripping of DVDs.

funny how that turned out as any DVD reader can decypher and copy the content all you want. its basic OS functionality, and basically all we have now is software bloat.

Geez, do you guys have to use intentionally misleading headlines for all your articles? I really doubt it brings more traffic to the site.

well, it brought you here didnt it. so thats money earled for the escapist. escapist seems to be very agressive with their clicbait, but thats always been the case.

In most any other circumstance, this would be when I switch providers, since I'm vehemently against DRM of any kind.

but there really is no alternative though, considering that all the main competitors already support this encryption.

Well, there's always Chrome.
I, for one, welcome our Google overlords.

you do realize that google is the one pushing for this implementation and its already implemented in chrome, right?

So your first instinct when posting a reply to a news report about DRM is to brag about being the reason that said DRM is felt necessary in the first place. Grats.

as if ripping low quality internet streams was anything to brag about. especially when high quality downloads are both easier and, well, higher quality.

As it says in the article (hint hint), they're adding support for a video playback DRM meant to stop people from just ripping streams off of Netflix, etc. or otherwise illegally misusing the data. This playback DRM already exists in internet explorer and chrome, and really doesn't practically negatively effect the consumer at all.

its funny, because this was updated into youtube recently and it broke a plugin i use to streach the youtube player across whole window without going fullscreen. it took only couple hours for the plugin to be updated and circumvent the changes youtube made. so its clearly not stopping anyone from ripping off streams. youtube has been fighting this battle for years now and loosing every time.

Also if you think it has never negativelly effected a consumer you must have never used Adobe products.

Whew, we can deny it permission? Done deal. Guess I'll stop downloading Chrome now...

why would you download chrome? chrome has supported this ever since its release. google is the one pushing for this DRM.

You answered your own question: Netflix probably pressured Firefox along with other streamers. This type of DRM will not affect you unless you've been illegally downloading the videos you were watching on Netflix while they were being streamed. What this DRM does is encrypt the data so that it makes it harder for people to download and copy the streaming footage. I say make it harder, because they will never stop it and then there is the fact that Google Chrome and Internet Explorer have been doing this for years now, and people are still able to download the stuff. Hagi I believe posted an image and explanation earlier in the thread. All this DRM does is encrypt the data that is being streamed to you; for another comparison thing sorta like how you can't use an HDMI capture device on something that's HDCP encrypted.

well, if from what i read is true and its going to act like a third party plugin (like flash) then its definatelly going to affect me when it starts crashing. and flash crashes A LOT not to mention some utterly shit players based on it (like youtube). This will affect you in the following ways:
1. due to need of third party encryption your machine will have to process far more, meaning old decides will have hard time, some dedicated boxes may be completely phased out with this change.
2. any bugs in the third party code will negatively effect your experience.
3. this becomes standard for the industry meaning more items you buy and yet gain no ownership (not legal, but corporations never cared).

Its not like anyone want to download things from netflix. not at stream quality. then again there are people that watch camrips so i guess some people may want to do it.

HDCP encryption on HDMI device is the nubmer one reason for problems with console video capture and was ousted by new generation as thing that causes a lot of problems with no postive benefit.

 

[dyre]

Geez, do you guys have to use intentionally misleading headlines for all your articles? I really doubt it brings more traffic to the site.

well, it brought you here didnt it. so thats money earled for the escapist. escapist seems to be very agressive with their clicbait, but thats always been the case.

The thing is, it didn't bring me onto the site; I was already here the whole time. It just shifted my attention to browsing the news forum instead of the offtopic forum. I think that's the case for most people who read Escapist news, so their clickbait isn't really helping them because this site's news doesn't actually generate additional traffic for the site.

 

[Riverwolf]

but there really is no alternative though, considering that all the main competitors already support this encryption.

Like I said, there's Firefox-derivatives that could keep it out if things got too bad. That's one of many beauties of open-source.

I didn't mean I'd switch over to Chrome or Safari. (Internet Explorer doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned.)

 

[ntfwc]

Netflix has been available on Firefox for years, why this sudden need to add DRM?

I suppose you've never tried using Netflix from Firefox on Linux. Netflix already has DRM implemented through Microsoft Silverlight. Currently the only way to watch Netflix on Linux is to use a Wine wrapped version of Silverlight.

Wait, so what does this DRM actually do? And what does it do with the other internet browsers?

It encrypts the data for streaming videos so people can't illegally download full movies from places like Netflix and Hulu. All this is doing is encrypting the data, something that Google Chrome and Internet Explorer have always been doing.

Technically it is decrypting the data. Wouldn't be protected if it was already in plain text. I believe the idea is that the module gets securely passed the decryption key (they would probably prefer a hardware implementation), and then acts as a black box of sorts that you send the DRM-protected content, which it translates and sends back up in some form for presentation.

Not really sure what advantage this gives the content providers over the current situation. I suppose since it is going to be a standard, they won't be developing for third-party systems like Flash or Silverlight. So that could have its advantages in licensing and such.

Overall it is still rather pointless. No matter what steps it takes to get there, anything you send to a "monitor" or "speakers" can be recorded.

EDIT: grammar, clarity

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Also if my permission is required then permission not granted.

Hope you don't want to use Netflix or its contemporaries, because that's what this is for.

I watch Netflix on my Wii, since Silverlight stopped working properly, so I don't really care.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I guess there's always Opera... I've been meaning to install it.
Between this and the ads, I don't see the point of staying with bloated FF.

Ads, well yeah. I was going to move to Chrome when the ads started.

But the DRM being implemented is basically a package to decrypt certain streaming content so that users don't just rip it.
(well, more accurately, what they do rip isn't viewable without being decrypted)

It will be handily defeated like all DRM in due time, I expect.