DVD does not allow advance of position

RickD wrote on 8/23/2008, 3:03 PM

I have been trying to solve a problem with Windows Media Player with no luck. It seems that for many DVDs I play (not ones that I produce with DVD Architect), the position slider bar at the bottom of the screen does not work. When I click it to advance to another position the slider temporarily moves there but then immediately jumps back to where it was when I release the mouse.

My research into the issue indicates that this is intentional behavior introduced by the DVD creators. They force you to watch from beginning to end with no skipping around.

Is that true? Is there some type of configuration that allows you to do that with a DVD? I have looked all over the DVD Architect documentation but have been unable to find anything about it. My goal is to understand this "feature" and how it is implemented.

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 8/23/2008, 3:13 PM

It's called "Prohibited User Operation" (PUO). It is a feature that absolutely stinks. Usually it is put there by lawyers wanting to make sure you look at the FBI warnings, etc., but it is also used by vain DVD authors who want you to admire all their menu transitions, introductions, etc.

Some of the tools used to illegally rip DVDs have features which can remove PUOs. DVD Decrypter is the best-known of these tools. However, if your DVD is encrypted (as are most commercial DVDs), the act of breaking this Decss encryption -- even if you own the DVD -- is considered (in the USA) illegal, even if all you want to do is get rid of the PUOs.

Of course, compared to the DRM found in more modern technology (such as BluRay), PUOs are nothing.

Ain't progress wonderful?

Sigh ... remember the good old days when all you had to do was drop the needle?

John_Cline wrote on 8/23/2008, 5:08 PM

"remember the good old days when all you had to do was drop the needle?"

Oh yeah, ticks and pops, surface noise and inner groove distortion. Yep, those were the days! :)

RickD wrote on 8/24/2008, 8:41 AM

But I don't see anything about PUO in DVD Architect, Not that I would want to use it, but I am interested in understanding how it is applied.

The thing that I don't understand about the DVD I bought though, is why would anybody conceivably want to use PUO in the manner that it was used on this particular product? It's simply a 1960s television show (Route 66) and contains 30 episodes of about 50 minutes each - no commercials. Each episode must be viewed from beginning to end with no skipping backward or forward.

What possible reason could the producer have for doing something like that? There are no transitions of any type as you mentioned. In fact, one of the selling points is that each episode has been restored to its original running length and presentation.

And I agree that DRM is the work of the devil. As a creative artist I respect copyrights to the greatest extent. I have thousands of CDs and many DVDs - none of which I copy for others or accept copied by others. Unfortunately, I understand that I am in the distinct minority when it comes to the general public. Most people feel that music and video content should be free, and that essentially is with all of the illegal duplicating software available.

johnmeyer wrote on 8/24/2008, 11:21 AM

But I don't see anything about PUO in DVD ArchitectYes, it's there, if you have DVD Architect and not the Studio product (although maybe it has it too; I don't know). If you click on one of your movies in the left side of the screen, then on the right side you'll see all sorts of options under the Remote Buttons section. All you have to do is set Fast Scan or Backward scan to "Off," and you have now made it impossible for the user to scan through that particular video. The more of these settings you set to "Off," the more restrictive you make playing that particular video asset. Turn them all off, and the poor user will just have to sit there and twiddle their thumbs, waiting for your work of art to play until finished.

Kennymusicman wrote on 8/25/2008, 5:00 AM

Perhaps seemingly odd - try Media Player Classic and see if you still have the same problem. I had a machine which had media player 11, and it got itself "confused" over time, and stopped allowing skipping as you describe for certain media formats. (including plain old audio wav or mp3 (I forget which) )

It could just be media player that's the problem, but it could also be as described above...