(First off, I saw this coming but didn’t think it’d actually get me.)
So, today we showed the new Xbox Video Store on our show. I decided to take my harddisk with me as we were showing more than just the store. I took just the disk, because I didn’t want to carry the whole system – why would I. I guess you already know what’s about to happen.
To show the video quality I bought rented “300” in HD. I knew I was just renting it rather than really owning it. So we played the video on the show for about 20 seconds. The DRM on it lets you finish watching it in 24 hours after playing the file for the first time. So I thought, buy rent and play it after 3pm so I can watch the file tomorrow morning before work.
Well I got home, put the disk on my own Xbox and – well – the license “expired”. I guess you’re not supposed to take your own harddisk around. Why’s that? I’m not copying or – god forbid – sharing it online in any shape or form, I’m just putting it on another Xbox – my Xbox for that matter. I hate this DRM scheme. iTunes’ DRM at least lets me copy my videos and songs on different iPods and/or PCs/Macs at a time. Unnecessary to say that iPods are much more shareable than my Xbox drive. This was the first and probably last time I spent money on the Xbox Video Store. I really should have known better. Shame on you if you fool me once, shame on me if you fool me twice…