I've been reading a lot of the posts about people complaining that if Blu-ray is truly the one format that will exist a year or so from now, that consumers "will be hurt" by things like more DRM and region encoding.

My question is: do we think that most people really care about these things?

I think about people like my mom, my boss, my best friend next door, my neighbor, etc... who would walk into a store, buy a movie, and if they take it home and it plays on their machine, then that's what matters most to them.

I, for one, have admittedly ripped DVDs for my iPhone or PSP but I feel like I'm in a minority of consumers. Also, I've never imported movies, nor do I believe I"m going to be moving to Europe or Asia anytime soon and suddenly, my collection would become obsolete.

So I buy the argument that for a small group of techies or international folks, DRM and region encoding might be a bad thing. But does it really affect a mass audience?

Yes, just see how much success media home servers and NAS are having, and the marked for this is growing and growing. The music industry are now giving in to the demand of DRM free media.

I hate to see bluray win just because of this. It's a step back for every consumer, and they will find out sooner or later.

I've been reading a lot of the posts about people complaining that if Blu-ray is truly the one format that will exist a year or so from now, that consumers "will be hurt" by things like more DRM and region encoding.

My question is: do we think that most people really care about these things?

I think about people like my mom, my boss, my best friend next door, my neighbor, etc... who would walk into a store, buy a movie, and if they take it home and it plays on their machine, then that's what matters most to them.

I, for one, have admittedly ripped DVDs for my iPhone or PSP but I feel like I'm in a minority of consumers. Also, I've never imported movies, nor do I believe I"m going to be moving to Europe or Asia anytime soon and suddenly, my collection would become obsolete.

So I buy the argument that for a small group of techies or international folks, DRM and region encoding might be a bad thing. But does it really affect a mass audience?


IMHO, no. It didn't affect me nor most people for DVD. Seems most people have a nicely stocked DVD collection don't they? The average person (your boss, my boss, our parents) could care less. They go down to BB buy the DVD they want and watch it. That's it.

I think the real issue here is that some people don't like it that a company is dictating they can't buy a something somewhere else and use it at home. They feel they're being dictated to by the "Man". Maybe it's more than that but it's for someone that has an issue to expain.

The average consumer doesn't even know what DRM or Region coding is, and as long as it is transparent they never will.

Does the average consumer really care about DRM or region encoding?

Not at all.

Does the average consumer really care about DRM or region encoding?


Probably not. But do 99% of the people here at AVS constitute or care about being an "average consumer"??

Up until a few years ago, the average consumer was still on VHS. You wanna be lumped in with that crowd?

Of course it does. Why do you think region-free hacks and dvd players blossomed everywhere? Because people want to watch movies everywhere with no restrictions. They want to buy a movie on their vacation to Italy and watch it on their player back in the USA.

This attitude has fueled a new generation of region-free DVD players. Chinese helped that happen and now we can basically in most cases have secret codes or updates to our own players and have them be region free.

Well, with Blu-Ray, you can say goodbuy to that, because CE companies will not allow chinese to devalue Blu-Ray. It will be franatically controllered by the BDA and all that in effort to keep $300 Blu-Ray players the absolute minimum for any manufacturer.

I don't have really any other facts to back up prevention of Chinese influence by cutting them out, but all said and done we'll see. BDA has already shown they have no intention of opening up to Chine more globally for Blu-Ray.

The average consumer doesn't even know what DRM or Region coding is, and as long as it is transparent they never will.

Agreed, most people want to watch the content of the media they are buying. If you ask the average person on the street on what do they feel about DRM or regional encoding, they will have no idea what your talking about. And if you explain it to them, they won't care about the subject. You would probably bore them to death.

A lot of Overseas consumers like me get very sensitive to Region Coding.

The average consumer doesn't even know what DRM or Region coding is, and as long as it is transparent they never will.

Yep.

The average consumer buys a disc from a local B&M store or an online store located in their country and pops it into their set-top player which they also bought from a local B&M store or an online store located in their country. I'm sorry to say this, but people who import movies are actually relatively rare in the major industrialized countries, because the movies are widely available to them without jumping through hoops.

