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0 pointsjbay8085y ago0 comments

In the old days, someone who wanted to send you this kind of content would build and sell hardware for you to receive and play it (like a DVD player).

Online streaming services have, in part, scaled so quickly because they run on the general-purpose computers that people already own. So they don't need to bear that hardware cost. These general purpose computers have been fertile soil to grow and nurture the seeds that software companies scatter to the winds.

How interesting it would be if it comes full circle with specialized hardware being required on each PC to receive the content stream.

0 comments

jononor5y ago

That kind of "pull the ladder up behind you" strategy would be a natural thing for today dominants players to try. They benefited from an open playing field, but now they no longer need it. If they succeed, they have established a massive moat to stave off competition. If they manage to get it into standards and legislation, then undoing it would require a tectonic shift. Google is especially well positioned for this - Chrome, Google Search, Android and Youtube being potentially very effective places to do DRM media gatekeeping. "don't be evil" had to go from their mission statement. Maybe "universally accessible" will be next...

numpad05y ago

The way they do it is to bake DRM mechanisms into platforms. Intel ME, AMD PSP, Apple T2 chip/SE, those secondary computers bear the DRM hardware features, so end product manufacturers don’t have to handle it.

8note5y ago

It's still going to be hardware everyone already owns, just with specific features. It's not a separate purchase of a dvd player, you're buying a phone that has the licensing chip built in

roywiggins5y ago

And HDCP is already a thing for authenticating screens.

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