DVD Copying Not As Regular As On One Occasion Reflected

Movie industry execs have been extremely concerned about losing large sums of money due to DVD ripping. For years they have worried that this practice would be as costly to them as file sharing sites have been to the music industry. Napster, which once was the only peer-to-peer music sharing site, now has lots of company. P2P sharing has, indeed cost the music industry billions of dollars in lost revenue. A recent study shows that DVD ripping does not pose this type of threat to the movie industry. It is the practice of reselling the DVDs that poses a threat to the movie industry. Because only 2% of computer users ever rip DVDs, the percentage of those who do so to sell them must be even less than that. For many years, the movie industry has been concerned about the impacts that DVD ripping could have on their bottom line; it seems they have very little to be worried about. The study uncovered the two main reasons that people are not ripping DVDs on a wide scale: 1. Many think it is a time-consuming process and 2. Some are worried about the DRM measures recently put in place. With regard to the time issue, Russ Crupnick, Senior Analyst for the NPD Group, states �In my brief experimentation with these applications they seem to work fine. It seems to come down to consumers saying �If I can�t have the ripping completed in a minute, �I�m not doing to do it al all�.� In a culture that demands instant everything � you can even get �fast food� handed to you through a window as you drive by � it�s not surprising many are concerned about wasting time. The fact of the matter is, though, from start to finish, the DVD ripping process takes no longer than 15 minutes. The estimated fifteen minutes is provided the computer owner has a decent (fast) internet connection, the necessary software and equipment on hand. Currently, DVD ripping with the intent of reselling multiple copies is practiced minimally � by about 2% of the computer owners with internet connection (as reported earlier). Even though there is a good deal of DVD ripping software available for purchase, most people simply are not buying. Movie companies would be well advised to be more concerned with the prospect of peer-to-peer sharing sites popping up on the web. By putting their focus on and energy in stopping P2P from invading their �space�, they might well avoid greater consequences. If and when P2P sharing expands to include motion pictures, the movie industry will be in the same boat as their counterparts in music. It is the intent and focus of the DRM to help movie content owners to control how hardware and digital is obtained and disseminated. They are not out to play �gotcha� with the computer owners who legally rips DVDS for their own use only. No, they are working with the movie industry, by putting measures in place, to keep DVD ripping to a minimum. Given the 2% figure we discussed earlier, it seems that the practice is already minimal.