A lot of Overseas consumers like me are get very sensitive to Region Coding.

Exactly, I think that consumers in the US probably hasn't any problem with region coding, but take a look at Europe and Australia where you cannot buy a DVD player with region coding (almost...).
I know that I'm no average consumer, but I have co-workers who have imported quite a bit as "average consumers" so yes, I think that region coding could become an irritation for all us in region B.

I don't think I'm average, and I don't even care.

Exactly, I think that consumers in the US probably hasn't any problem with region coding, but take a look at Europe and Australia where you cannot buy a DVD player with region coding (almost...).
I know that I'm no average consumer, but I have co-workers who have imported quite a bit as "average consumers" so yes, I think that region coding could become an irritation for all us in region B.

Yep, the problem of Blu-Ray supporter/gamer mentality in general. I just need it to work for myself and do what I want, screw the rest.

So I buy the argument that for a small group of techies or international folks, DRM and region encoding might be a bad thing. But does it really affect a mass audience?

In a word: No

(caveat: I'm referring to US consumers only)

What they do care about is when their new movie takes forever to load, or doesn't play at all. They may not know DRM can cause this, but it annoys nonetheless.

BTW, I don't think that the "average" consumer gives a rat's ass about HD or BD. At least not for quite a while down the road, 5 to 6 years at the least.

Yep, the problem of Blu-Ray supporter/gamer mentality in general. I just need it to work for myself and do what I want, screw the rest.

Or maybe there are some like myself who have both friends and family in the movie industry. And think that they should have some control over their work. And region coding does just that.

DRM, no not really. Region coding **** YES I hate region coding with a passion. Most companies are so slow to release in other parts of the globe. Do you know how many Fox titles we have in NZ. I know we are a small country in this world. But to not release one title, that's right not even one, bloody pisses me right off.

<<<< Slightly above average consumer.

<<<< Doesn't care about DRM and region encoding.

Yep, the problem of Blu-Ray supporter/gamer mentality in general. I just need it to work for myself and do what I want, screw the rest.

Wow I hope you are Amish because if not, you have plenty of things that "work" that the rest of the world is not privy to.

One thing that everyone may be missing is the fact that HDM is a niche product right now and many are predicting that it will stay that way.

Given that, do the potential customers care about DRM and region coding? Possibly, since a significant percentage of buyers may be the AVS forum types. It's not being purchased by the average consumer, but by enthusiasts and that potentially could continue for many years.

Note that I do agree that the average consumer that is buying DVD's right now does not care at all, at least here in the U.S.

Or maybe there are some like myself who have both friends and family in the movie industry. And think that they should have some control over their work. And region coding does just that.
As you probably already know, people will copy computer software, DVD movies and music without any remorse.

My neighbor - young guy in his 20's - just came over the other day to say "Do you want to watch 'Oceans 13'?" I told him it's in my Netflix queue, but he said he downloaded it on his computer and ripped it onto a DVD. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him I won't watch ANY pirated products - you would swear he thought I was from Mars.

A *LOT* of people today rip DVDs for backups and the ability to play them on other devices. My in-laws rip dvds to play on their ipod. Portable DVD players are lame!

A *LOT* of people today rip DVDs for backups and the ability to play them on other devices. My in-laws rip dvds to play on their ipod. Portable DVD players are lame!
That's the whole crux of the issue. Copying something that you own for legitimate reasons shouldn't be stopped, but how do you stop the pirates? Piracy has gotten so bad that owners of the content have gotten to the point of saying no one should copy - and I, for one, can't blame them.

The average consumer buys a disc from a local B&M store or an online store located in their country and pops it into their set-top player which they also bought from a local B&M store or an online store located in their country. I'm sorry to say this, but people who import movies are actually relatively rare in the major industrialized countries, because the movies are widely available to them without jumping through hoops.

Incorrect. There are many movies that are available in the US or other countries that are not available in the UK.

And for the ones that are available, chances are they are a lot more expensive, have more language tracks (and therefore a lower video bitrate and lower quality picture or less interactive features (eg. King Kong)).

