Manufacturers, movie studies pitch DRM "ecosystem" (again)

The likes of Fox, NBC, Sony, Paramount, and Toshiba are proposing a new copy-protection scheme that'll let you "pay once, play everywhere"—except (for now, at least) on your iPod.

So, here's what's happening: A "who's who" of consumer-tech manufactures and movie studios are proposing something called the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, a.k.a. DECE, according to Reuters.

What's DECE? Basically, it would be a new form of DRM, except it would be a standard agreed upon by all members of the ... er, ecosystem. Ideally, it would mean that a DECE-protected video from, say, NBC would work on your Sony Walkman, your Toshiba set-top box, or your HP Media Center. Likewise, a movie from Paramount would also work on your DECE-compliant devices. So we're talking digital media utopia—provided you're dealing with media and devices within the DECE jungle. (Also part of the deal: a "rights locker" containing all your digital videos.)

Details of the proposed system won't be made public until CES in January, but the consortium did tick off all its members: Alcatel-Lucent, Best Buy, Cisco, Comcase, Fox, HP, Intel, Lions Gate, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Paramount, Philips, Sony, Toshiba, VeriSign, and Warner Brothers.

Who's missing? LG, Samsung, Pioneer, Disney, and, of course, Apple, maker of the most popular digital media player on the planet. ("We encourage Apple to join," said a DECE spokesperson. Don't hold your breath.)

We've been initiatives like the DECE before—remember PlaysForSure from Microsoft? It worked great, for what it was, until the non PlaysForSure-compliant Zune hit stores.

Of course, the ultimate, foolproof "pay once, play everywhere" scheme would be no DRM at all—a methodology that's been embraced by the major music labels, and so far as I can tell, the music industry hasn't gone down in flames. (Indeed, Amazon's MP3 store—while trailing far behind iTunes in terms of sales—is starting to put up some decent numbers).

So, how about it, Hollywood—why not DRM-free TV shows and movies?

Related:
Media group to create new digital video "ecosystem" [Reuters]