Taking Another Ride On The DRM Train

July 26, 2008 in Commentary by Tom Langston (calaggie) | No comments

The main reason why I rarely buy download-to-own episodes of anime or TV shows in general is often DRM lockdown preventing me from watching the content how I want. However, I feel the need to try out a system and blog about it; previous examples are ADV Universe, iTunes, and AnimeNation’s PPV. So when I was admitted to the new Amazon Unbox beta and also read that Pretty Cure was added to Direct2Drive along with Digimon Adventure 02, I decided to give each system a try. (To tell the truth, I previously used Unbox to watch NBC pilots last season but there is now a streaming component to it so it’s new in that sense.)

First, I paid $1.99 each for the first two episodes of Pretty Cure from Direct2Drive because I had already seen Digimon earlier in life and because nothing has happened with it since 4Kids licensed it in February 2006. It appears that Toei now has the rights for both and is trying to make some money off them. After buying the only two offered at the moment, I had to download the Direct2Drive Download Manager before pulling down the actual files to my computer. I was then required to copy-and-paste an authentication code in Windows Media Player prior to playing them for the first time.

The video quality looked good at its full-frame 640×480 resolution at a 2.05 Mbps bitrate. You are supposed to be able to only play them using Windows Media Player because it’s a managed copy but I managed to get them to work in Winamp due to its Windows DRM compatibility. However, VLC showed garbled colors and Media Player Classic couldn’t render the file so your viewing methods are still limited.

Each episode has a file size of 366 MB and subtitling by Nippon Golden Network, a pay service that airs Japanese language programming in Hawaii and Southern California. I would suspect Toei is selling the broadcast version since the pauses after the opening music and the next episode preview where the show’s sponsors are announced were left in. (IT’S UNCUT!) The episodes themselves were entertaining and less cheesy than, say, Moetan but I would rather rent the DVDs if they come out (big if right now) than spend $2 per episode to continue the story.

Now it’s time to evaluate Amazon Unbox. I was given $5 of credits to spend as part of the beta and I chose the first two episodes of The Slayers at $1.99 apiece. Even though Unbox media has Windows Media 10 DRM, I was able to play it in Winamp but VLC and MPC were still shut out. The files are about 440 MB and the English dubs from the CPM days with a Funimation logo slapped at the beginning.

I actually liked using the Unbox player because the video interface is clean and includes brightness/contrast sliders for those with darkly-tinted or otherwise screwed up monitors. As you can see, the video has some moments where it shows its age through interlacing. Thankfully newer series like Speed Grapher look cleaner and as they would appear on a DVD release.

The site-based On Demand player is pretty nifty, too, with its width adjusting to fit your browser size, remembering where you left off and compatible with Macintosh computers. Unfortunately not everything is available to be streaming after purchase — the first episode was also available as Watch Now whereas the second was not — and since the Amazon download player only works on Windows, those on OS X should check before buying any passes.

I liked the back-and-forth dialogue between Lina and Gourry as well as the whole journeying fantasy aspect. And did you know that Eric Stuart, voice of Pokemon’s Brock, also did Gourry? After watching these first two, I’m looking into getting Funimation’s season one set to get caught up on a series that is aired 13 years ago.

It turns out that both Direct2Drive and Amazon Unbox were easier to work with than some of my previous entries into DRM’d anime and I still have yet to try the series on Zune Marketplace or Funimation’s VOD site. Don’t expect a post either in the near future but if there were to be one, it would likely be about a subtitled episode from Funimation’s download-to-own like Jyu-Oh-Sei to see how the translations are implemented. Considering their content has a WMP 9 requirement, I would figure I’d also be able to play it in Winamp. Now I need to get back to watching my digital versatile discs.