The caviler attitude of young people toward intellectual property theft is scary to me. We live in nation where manufacturing jobs are going away. Now low-level service jobs are starting to go the same way.

What we can do well is produce and market intellectual property. Just because it can be digitized and sent over the Internet doesn't mean it should be free.

It makes me so angry to see our manufacturing jobs go overseas while many of those nations openly steal our software, movies, books, drug patents, etc. without any fear of repercussion.

That said, I've yet to see a DRM scheme for software or movies that can really stop determined pirates.

The average consumer isn't the one buying HDM right now. But I do care about DRM since it is on SD material as well, why shouldn't I be able to rip a movie I legally bought to a hard drive on a media server to play whenever I want, or why shouldn't I be able to convert it to a format I can play on my iPod or PDA?

I think the issue here is reliability, flexibility and portability. It is a classic case of the entertainment industry wanting folks to buy the same product multiple times in order to enjoy that purchased product in the house, car, running down the street, etc. and the consumer thinks one purchase should be enough. Then you have organizations like the riaa and mpaa running around accusing anyone who ever dubbed music or videos to their computer or portable device to enjoy while traveling as being thieves - that sure doesn't help matters or endear the industry to their customers.

The average consumer buys a disc from a local B&M store or an online store located in their country and pops it into their set-top player which they also bought from a local B&M store or an online store located in their country. I'm sorry to say this, but people who import movies are actually relatively rare in the major industrialized countries, because the movies are widely available to them without jumping through hoops.

Yes, most people do not care about region coding because of the many deals with DVD these days. But expensive player models that cannot be made region free do not sell.

How does that go for br releases ar 34..40 euro a pop? These do not sell at all. Are you buying at retail with prices ranging from $42..$50? With bogo deals perhaps.


Now for movie buffs it's essential to be region free.
Reasons:
Not having to wait several months for a region B releases after the region A release.
Paying $20..$26 at Amazon instead of 34..40 euro at local retail. I can wait a few weeks to wait for titles to show up in the PO box.

With these differences a 100 disc collection alone is sufficient to justify a $2000 Denon player.

The only br player worthy of purchase right now is 600 euro's overhere.
To get to the HD audio with that player I need to spend 1800euro on an Onkyo 905. And even that is slightly less than the audio quality I enjoy right now.

No, the average person does not care about either of these. Contrary to what seems to be popular opinion on internet forums, average people do not rip or import DVDs. The average person rents or purchases from Best Buy or Wal Mart.

The only time DRM will affect average people is if it doesn't work right and limits their ability to put the disc in the player and enjoy the content.

As for region coding, the average person will not go through the trouble of importing a movie. If it's available locally they'll buy it. If not, they'll wait or pass on it.

These issues may be problems for enthusiasts, but the average person just wants to play the movies and features in all of their capable players IMO.

As Drm stands now, no average consumer cares, although awareness has risen with the age of the ipod and broadband , the average consume will care when the drm changes and becomes more aggressive which can easily happen on a market where there is no competition to draw a comparison in, such as our near possible future in HDM! I own both and as it is like them both alot but the future will tell. The music industry seems to be dropping drm , the last few labels falling into line recently, but I'm sure the only reason they did was because the comparrison was going to be draw and album sales were going to be hurt......... It would not be a happy HD future if the movie you just bought is "watermarked" to only play in the first player its inserted in ,no one wants a 7 inch 400$ portable hdm disk player so the kids can watch nimo at home in the mini van and at grandmas.... DRM is a sleeping giant.

If the average consumer cared, the average consumer would have purchased a region free DVD player, and they certainly haven't done this. Region free DVD players constitute some 3% of the DVD market.

Region free DVD players constitute some 3% of the DVD market.

Maybe that number is true for the US market only. However, it is virtually impossible to find a region locked DVD player in Asia. Even the Blu-Ray players from Sony, Samsung and now Pioneer are region free [DVD and Blu-Ray playback both].

If the average consumer cared, the average consumer would have purchased a region free DVD player, and they certainly haven't done this. Region free DVD players constitute some 3% of the DVD market.

A quick search on videohelp.com reveals over 5000 DVD players have "hacks" reported for them. The majority of these hacks involve disabling region coding.

