Oppo confirms BDP-103/105 will be last Blu-ray players without online activation

[tezster]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Player internet capabilities are mandatory requirement for a UHD player, as they are a mandatory requirement of AACS2.0 which in turn is a mandatory requirement of the BDA for UHD.

If you purchase a new disc with online activation and try to play it on a player without an internet connection that has never activated that disc, it will not play and you will get a certificate error message. If the player was previously connected to the internet and you played the disc previously to download the certificate onto the player's memory, then it should play when disconnected.

So they basically got rid of region coding and introduced much stricter DRM controls, seems like one step forward and two steps back I hope this is something that is rarely (if ever) implemented by the studios.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by tezster

So they basically got rid of region coding and introduced much stricter DRM controls, seems like one step forward and two steps back I hope this is something that is rarely (if ever) implemented by the studios.

This just speculation, but technically with the UHD Blu-ray online activation technology standard they can still enforce regions through IP address. i.e. if you buy a UK Blu-ray you need a UK IP address to activate it. And that might be a choice of the activating studio, so one UK title may be okay to activate in Canada while another requires a UK IP address.

Again, we won't know how strict the online activation implementation is until it is out in the wild. And I don't think we will see it in the wild until the format is doing well and people have a substantial investment in it.

[HDTV1080P]

Current audio CD’s, DVD's, and standard Blu-ray discs are not affected. It will be up to the studios to decide if certain 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs require a special activation. It is my understanding that all or most 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs released this year will not require automatic activation with the Blu-ray player connected to the Internet. We will have to wait for the first professional reviews when 4K Ultra HD players and movies ship for more details.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

Current audio CD’s, DVD's, and standard Blu-ray discs are not affected. It will be up to the studios to decide if certain 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs require a special activation. It is my understanding that all or most 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs released this year will not require automatic activation with the Blu-ray player connected to the Internet. We will have to wait for the first reviews when 4K Ultra HD players and movies ship.

Yup exactly, but don't expect them to flip the switch on online activation until long into the format when it is doing well - at that point it will likely become the defacto norm for mainstream titles. You know, try to get you hooked on UHD and then once you are, force you to accept the online activation DRM

Big thing here is you can't escape it with this format, as even the very first UHD players are compliant with online activation DRM.

[AmishParadise]

If online activation is in the cards forget it. Don't care whether it's implemented out the gate or not and to what degree. I'm content to live out my days with 1080p and spend my hard earned dollar improving that experience with respect to my very modest front projector setup.

[sperezmore]

Guys, guys.... Don't sweet over it.

It will be broke...like region free is now.

Regards,

[Pondosinatra]

Originally Posted by Ruined

So I spoke with an Oppo rep.

Once their UHD players are out, they are going to discontinue their 1080p BD player line.

They also confirmed they will be implementing all features of AACS2.0 as required by the BDA, which includes online disc activation.

So if you want a high quality player that doesn't have the ability to force you to register discs online, stock up on them 103/105s!

NOTE: It is not unique to Oppo for UHD players to require online activation, but it is unique to Oppo that they will not be carrying standard BD players anymore.

What In The EFF???

Are you saying with this wicked, awesome, super, duper new format you won't be able to resell any discs you buy???

[Pondosinatra]

This is how I see it...

So, player breaks, decide to upgrade to a new player etc. Your disc won’t play. Buy a used disc from someone? Disc won’t play. You need to clear your players memory for whatever reason? Disc won’t play. Friend wants to borrow a movie? Forget about it. China doesn’t like a particular movie? Easy for them to block it via this mechanism. Worse, anyone not knowing all these new rules could find themselves slapped with a lawsuit from the MPIAA because you’ve been flagged as a pirate for playing an unauthorized disc.

Looks like I’ll have to be content with 1080p until I die. Likely stock up on the last players from Pioneer and/or Oppo before all this BS is implemented in new players.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Ruined

So I spoke with an Oppo rep.

Once their UHD players are out, they are going to discontinue their 1080p BD player line.

