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General discussionIntroducing GOG.com DRM-Free Movies(632 posts)(632 posts)
(632 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted August 27, 2014
Cause there's no business like show-business!

Our DRM-Free approach to digital distribution has been the foundation of GOG.com since day one and we're convinced it is now firmly rooted in the gaming industry landscape. More and more users start to expect and demand the digital content they paid for to be free from any kind of restrictive mechanisms that limit access to their collections and get in the way of enjoyment. We think this is a good time to take the next step in our quest to make digital entertainment better for everyone. Today we set out to spread our DRM-Free ideas across the movie industry! That's right: GOG.com now offers DRM-Free movies.

Our goal is to offer you cinema classics as well as some all-time favorite TV series with no DRM whatsoever, for you to download and keep on your hard drive or stream online whenever you feel like it. We talked to most of the big players in the movie industry and we often got a similar answer: "We love your ideas, but … we do not want to be the first ones. We will gladly follow, but until somebody else does it first, we do not want to take the risk". DRM-Free distribution is not a concept their lawyers would accept without hesitation. We kind of felt that would be the case and that it's gonna take patience and time to do it, to do it, to do it right. That's quite a journey ahead of us, but every gamer knows very well that great adventures start with one small step. So why not start with something that feels very familiar? We offer you a number of gaming and internet culture documentaries - all of them DRM-Free, very reasonably priced, and presenting some fascinating insight into topics close to a gamer's heart. Now, what do we have in store for you?

- There's a whole new Movie Catalog for you to browse!
- All the movies we sell are priced at $5.99 (that's a launch promo price for a few of them), and we aim to have that as the main price point for most of our future releases
- Two of the movies - The Art of Playing and TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard are available for FREE, so that you can test our new movie distribution features
- Most of our movies are in Full HD 1080p quality, some in 720p. With those of you with limited bandwidth or download quota in mind, we also supply much lighter 576p versions.
- Apart from downloading your movies you have the option to watch them streaming online, right here on GOG.com
- GOG.com is famous for its bonus goodies - each movie will come with as many of them as we can muster
- You can expect subsequent movie releases each week

That's it. GOG.com Movies is a go, time to get some popcorn!
Posted August 28, 2014
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Terpor: Nice to see some growth on GOG and i would love to see Avatar : The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra on GOG.
I'm guessing the creators would be seduced by that idea as Nick really screwed up the marketing for LoK book 3 and it was relinquished to digital broadcast because of it as TV ratings fell flat.

However, I think Nick would have a big say on the matter so I'd venture to guess it's unlikely for the near future.

That being said, TLA and LoK would be an instabuy for me if it found it's way here.

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mrking58: I don't see this being that successful since we do live the age of Netflix.
Netflix has a limited variety to begin with.

Also, sometimes they remove content from their catalog which makes it good for movies you'll watch once or twice, but not for movies you really want to have long term access to and rewatch over the years.

Also, Netflix is not always an option when I visit friends as some of them have the most basic of internet plans and very low monthly data allowance.

And of course, I can't bring Netflix along with me when I commute as I don't have mobile internet.

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WereCatf: I'm not seeing subtitles available on any of the movies available at the moment, are you guys planning to include subtitles on future titles? I, at least, always watch movies with subtitling on and it kind of makes for a subpar experience to have to hunt around for them.
Ditto. Subtitles are a big deal for me as well. I miss them when they are not available. I'm extremely visual.
Post edited August 28, 2014 by Magnitus
Posted August 28, 2014
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Sabin_Stargem: Maybe GOG could cooperate with the VideoLAN team to distribute their software? It is a freeware and open-source media player, which would be compatible with GOG's ideals in my opinion. Kinda like how FoxIt is bundled with GOG installers to allow people to read their manuals.
Why can't you download it from the many existing mirrors already? All major Linux repos package VLC for example. I don't think there is a point for GOG to do it, unless they just want to help hosting some free software mirrors. Adding more stuff into GOG packages when you can easily get it separately, is not needed.
Post edited August 28, 2014 by shmerl
Posted August 28, 2014
I agree with the others. Please give us multiple formats for the movies. Re-encode them into mkv, webm, daala (in the future), push the boundaries (FLAC, Opus, OGG) and make yourselves better than those providing these for free. Do what bandcamp.com does and give us the choice to be free or proprietary.

Give us the freedom to choose.
Post edited August 28, 2014 by Valoric
Posted August 28, 2014
What the hell, we've had the movie wishlist for less than a day and someone already shat in it.

This is why we can't have nice things.
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RagingChaos: Bandcamp is awesome for music
Not so awesome. They don't have redownloads. I don't know where most of my bandcamp purchases are.
Post edited August 28, 2014 by Starmaker
Posted August 28, 2014
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Starmaker: What the hell, we've had the movie wishlist for less than a day and someone already shat in it.

