Practical Technology

One advantage of the Apple TV is that if your DVDs are stored on a server you can watch any or all of them without ever bothering to put a DVD in your player again. The trick was, of course, how to get your DVD into your computer in the first place. Well, actually, that’s [...]

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You can’t make up stuff like this. Sony has once more shot itself in the foot with an idiotic DRM (digital rights management) scheme. Back in 2005, Sony introduced XCP DRM technology on to some of its CDs. The technology proved much better at ripping Windows PCs wide open to rootkit attacks than it did [...]

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This holiday season, if you have big bucks for your home theater, you’re probably thinking about adding a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player to the entertainment center. On the one side, Intel, Toshiba, and Microsoft are pushing HD-DVD while Blu-Ray has the full support of Samsung, Pioneer, and Sony. Or, if you want to look at [...]

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Walt Disney’s home video unit Buena Vista divsion, using Flexplay Technologies technology, is going to start selling DVDs that self-destuct after two days in August. It’s both an incrediblly good and an incredibly stupid idea The technology, ez-D, is elegant and simple. The discs stop working because they change from a DVD-readable red to an [...]

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