They also confirmed they will be implementing all features of AACS2.0 as required by the BDA, which includes online disc activation.

So if you want a high quality player that doesn't have the ability to force you to register discs online, stock up on them 103/105s!

NOTE: It is not unique to Oppo for UHD players to require online activation, but it is unique to Oppo that they will not be carrying standard BD players anymore.

Of course they are going to implement/comply with all licensing requirments to sell UHD BD players.

BTW did you know that Ultra HD Blu-ray will not employ region coding or region locking?

Now the BDP-103 came out Oct 2012, BDP-105 came out Nov 2012, the BDP-103D came out Oct 2013, and finally the BDP-103D came out Jan 2014. You betcha as soon as the next players are shipping, the current line is EOL mainly because of part availability/obsolesce.



Please notice current BD's don't utilize AACS 2.0. Only UHD or HDR based.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

BTW did you know that Ultra HD Blu-ray will not employ region coding or region locking?

Remember though, studios could still technically region lock if they wish to via online activation and IP address country of origin.

Please notice current BD's don't utilize AACS 2.0. Only UHD or HDR based.

What makes me wonder is what is the "HD+HDR" on that graph?

[Pondosinatra]

Hopefully with the first major title that's released there can be a class action lawsuit against the studio for forcing people to have an internet connection in order to play.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Pondosinatra

Hopefully with the first major title that's released there can be a class action lawsuit against the studio for forcing people to have an internet connection in order to play.

They are hoping they can sap people's willpower by wooing them with UHD disc goodness w/o online for a few years before they start putting out the online activation UHD discs... Then slowly boil the frog with the online DRM implementation

[atlantajoseph]

Suddenly feeling better about the 103 I got for Christmas and 4k upscaling my BD collection for the indefinite future.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Remember though, studios could still technically region lock if they wish to via online activation and IP address country of origin.

We'll see.
There is a whole thread on this very topic now, see this thread.

[SixSpeedSamurai]

Apparently no one who came up with this technology has followed what a disaster anti-consumer technology was for the X-Box One. Microsoft back peddled on all of it, but it was far too late.

[sperezmore]

Anybody remember DVIX Disc and Cicuit City?

They are Dead now




Regards,

[mrr1]

Wow. Ridiculous. Today's region-locking, firmware updating and buggy DRM is already bad enough, and I've had it. I've already had stuff I legitimately bought refuse to play on legitimate devices just because they are paranoid of someone copying it (which they always do anyway).

I am done with these studios and their shenanigans. UHD disc format will flop when people cannot watch the movies they bought every time a Sony server gets backlogged somewhere.

[bobbydrugar]

Of course When this flops the brilliant minds at these studios will simply proclaim that Physical formats are dead "See Nobody buys disks anymore". Its a no win situation for consumers. These consortium's of insiders that define "Standards" for their own vested interests are almost as bad as unilateral monopolies. As a consumer we have no input on this and because these sessions are had behind closed doors and constructed by these companies they have all of the cards.

Kind of sucks but yes I will vote with my wallet and refuse to spend a single dime on any of these Techs moving forward. Hopefully the CE Television vendors will see this and step in on our behalf when renegotiating these "Standards". If nobody is buying the displays to view the content on The panel manufacturers will be very interested in the consumer space to see why we won't buy the new TV's and when pressed with consumer concerns it will be in their best interest to oppose the Content holders instead of a single wall of corporations VS the consumer.

Thats what I hope at least
T

[sperezmore]

"I will vote with my wallet"........

No play, no buy... Very simple

Perfect answer. Hit where it hurts

Regards,

[jvonl]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Do you ever think with a large collection that if that part of the industry disappeared you could be watching you content for years?

No problem, John. It would take years to get through it all now. If physical media is killed off by greed, I will no longer buy new movies. As was pointed out earlier, the new standard seems to be a fancier, more expensive, less user friendly digital format. Just. Not. Interested. I want physical media, which I OWN, available at my discretion - PERIOD!