anyone use DRM to encode videos?
 

well? Do you? What are the pros and cons?

Two of my consulting clients do on a large scale.

Pros are pretty obvious, the end user only gets what he pays for.

Cons are fairly non-existent as I see it.

whats DRM? please elaborate. :helpme

DRM or Digital Rights Management is a system that allows you to digitally lock down your content and assign rights to control the use of that content to those you specifiy.

It is quickly gaining market share as a new method of selling content other than membership sites and it has been very profitable to many webmasters.

See: www.drmnetworks.com for more information.

One of our site uses it OneManBanned.tv

Pros:
Surfers can download full scenes at high quality - no joining files needed.

They can "buy" individual scenes or buy a monthly membership.

Our content is protected and if they end up on Kazza, then its a bonus for us :)

Member retention is good as the files will only play while the surfer is an "active" member.

Theres also a shit load of rules you can set of how you want your set up to work.

We are hopefully soon going to add all the movies from our network into a new PPV site. The surfer then can choose what he/she wants to view. If they like a certain niche, they may join the members site already running. Think of it as a "try before you buy a full membership". (IE: the surfer can buy and download a few films of there choice for a few Dollars before commiting to a monthly membership. In doing this we get more revenue).

Cons:
Having a site using the token model and a normal monthly membership means encoding the the same file twice and uploading twice.

The files don't work on Macs.

Some surfers don't like DRM, but hey, it works for us
:thumbsup

Yes, it's a must if you have your own content on a members server. No more stolen content, and if the shit get's passed around, we make sales from it.

And it's super easy to do.

It does work on macs, but it requires slightly different steps.

Email me if you need the software.

Very interested lensman check ur email

DRM is the shit. If you have a paysite with video and you are not using it then you are losing money. :2 cents:

For Your Members Area
Members Area content, when offered on a downloadable basis has benefits including the ability to allow members to "take the content with them." It offers a consistent and available value to the end user and you retain total control. This allows at the very least, the ability to turn theft into a marketing opportunity.

DRM as a Marketing Tool
If you think of individually secured (DRM'd) content as little URL's the business models really get exciting. No matter where the content goes, you have the ability to talk to the end user in real time and move them anywhere you wish. This could include taking them back to your site, an up sell or you could use the traffic for trades.

DRM for Pay Per View
Take the top videos from your member's area and offer them to end users on a per play basis. Offer users the option to purchase blocks of time (token system) or pay a flat fee to watch the movie as many times as you decide using any whichever process you wish that being IBill, Web900, SMS, Paypal, etc. Place the trailers for these movies on a console. After the user watches the trailer they can be prompted to buy the whole move. If their transaction is approved, then they can download and watch the whole movie. This will save you on those who just want to try it out and not pay. You can tease them with a trailer and only burn bulk bandwidth on paid videos. Place this console as your last exit and see what happens!

http://playadrm.com/Site_Demos.asp

:2 cents:

PS. PlayaDRM was made for webmasters by webmasters

Check out the demo yet?

:thumbsup

sounds intersting. do you use wmv or some other format for it?

We are currently in the process of getting all of our movie files protected by DRM right now. I see no real downside to it. I know some members will complain that they paid to have my movies but I think that is crap. They always try to use the magazine comparison. When they buy a magazine they get it forever, so they should have my content forever. I disagree. When they buy a magazine do they get all the back issues? When they join my site they do. So it really works out fair as the way I see it.

Windows Media is the way to go. 95% of the worlds PC population get this player bundled into their OS and that is where the majority of the PLAY is going to happen - now and into the future.

:2 cents:

It is a win win win for the paysite/content owner for sure. FREE traffic when it comes back!

B - if this is you... looking good so far :thumbsup

We see DRM as a win win for all webmasters. Bottom line is, it's time to stop losing money. the great part is that you dont need to do licenses for 30 days, you can do them for longer. You can just use DRM to make sure that multiple people dont license the same content hence causing you to loose money by preventing "sharing" of access. There are those people out their that believe DRM causes more problems than it's worth. Every new technology that you use can and will cause problems. That doesn't mean that you dont pursue technology that could improve your revenue streams. the point that most people seem to be loosing sight of is that just because one particular site failed to leverage the technology to their advantage, they will fail with it too. Factor in your business process, do it in stages or have a test run and you will do well with DRM as with anything else.


anyone with questions about DRM, please hit me up on ICQ or visit out website. Sammy4u I would love to speak with you regarding DRM. Please hit me up on ICQ.

Important thing is that you can build use DRM for almost ANY business model with the right solution. Dont lock in to a solution where you are bound by the DRM companys rules. Because that is a waste...

:2 cents:

PS. Don't settle for providers with no real life experience; over 30 Million served!

PPS. PlayaDRM

I just had a thought, if Bangbus had DRM on thier videos when they got started they'd be billionaires! :1orglaugh

YES THEY WOULD!

:thumbsup

http://www.playadrm.com/Site_Demos.asp

See how they would have done it!

Their is a lack of understanding of DRM within our very own industry. But it is obvious that protecting content is a very big issue nowadays. So, the question remains. How long will you keep losing money?

If anyone would like more information about our DRM solution, please drop us a line at [email protected]

Just as an added note to the above mentioned, you can reach us via icq at 339126796.

You will find our staff to be quite knowledable with over 4 years of DRM experience.

bumping this hot thread

How do I make DRM work with Macs? What's Lensman's email (he asked to be contacted for help with that)?

WebairDRM.com will be live in a couple of days hit me up we'll get you set up now if necessary.

For more info please visit:
WebairDRM.com

or contact me for more info