Your View of Copy Protection

The thing that I love about the consumer electronics industry is that even though you make your living being involved with it, you're still a consumer too. Many not only passionately market and sell these products, but are passionate about the performance of the products that they buy for their own use.

This point came through dramatically in response to a column I wrote recently ("Wanted: Digital Business Models," TWICE, June 3, p. 6) in which I asked for feedback on the whole issue of copy protection and how it is affecting audio and video sales.

Here are edited remarks of three e-mails I received. Two come from retailers and the first is from occasional TWICE columnist, Bill Matthies of Coyote Insight, a Fullerton, Calif., market research firm:

"Our recently completed in-home visits with consumers for the home convergence project repeatedly showed that consumers don't want to steal content but do want what they consider to be "fair use" access to what they do buy. They are not making large numbers of copies for sale or even as gifts. Consumers resent the industry's attempts to further restrict what they do with what they buy and will stop buying altogether if what is proposed comes to pass. [Consumers say they] are not buying because of high prices but rather, because what is offered is not worth the money.

"The existing and proposed copy protection measures treat everyone as a criminal regardless of what they intend to do with what they have paid for."

Richard Levine, owner of Interface, Keene, N.H.:

"Customers are outraged at the fact that they can't use regular, and cheap, CD-R blanks in audio CD recorders but have to buy overpriced "Music" blanks. Why? Because the music industry held a gun to the head of the electronics makers and forced them to extract a fee for every blank music CD-R sold and demanded that machines reject regular blanks. The movie/TV industries are doing everything in their power to delay the arrival of HDTV and hold off forever the possibility of consumers actually recording HDTV content either permanently or even temporarily for later viewing at a time more convenient to them. Some schemes allow recording but at greatly reduced video quality, while others simply preclude it altogether.

"While prototype HDTV DVD was demonstrated two years ago at CES, we still await any news of release of machines and discs that actually convey HDTV versions of movies.

"HBOHD and ShowtimeHD on DishNetwork deliver actual HD content only a small percentage of the time and include Dolby 5.1 sound to accompany it still less often. Does the industry have to have its feet held to the fire by Congress before HDTV and home recording thereof finally come to America's living rooms? "

Randy Charles, appliance store manager for an electronics/appliance retailer in central Wisconsin:

"I have been purchasing recorded music since 1958 and have not really stopped... [but] I have slowed way down. For a time I was re-buying my favorite recordings on CD thinking that they would sound so much better… however, re-releases now have become pricey and aren't really worth the bother. The newest music offered DOES stink for the most part. No matter the idiom, our talent bank seems to have run dry.

"[Copy protection] is completely bogus and will hurt sales further. I for one dump quite a few of my CDs onto cassette for use in my van. The cost of a CD makes me nervous [about heat damage and possible theft] when it just sits in my vehicle. [Record companies] are so darn worried about piracy that the worth of their product has been severely devalued!"