AfterDawn: News

First download-and-burn CSS DVD drive coming from Dell

Dell is expected to become the first company to offer DVD drives that will allow users to burn their legal movie downloads and then play them back on any standalone DVD player.

What makes the drives different is that the drives will add CSS copy protection, thus appeasing the media companies.



The new drive will use Sonic Solutions’ "Qflix technology with CSS" and will cost $120 USD as an add-on to its laptop and desktop computers. Dell will also be offering legal movie downloads through CinemaNow which has partnered with Sonic in the past to use Sonic's Roxio to burn movies with CSS.

CinemaNow says they will offer 100 new releases from Warner Home Video, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment and Lionsgate. The company hopes to offer CSS burning from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment soon.

The new Dell Qflix drives will come with the CinemaNow software already loaded. Buyers of the drive can then download the movie and watch it on their PCs, transfer it to portable media players or burn it to disc to play in their DVD players.

Making the deal a bit sweeter is that CinemaNow will off their CSS burning-capable movies for less than $10 USD. “We’re definitely very excited about it,” added David Cook, CinemaNow president and COO. “We feel like it starts to add to the ecosystem. The DVD player is the widest deployed device in the living room.”

There are, of course, more downsides then just the price of buying the new drive. The new CSS burning will require new recordable blank discs, and we can be sure they will not be as cheap as current DVD-+R are.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Sep 2008 15:12

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• 11 comments

• DXR88

  Or i could strip the CSS from the dvd i rightfully own using DVDDecrypter anyway, and do whatever the hell i want with it.
  
  i think im the only one that still has a RPC1 dvd-burner.

  15.9.2008 15:27 #1

• SProdigy

  Quote:Making the deal a bit sweeter is that CinemaNow will off their CSS burning-capable movies for less than $10 USD.Well made point about the burnable media, since we'll STILL have to pay for the disc itself, plus the premium for the drive over a standard burner.
  
  I'm still not that lazy to wait a few hours for a download versus a trip to Redbox or a click on my Netflix queue. Honestly, Target and Wally World have some good $5-$10 DVD deals EVERY week, so CinemaNow's overpriced and idiotic strategy is not that good IMHO.
  
  Now, I know I'm a city dweller and I can get to a retailer or video rental store in minutes, but I still don't see this benefiting the rural folks, where broadband has yet to penetrate the fringe.

  15.9.2008 16:10 #2

• varnull

  Why would you want to add crappy and cracked css encryption to your disks? I don't know of any standalone dvd player on the market that requires it to play a disk.

  15.9.2008 16:15 #3

• DVDdoug

  Quote:Why would you want to add crappy and cracked css encryption to your disks? I don't know of any standalone dvd player on the market that requires it to play a disk. This product/service is not intended for pirates. It's only for people who want to obey the law. The movie studios won't allow unprotected distribution, and for the first time, you'll be able to legally dowload & burn.
  
  This plan might work if they increase their selection... It would be a great way to distribute out-of-print DVDs. But, the cost is to high. You're not saving much (if anything) after you add the cost of the special-blank DVD, a DVD case, and printing labels/artwork.

  15.9.2008 17:10 #4

• DXR88

  When i stop and think about it this move makes sense,for the Movie industries.
  
  CSS is on dvd it was broken it what 4 days, but if they put the CSS on a hardware platform it could prove Troublesome, this could be a blu-ray burner move in the making.
  
  i still see Failure of Epic perportion's.

  15.9.2008 22:46 #5

• david89

  this is dumb as said earlyer and their prices still high for download burn

  16.9.2008 13:13 #6

• JRude

  $120 for hardware. $10 for the flic. ?? for the burnable disc. OR! $3-5 to rent the sucker at your local brick & mortar and....! What would YOU do!?

  16.9.2008 16:21 #7

• DXR88

  Rent'n Rip

  16.9.2008 18:29 #8

• BIGTOXY69

  This would make the media companies most happy - We'll still charge you 14.00-20.00 something dollars for your dvd but you will have to provide your own case Cover and Dvd !!! This will save The Movie studios mucho dollars ( No shipping ,storage,Media or middleman cost ?) So They're gonna love this one for sure ! This sounds like a expensive solution to a simple Problem ! why would we the consumers pay to buy a Dvd Burner Crippled by a DRM system so we can download movies and burn them once? I'm not advocating piracy mind you ! But If I buy a Commercially Produced DVD or Game ( MoVie lets say) and I make a Back-up so my kids,Grandkids, Nieces ,nephew's ,siblings or whoever don't ruin my original due to mishandling ,improper storage (outside the case ) or Just Plain Physical damage !!! I can always go back to the master Copy (Original DVD) with this system I can't assuming it works and the computer/internet Intelligentsia have'nt already Devised a Crack or work-Around to whatever DRm Encryption they'll use !!! So what would make me want this??? When If I have cable and a DVD Recorder I can do essentailly the same thing legally !!! In a word Nothing !!!! This reminds me of that Similar Idea they floated several years ago of Semi -Disposable dvd movies ? I think it was called DVX ? Though I could be wrong on the name ? Circuit City was The Big Pusher behind it as I recall and what it was supposed to be was a Rental/purchase system ? In that you rented the disc For a nominal fee. Then you had a certain period of time after opening the wrapper to watch the movie after which the disc would'nt play !!! If you wanted to make it ( The movie !!!) permanent you had to A. Have a Special DVX? DVD player attached to a phoneline ( Mo'Money , Mo,money ) and Then Pay for the movie again ( purchase ) like getting pay per View on cable or satellite !!! needless to say this overly complex and Confusing? for the consumer system ?? went the way of the Dodo !!! special equipment & confusing Technology for the average consumer not a great Idea ! But as the song says HERE WE Go Again !!! OH and did I mention that it did or would have generated oodles of dead ( Non-returnable Rental disc to pollute and fill up the landfills of america!!!! Nothing Like going Green right ?? anyway That's what I have to say on this issue anyways!!! Ciao Y'all ...

  19.9.2008 01:46 #9

• 1bonehead

  Bigtoxy69 is spot on !!!
  

  The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above!
  The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.

  19.9.2008 05:57 #10

• six60six

  Quote:It would be a great way to distribute out-of-print DVDs.
  so would just selling me a .iso download. why all the hoops to jump through? this is never going to work.

  20.9.2008 11:23 #11