This is why we can't have nice things.
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RagingChaos: Bandcamp is awesome for music
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Starmaker: Not so awesome. They don't have redownloads. I don't know where most of my bandcamp purchases are.
You can see all the music you've bought in your 'collection' when you sign up.
You can download all your files again if you ask the support (they'll provide you with new links for it). They assume you mostly buy music because you want to support the artist not because you need them files.
If they accept a little different model than the rest of the world it doesn't mean it's bad. Bandcamp is the breath of fresh air in the stale music industry.
Posted August 28, 2014
35 classics gone in exchange for 20 movies....

I just want to play. :/
Post edited August 28, 2014 by Klumpen0815
Posted August 28, 2014
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Klumpen0815: 35 classics gone in exchange for 20 movies....

I just want to play. :/
Those 35 classics are leaving because of GOG's regional pricing policy.
Posted August 28, 2014
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Sabin_Stargem: Maybe GOG could cooperate with the VideoLAN team to distribute their software? It is a freeware and open-source media player, which would be compatible with GOG's ideals in my opinion. Kinda like how FoxIt is bundled with GOG installers to allow people to read their manuals.
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shmerl: Why can't you download it from the many existing mirrors already? All major Linux repos package VLC for example. I don't think there is a point for GOG to do it, unless they just want to help hosting some free software mirrors. Adding more stuff into GOG packages when you can easily get it separately, is not needed.
It is a matter of making customers aware of the media player, and making it easy for them to adopt it. Remember, not all of GOG's customers are technical people, and this will increasingly become the case as the customer base grows.
Posted August 28, 2014
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Klumpen0815: 35 classics gone in exchange for 20 movies....

I just want to play. :/
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Garrison72: Those 35 classics are leaving because of GOG's regional pricing policy.
Not really:
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/newly_regionalpriced_games/page1


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Sabin_Stargem: ...this will increasingly become the case as the customer base grows with iOS/Android hipsters
ftfy
Post edited August 28, 2014 by Klumpen0815
Posted August 28, 2014
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ng: You can download all your files again if you ask the support (they'll provide you with new links for it). They assume you mostly buy music because you want to support the artist not because you need them files.
And that's why it's not awesome. I do actually need the files, obscure indie musicians are not well represented on torrent trackers for me to redownload from there.

Also, if the majority of people didn't want the files, Bandcamp would have no problem offering unlimited downloads.

Bandcamp is the only place I buy music, because it's the best - but "the best" isn't a terribly high bar to clear.
Posted August 28, 2014
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Valoric: I agree with the others. Please give us multiple formats for the movies. Re-encode them into mkv, webm, daala (in the future), push the boundaries (FLAC, Opus, OGG) and make yourselves better than those providing these for free. Do what bandcamp.com does and give us the choice to be free or proprietary.

Give us the freedom to choose.
+1 for Daala & Opus which is the future of video, but we'll have to wait for quite a while until Daala will reach release state. According to the project plan - it's at least in the end of 2015. And then frameworks, browsers and players will have to adopt it still.
Posted August 28, 2014
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Starmaker: Bandcamp is the only place I buy music, because it's the best - but "the best" isn't a terribly high bar to clear.
Amen to that.
Posted August 28, 2014
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Garrison72: I'm afraid I need to be educated here.

1. Who buys movies? Don't the vast majority rent them? Or for that matter, stream them?

2. Who the hell pays 7.49 for Indie Game: the Movie? O_o...And that's half off! I can rent it for $2 at the local video store.

3. People like to collect games, books or music. Very few people collect movies. The majority of the time, we watch movies once and then move on. This makes the high price points make even less sense.

4. This is a highly competitive space, with the likes of Amazon and Net Flicks, both of whom offer rentals for far less than the prices listed here.

I was hoping GOG would have branched out into music or books. But movies? Good lord, if they thought games were pirated a lot... So yeah, someone please tell why this is a profitable idea on GOG's part because I'm somewhat baffled by this.
As many others have said, movie collecting is indeed a very big thing. I myself am an avid collector of films with 100+ DVDS (as well as some Blurays), primarily in the horror and cult genres.
I guess one point is that generally speaking, movies and DVDs are significantly cheaper than most physical games. My local store sells most films for under $15 and many for under $10. It's pretty easy and accessible to build your collection quickly.
Sure, most people probably aren't going to go out and buy a DVD that they haven't seen before, likely they'll rent or stream first, but if they do enjoy it an actual purchase is very possible. For those who like their stuff in digital format, it's quite understandable that they'd be willing to get it DRM-Free on GOG, even if the price is higher than a rent or other services.

The selection may not be great at the moment, but in time it will surely increase and provide a much better service.
As long as they bring Twin Peaks over, I'll be happy. Anything that has Twin Peaks must be good! ;)
Posted August 28, 2014
Some other things which do not work anymore:

- Cannot change my avatar anymore (stick it to the forum options menu back)
- No avatar in the main menu bar (I guess to colorful for it)
- Thought I lost my stickies, but stumbled on them somehow after wild searching for it)
Post edited August 28, 2014 by coffeecup
Posted August 28, 2014
Hmmm... while I don't care for the movies it will make some people happy so I am fine with this addition to the catalogue. And maybe this change away from games only will lead to adding DRM free ebooks in the future (hint hint^^)
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionIntroducing GOG.com DRM-Free Movies(632 posts)(632 posts)
(632 posts)