Logo

@chadkoh โ€” Generous with Likes โค๏ธ

Warner Bros: You are doing it wrong

The wife got me the Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection boxed (17 discs) set for our anniversary. Yes, well, she got me Lord of the Rings for another anniversary, so it is already well established that she married a total geek. Besides, it is a great present and I hope to enjoy all of the films and books with both of my daughters. I know it is only DVD, but I don’t own a BluRay player, and I do everything digital anyways. So I was excited to see that the boxed set included digital downloads! But not so fast… Take a look at this fine print:

DIGITAL COPY: Includes Standard Definition Digital Copy™ of the film with the purchase of this disc. Special Features not included. โ€ฆ Not compatible with iTunes or with Macintosh and iPod devices. Consumer must reside in Japan and have a broadband internet connection and a DVD-ROM drive. * Mobile Requirements: Digital copy access on mobile phones limited to supported phones using Docomo as a mobile service provider. โ€ฆ PC Requirements: Windowsยฎ XP Service Pack 2 or later or Windowsยฎ Vista or Windowsยฎ 7, Internet Explorerยฎ 6.0 or above. Windows Mediaยฎ Player most recent version, Adobeยฎ Flashยฎ Player most recent version, and Adobeยฎ AIR™ most recent version.

Boy, that last couple of lines is packed full of exciting software that I want to install on my computer [/sarcasm].

Anyways I only have my MacBook Air here in Japan so with no disc drive it doesn’t look like I will be able to get any of the digital versions. Besides, when you go to Warner on Demand Digital copy website there are a number of other restrictions including:

โ€ปDigital Copyใฎใƒ€ใ‚ฆใƒณใƒญใƒผใƒ‰ใฏInternet Explorerใง่กŒใฃใฆใใ ใ•ใ„ใ€‚ไป–ใฎใƒ–ใƒฉใ‚ฆใ‚ถใงใฏๆญฃๅธธใซใƒฉใ‚คใ‚ปใƒณใ‚นใŒ็™บ่กŒใงใใพใ›ใ‚“ใฎใงใ€ใ”ไบ†ๆ‰ฟใใ ใ•ใ„ใ€‚

Yes, digital downloads require Internet Explorer. Apparently they cannot license [the content properly through] other browers thank you for your understanding. (#bullshit)

I know it has all been said before. Hollywood needs to be disrupted, and not just the distribution part of the business. This is such a terrible, terrible experience. I am glad there are alternatives, but it is a sad way to treat paying customers.