The average pirate cares more than the average consumer.

I'm sure all the "average consumers" here on AVS will let us know what they think. :rolleyes:

True.
I dont really think AVS'ers could be called average consumers.
I could deal with,not be happy about,but deal with the draconian DRM,but really appreciate and want Region Free for all the material that will never be released in the states,but that is available internationaly.

No.

No.

+1

If it wasn't for AVS, I'm not even sure I'd be aware of them.

But alas, if it wasn't for AVS, I'd have a far poorer home theater picture than I have now, and I'd probably still think that whatever I had was "perfect". Really, screw you all for illustrating to me things like black detail, fill ratio, screen door, and rainbows. :)

They put region code in today's DVD for a reason and purpose.

HD-DVD group had it region free code because it was early in the hi-def stage so they used it as a leverage to consumer to buy them. And if they had won this game, then they would need to enforce region code. I find it funny how HD-DVD use region free as it would be forever. LOL...

I don't think any consumer wants or cares about DRM and region coding but it is needed. Unfortunately, one bad bunch is all it takes to ruin a good thing for everyone in every continent. Piracy is a big issue and studios need to protect their investments.

No, the average consumer does not care.

DRM is one thing but region encode is another. I don't think the average consumer cares about region encoding it's just unfortunate that if I want to import a movie I can't. I watch a lot of foreign movies so this is a pretty big disapointment for me having to WAIT for it to become available in the states... if it ever does.

DRM is fine IMO.

No average consumer probably don't give a damn about DRM and region encoding.

I actually care about both region encoding and DRM however that hasn't made me support HD-DVD over Blu-ray. For one thing a lot of Blu-ray titles are in fact region free and at the moment. I also have no interest in doing my own x264 backup of HD contents (too much CPU time even on a Core 2 Duo). Besides HD-DVDs also have the AACS encryption scheme so it's not like one format is completely free and the other is shackled down.

Yes, DRM matters. My wife was not too pleased when I told her that I would be unable to transcode an HD-DVD we bought so should could watch it on her ipod. "But you can do that with the DVD's?" Although the video and sound quality is great on the big living room TV, to her (and I), this is a step backwards in usability.

She, like nearly most other consumers knows very little about DRM other than it's highly annoying when it gets in the way.

iahawkeye, this has nothing to do with "intellectual property theft". It has everything to do with using the media I purchase in a manner that I see fit on devices that I own.

-Steve

I consider myself an "above average consumer" and I don't care about region coding or DRM (at least in the form that DVD\HD-DVD\Blu-ray use).

As long as the movie I purchased plays..... I'm happy.

the olny thing that dmr hurts is the end consomer but if you want to pirate movies it is posible but the end user usaly dont pirate movies. and if the end user makes a copy it usaly is 1 copy for a faimly or friend.

I don't think I'm average, and I don't even care.

EXACTLY!

Best post here.

the olny thing that dmr hurts is the end consomer but if you want to pirate movies it is posible but the end user usaly dont pirate movies. and if the end user makes a copy it usaly is 1 copy for a faimly or friend.

One copy for family or friends times millions of buyers adds up quick. So it really is about intellectual property rights.

I work for a company that would fold if intellectual property rights were not upheld. In fact, many industries count on it to survive. I have no problem with DRM.

When I buy a DVD, no one promised I can play it on an ipod or anywhere else but my DVD player. Why should I expect to?

I will say one thing. I bouth T2 Extreme DVD for the HD WMV version on the disc. NONE of my Windows XP machines would play the file (after installing the disc's DRM player mess that connects to the internet). Emailed customer support of Interactual and they told me some version of Windows were not supported... I was like WTF? It's Window F****** XP! To this day, I have never been able to watch the video BECAUSE of the crazy DRM they put on that sucker... That's why people have problems with it.

My question is: do we think that most people really care about these things?

No, I don't think the majority will care.

With that being said, I don't care about the majority, I care about me. Not being able to watch something I've purchased how I want to watch it is not right, nor is not being able to back up in case of damage or theft right.

