DRM and the annoyed consumer...

Today a few DVDs showed up in my mailbox - a day ahead of schedule. I popped DVD numero uno in my DVD player and promptly was annoyed. You couldn't skip to the main menu without both a Universal Pictures intro sequence plus an anti-piracy warning that seems to run for a full 15 seconds or so. Once again I'm reminded of why a lot of people prefer to download things. DRM generally means that people can enjoy a superior product by going the illegal way (or in the case of music the disapproved-of-by-record-companies way). Crippling your customers is generally not a good way to get them to buy your products, unless you've already gotten them locked in.

This time the silly control lockouts most DVD players have built in were finally enough to push me over the edge and start digging around for hacks for the player. The only one that I've uncovered thus far is the typical region-free hack, but that doesn't accomplish what I want.