Oh, Yeah, I am Torqued...(DRM-Related)

[roo_ster]

...at WinXP, myself, and especially the sons of whores who packaged Scooby Doo 2 into a DVD.

Here's what happened:
1. Kids were very well behaved for an event that required 4 & 5 YO kids to refrain from running about like wild monkeys.
2. Go to awesome local DVD rental/seller/re-seller and find the aforementioned DVD on sale for $5.
3. Find that DVD player hooked up to HDTV is toast.
4. No problem...I have HDMI output from my lappy.
5. Hook up lappy to HDTV.
6. Slip SD2 DVD into lappy and I am hit with an install/configure prompt.  I don't recall ever playing a video DVD in this lappy since I first got it (back in January) and I mistake this install for Intervideo WinDVD(1)
7. Whoa, Nelly, the fun has just started...
8. Turns out the app was on the video DVD and it auto-installed despite my having disabled autorun/autoplay within an hour of receiving the lappy.  Not sure quite how that happened.
9. Well, I realize it wasn't Intervideo WinDVD, but soldier on.
10.  Sound is ate up.  Music & effects, fine, but dialog is a whisper.
11.  Close the "DRM-DVD" app and open in Intervideo WinDVD.
12.  Plays through adverts & credits, but craps out onthe first chapter of real content and throws off some DRM-ish message.
13.  Uninstall DRM-DVD, reboot, open in Intervideo WinDVD and get same "error."
14. Open DVD in The KM Player, get no error, but sound is still FUBARed.
15. I eventually re-configure sound to work, but the DRM mal-ware is still on my lappy.

Not happy.

I'm pissed at the DVD packagers for including such a turd app/DRM poison pill.

I'm pissed at WinXPfor autorunning the turd app after I had de-selected all auto-run options for EVERYTHING.

I'm pissed at myself for not examining the installer more closely and assuming it was Intervideo WinDVD.

I'm going to have to research what is on the DVD and figure out just what else it installed that stuck after I un-installed the DRM-DVD player.  I see registry edits in my future.  My HD is encrypted, so I can't just toss in a live CD linux distro and hack away.

This crap doesn't happen when I install F/O source software, only when packaged up all nice & legit fromone o fthe big boys in industry. Matter of fact, the last time I BSODed, it was installing MS Office 2000 with factory MS media.

Oh, I am still hopping mad.







(1) A harmless DVD player software that I rarely ever use anyway, since I prefer The KM Player.

[Nick1911]

Have you torrented the video, DRM free from the Internet yet?

I think doing so is legal since you have a purchased hard copy of the film.

[Harold Tuttle]

I have a current hate for the redbox centric dvds that will not allow you to buy pass the previews



oh and

get a mac

& some detcord

[roo_ster]

Have you torrented the video, DRM free from the Internet yet?

I think doing so is legal since you have a purchased hard copy of the film.

Nah, that is a different matter.  Yes, I have paid $$$ and bought it legally.  Whether I rip it locally or torrent it later is neither here nor there.

This did make one decision easier.  I was uncertain if I was going to go Win7 or Linux on my next box, which will also be my media box.  I will go linux.  I don't like sneaky shinola installing apps and other stuff on to my box and enabling autorun after I had disabled it.  

I have a current hate for the redbox centric dvds that will not allow you to buy pass the previews



oh and

get a mac

& some detcord

Not a big fan of the Mac GUI.

Linux will cure what ails me.

[Nick1911]

Nah, that is a different matter.  Yes, I have paid $$$ and bought it legally.  Whether I rip it locally or torrent it later is neither here nor there.

This did make one decision easier.  I was uncertain if I was going to go Win7 or Linux on my next box, which will also be my media box.  I will go linux.  I don't like sneaky shinola installing apps and other stuff on to my box and enabling autorun after I had disabled it.  

Not a big fan of the Mac GUI.

Linux will cure what ails me.

I use mythbuntu on my media box.  Love it!