At least the big 4 music labels (not the RIAA) have finally removed their collective heads from the sand and begun offering DRM-free music. The movie industry may or may not eventually follow, there's generally much more riding financially on each piece of content, not to mention proportionately less content overall.

One copy for family or friends times millions of buyers adds up quick. So it really is about intellectual property rights.

I work for a company that would fold if intellectual property rights were not upheld. In fact, many industries count on it to survive. I have no problem with DRM.

IP and copyrighted material are two very different animals. One you sell to end-users and the transaction is completed, the other you either license or retain in-house.

To answer the OP, absolutely not. None of my relatives or friends have ever bought an import DVD (I have a few HK kung few flicks) and have no issue with DRM. It is a non-issue for the masses. Movie availability is the main issue once a quality player is in their price range. Already a few people I know are looking at Blu-ray since the "war" is favoring its side.

The average consumer doesn't even know what DRM or Region coding is, and as long as it is transparent they never will.

You mean, the average AMERICAN consumer doesn't even know what Region coding is.

The rest of the world is sick of it and is sick of the Hollywood studios' typical insularity regarding this issue. Regional coding promotes software piracy. If consumers can't play a disc in their system, they'll likely not even bother trying to buy it legally and will acquire the content another way. If they can't play their newly purchased disc, they'll perhaps even turn to piracy out of spite.

Additionally, consider this scenario with Standard DVD: multi-region owners who want to take imported content to watch on their friends' region locked player, what's the only option, short of lugging the player around? Make a DVD-R copy without the region code. What do you suppose happens to the copy? It probably won't get put in the trash after it's served its initial purpose.

The argument for region coding seems to be to protect international release windows - at least that's the answer the BDA people have given me whenever I've taken them to task on it. I don't think this a valid argument. People who don't want to go to the cinema to see a film will probably download a camcorded version anyway. And without seeing local promotion (TV ads, etc) for a new release, people probably won't know that it exists anyway (unless it's a big name blockbuster).

As for DRM: that's much less of an issue, IMO, but still potentially irritating.

You mean, the average AMERICAN consumer doesn't even know what Region coding is.

The rest of the world is sick of it and is sick of the Hollywood studios' typical insularity regarding this issue. Regional coding promotes software piracy. If consumers can't play a disc in their system, they'll likely not even bother trying to buy it legally and will acquire the content another way. If they can't play their newly purchased disc, they'll perhaps even turn to piracy out of spite.

Additionally, consider this scenario with Standard DVD: multi-region owners who want to take imported content to watch on their friends' region locked player, what's the only option, short of lugging the player around? Make a DVD-R copy without the region code. What do you suppose happens to the copy? It probably won't get put in the trash after it's served its initial purpose.

The argument for region coding seems to be to protect international release windows - at least that's the answer the BDA people have given me whenever I've taken them to task on it. I don't think this a valid argument. People who don't want to go to the cinema to see a film will probably download a camcorded version anyway. And without seeing local promotion (TV ads, etc) for a new release, people probably won't know that it exists anyway (unless it's a big name blockbuster).

As for DRM: that's much less of an issue, IMO, but still potentially irritating.

Here here. I am absolutaly sick to death of region coding, especially when its impossible to get company's like Fox to release movies here. It is the typical US attitude of if it doesn't affect us, WHO BLOODY CARES.

Yes... if I pay for a movie I should have rights to do what I want with it. If I want to put it on my ipod who's to tell me that I have to rebuy the movie in a different format. HDCP is another load of BS... DRM is anti consumer

It is the typical US attitude of if it doesn't affect us, WHO BLOODY CARES.Yes, exactly. What's the High Def media section of most stores over there like, Craig? Here in the UK it's pretty depressing: the same titles I've had from the US months ago, with prices ranging anywhere from £20 to £30 (the Star Trek Season 1 box set costs £120!!!) and a much more limited selection.

If I didn't have access to US imports, I wouldn't bother with High Def media at all.

Only when you wasted too much time in AVS...

Yes, exactly. What's the High Def media section of most stores over there like, Craig? Here in the UK it's pretty depressing: the same titles I've had from the US months ago, with prices ranging anywhere from £20 to £30 (the Star Trek Season 1 box set costs £120!!!) and a much more limited selection.

