Devoted to show business and the entertainment industry

At the recent Digital Home Developers Conference, Brad Hunt, executive vice president and chief technology officer for the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), spent the majority of his time talking on standardizing content protection controls in the age of digital home networking.

"At a time when entertainment devices such as high-definition DVD players, media center PCs, IPTV set top boxes and digital media adapters are being introduced in the marketplace with increasing frequency, it is imperative that controls be in place to curb illegal duplication of copyrighted content.

"I understand that if we frustrate the consumer, they will simply pirate the content," Hunt said. "The issue we face today is that consumers are buying content that uses specific DRM and that, in turn, is gradually creating a world of separate DRM systems."

The reason I bring this up again is that this is a continual smokescreen to hide the real reasons. Sure there is a little truth to what he says; enough to cover up the real point.

Photo: Len Vaughn Lahman / Mercury News

For instance, how come Disney isn't having this problem? They're already selling millions worth of movie downloads through their agreement with Apple. The rest refuse to deal with Apple. The reason? They want - guess what? Control over the pricing. Control is the operative word for Hollywood. That's all that is in their thoughts and vocabulary.

I've heard some people say that this isn't a business model problem, and I would completely disagree with that. If it wasn't a business model problem, they could adapt easily, as Disney has, and offer downloads right away. From there they could work on some of the other concerns they have.

From the consumer way of looking at it, if they won't offer what they want, they'll get it any way they can. So what does the majority of Hollywood do? Make them get it any way they can, and then call consumers pirates and thieves because they refuse to do deals that could happen right now.

The reason they wouldn't do the deal with Apple is because they weren't willing to sell some downloads for lower prices. Another stupid move against the consumer. All the rest of the talk is a diversion away from the fact that they could do it now, but refuse to.

Making it sound like technical problems and copyright issues keeps a lot of people from understanding that the ability to do it is here right now.