If I didn't have access to US imports, I wouldn't bother with High Def media at all.

Very disappointing at the moment. We have only had the media for about 6 months now. I'd say roughly 50 HD-Dvds and 70 Blu-rays. Most of those have been released, but are never in stock. We only have a handful of stores that even stock at all. Usually they will have 20 HD's and 40 BD's in stock.
That is my whole reason for wanting to import them from the US. But because of region coding I have to be careful what I buy or I will be stuck with a dud disk that I can't play.

To put it simply -- no.

Not only do they not care, but they don't even know what those things are.

Hell 'regular joes' still don't even know what 1080p/1080i/720p etc. are aside from the 5 minute lecture they get from a Best Buy employee, which they promptly forget on the way to their car.

Hell 'regular joes' still don't even know what 1080p/1080i/720p etc. are aside from the 5 minute lecture they get from a Best Buy employee, which they promptly forget on the way to their car.

Considering some of the stuff I've overheard from Best Buy, and Circuit City, employees, they would do well to forget it on the way to the car.

DRM, no not really. Region coding **** YES I hate region coding with a passion. Most companies are so slow to release in other parts of the globe. Do you know how many Fox titles we have in NZ. I know we are a small country in this world. But to not release one title, that's right not even one, bloody pisses me right off.

Hey man, fellow NZer here!

That's exactly why I loved HD DVD!

Fox have at least one title out here: The Simpsons Movie. Although I don't find that particularly appealing personally.

Hey man, fellow NZer here!

That's exactly why I loved HD DVD!

Fox have at least one title out here: The Simpsons Movie. Although I don't find that particularly appealing personally.

Yes that was one of my original reasons for buying HD-Dvd as well. If Blu-ray dropped Region coding, I certainly wouldn't miss it.

I would argue that the average consumer prefers region coding, they just don't realize it. For example, most U.S. consumers would rather be able to purchase Hairspray and Rush Hour 3 while the movies are still in theaters in other parts of the world. A lack of region coding means some studios will delay their releases.

Don't get me wrong, I personally love being able to buy titles and not worry about region coding, but I think realistically the average consumer would be more likely to get irritated about a 1-3 month delay in getting their DVD or HDM title than whether or not they can import a movie from the UK or Australia.

Did I mention how much I hate Region coding. Hmmm can't remember if I did or not. :D

Of course it does. Why do you think region-free hacks and dvd players blossomed everywhere? Because people want to watch movies everywhere with no restrictions. They want to buy a movie on their vacation to Italy and watch it on their player back in the USA.

This attitude has fueled a new generation of region-free DVD players. Chinese helped that happen and now we can basically in most cases have secret codes or updates to our own players and have them be region free.

Well, with Blu-Ray, you can say goodbuy to that, because CE companies will not allow chinese to devalue Blu-Ray. It will be franatically controllered by the BDA and all that in effort to keep $300 Blu-Ray players the absolute minimum for any manufacturer.

I don't have really any other facts to back up prevention of Chinese influence by cutting them out, but all said and done we'll see. BDA has already shown they have no intention of opening up to Chine more globally for Blu-Ray.

Chinese influence is not a good thing. It's still Communist China keep your money with the Japanese and Koreans as much as possible.

I've been reading a lot of the posts about people complaining that if Blu-ray is truly the one format that will exist a year or so from now, that consumers "will be hurt" by things like more DRM and region encoding.

My question is: do we think that most people really care about these things?


My experience with people I know from DVD, is that DRM and to a lesser extent region coding (it's more specific to a younger crowd, who purchase on the internet, and is so widely cracked here that people like my mum doesnt even know it exists because of her multiregion player) is ALL that they care about. DRM has never been any problem to pirates nor will it ever be, it only affects regular consumers and particularly J6P's who aren't tech-savvy enough to deal with it.

I've shown HD to most of my family and friends, and they can all see the improved picture quality and reacted favourably. But I know for a fact that not a single one of them cares enough about it, to give up the level of functionality they have with DVD (copying, burning, etc)

J6P doesn't care yet, but when Sony starts taking it to the extreme, doing things that make the rootkit debacle look tame (like locking disks to a player, etc), then they will start to care.

You mean, the average AMERICAN consumer doesn't even know what Region coding is.

The rest of the world is sick of it and is sick of the Hollywood studios' typical insularity regarding this issue. Regional coding promotes software piracy. If consumers can't play a disc in their system, they'll likely not even bother trying to buy it legally and will acquire the content another way. If they can't play their newly purchased disc, they'll perhaps even turn to piracy out of spite.

Additionally, consider this scenario with Standard DVD: multi-region owners who want to take imported content to watch on their friends' region locked player, what's the only option, short of lugging the player around? Make a DVD-R copy without the region code. What do you suppose happens to the copy? It probably won't get put in the trash after it's served its initial purpose.

The argument for region coding seems to be to protect international release windows - at least that's the answer the BDA people have given me whenever I've taken them to task on it. I don't think this a valid argument. People who don't want to go to the cinema to see a film will probably download a camcorded version anyway. And without seeing local promotion (TV ads, etc) for a new release, people probably won't know that it exists anyway (unless it's a big name blockbuster).

As for DRM: that's much less of an issue, IMO, but still potentially irritating.

This is soooo true. I don't care if they put DRM that only NASA can break just let me import movies... I can deal with only using the physical media to watch my movies.

I don't think the general public cares in the US but I am sure it's a MUCH bigger deal in other parts of the world. Region Coding doesn't cause piracy but it DEFINITELY does not help it.

The old saying goes.... "Locks only keep honest people honest."

In the case of DRM and region coding as it pertains to the U.S. consumer, the overwhelming majority don't even know there IS a lock and it doesn't effect them in the least.

It's hard to get worked up and care about something that you don't know exists.

For example, most U.S. consumers would rather be able to purchase Hairspray and Rush Hour 3 while the movies are still in theaters in other parts of the world.

I'd venture to say most people don't when movies are coming out on video. They learn it thru tv commercials or their video store. I doubt they go online and count down to release dates like we do.

A lot of people care about DRM and region encoding, but that number is easily dwarfed by the number of 'average' people who just want to be able to buy or rent a movie from their local Best Buy/Circuit City/Blockbuster/Hollywood Video/Netflix/whatever, pop it in their player, and watch it.

I'd say the number of people who are truly passionate about DRM and region encoding is about the same as the number who watch all the extra bonus material on a DVD.

I've been reading a lot of the posts about people complaining that if Blu-ray is truly the one format that will exist a year or so from now, that consumers "will be hurt" by things like more DRM and region encoding.

My question is: do we think that most people really care about these things?I can't speak for "we." But for me, YES! Absolutely I think they do, or eventually will, care about these things... at least the DRM side of it. The problem is, they DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT or (more importantly) understand its potential to severely restrict when, where, and how the discs they purchase can be used. And no small wonder... BD+ is arguably the biggest of Blu-ray's "dirty little secrets," and never gets talked about openly in the marketplace (or anywhere else mainstream, it seems).

I would argue that the average consumer prefers region coding, they just don't realize it. For example, most U.S. consumers would rather be able to purchase Hairspray and Rush Hour 3 while the movies are still in theaters in other parts of the world. A lack of region coding means some studios will delay their releases.

But that is something that can be easily managed by the studio. Note that Region A on blu-ray includes territories in DVD regions 1-4. Clearly New Line had to delay the release of the DVD & blu-ray to ensure that the movie was no longer in theaters in the areas of regions 2-4 that are now part of blu-ray A. Meanwhile, region 5 is split into Blu-ray B or C, so new line has to manage that as well when those discs are to be released.

People who are immigrants or the children of immigrants & have friends or relatives who live in countries in other regions will see the effects of region coding when discs purchased elsewhere won't play in their players. I've seen Region 4 discs sold here in stores around San Diego county because of the large Mexican population in the area. I also know that a lot of (not big chain) electronics stores also sell region free DVD players precisely because of this.

average consumer no people in the forums or enthusiast in this industry yes.