DRM Fiasco Ruins James Cameron’s Avatar 3D Preview
Written by enigmax on December 17, 2009Avatar, the long-awaited science fiction epic from James Cameron will launch this week, but already some lucky individuals have seen the movie. The same cannot be said of attendees at a 3D preview showing in Germany yesterday though. The movie’s DRM ‘protection’ system failed and the video could not be decoded.
‘Avatar’ from Titanic director James Cameron is certainly the most anticipated film of the year.
Set on a moon under siege by humans determined to exploit its resources, this science fiction epic has been in the planning for many years and was even delayed as Cameron waited until the technology became available to realize his dream.
When the movie goes on full release this week the wait will finally be over, but some lucky individuals have already been enjoying advance previews. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of some who hoped to witness the 3D version of the movie in Germany yesterday, as instead of technology enabling a jaw-dropping extra-dimensional experience, it brought the whole thing to a standstill.
According to a report, 3D digital versions of the movie were delivered to certain cinemas but a problem with their encryption meant that they could not be watched at all the theaters.
The complex DRM system, which involves several certificates and server-delivered time-sensitive keys for hard drives and projectors, failed in a way consistent with the movie’s epic status. Unfortunately, after working for several hours cinema workers failed to decrypt 150 gigabytes of data, which resulted in at least one location reverting back to the 2D version.
DRM strikes again, this time in 3D.
“We regret the failures and the associated discomfort, but we are confident that we will be able to play the premiere both in 2D and in 3D,” Oliver Fock, general manager of CineStar group said in a comment to the fiasco. And indeed, according to the latest reports the problems have been fixed just in time for the public premiere.
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120 Responses
“Irony” can be a bitch ;)
Wow. Several hours wasted because someone didn’t want it leaked? cue the countdown until its cracked and on a torrent.
i would love to see this movie….. but ill be damned if i pay for an over priced theater ticket. >.>
also f**k drm!!!!!
anyone wondering, why people are downloading movies…
They should have asked the internet giks to crack the DRM for them. It would have been faster!
LOL!
EPIC FAIL
Lol. :)
WTF do you expect when you use drm. It only creates problems rather then solve them, prime example.
@3 what do you class as over priced its $6 a ticket here and that’s a fairly decent price for a movie these days and in a decent theater. @gregg why the f*ck would anyone want to rip a 3d cam, cams are shite at the best of times let alone a 3d version of it, not to mention that no one will need to “crack” it as it would be a cam therefore it would just be cammed from the screen. Talk sense next time…
Seriously though guys, I just saw this movie at the cinema with the 3D. It is simply beautiful. You should all endeavor to see the all-new 3D technology they invented just for this film. It’s absolutely amazing.
Aquila
The definition of selfpwned! :)
Movie looks like crap anyway lol
$15 is the overpriced imax 3d i’m going to tomorrow. and # 9 lol – a cam would make it 2d.
As much as I like to hear about epic DRM failure, doesn’t the fact that they got it ready in time make this kind of a non-story?
Oh, wait, they didn’t have it for the sneak preview screening. Sorry, didn’t grok that first read through.
Okay, epic fail.
“failed in a way consistent with the movie’s epic status”
Nice!
Best movie of the year by a mile, such an amazing experience.
you guys are funny bitching about theatre prices…going to the theatre is more than paying to watch the movie. You are paying for an experience.
hahahahaha hollywood asses !!!!
Best experience is the cinema, This should not be seen in cam.
Woa is it about DRM! DRM sucks unwashed hairy monkey balls!!
the best experience would be HD in my front room where i can drink and smoke or scratch my balls if i want, also cheaper too, not just the cost of the ticket but the cost of food and drink + i cant pause it when i need to the loo
Sounds like Oliver got Focked by the coyright na.zis again! Way to go movie industry keep focking yourself over, we love watching your epic fails! Hey maybe that will be the next blockbuster movie…
“How I Screwed Myself Out Of Business!”
or
“Epic Fail and Me”
or
“1O Easy Ways To Lose Business”
Yeah I go with your option! 23 Dec 18, 2009 at 01:16 by dtl
I saw the film today in 3D with some friends, and it was mind-blowing, definitely one that I will be buying (Yes, Reasoned Mind, buying) and definitely the best that I have seen this year. The only downside was that the 3D projector failed about half fay through the film, so we had to wait for half an hour while it was fixed. But still, I have a feeling that I would not have had the same experience if I had pirated it.
Would a cam even record it correctly? Have you seen a 3D movie recently without the glasses on? The two lenses are polarized to filter certain parts.. Without those, it just looks blurry and will quickly give a headache…
Anyways, I would pay the $10-$12 for the 3D here.. Most other movies at $8 are overpriced.. The only $6 theater here is a run-down one that isn’t digital.
TBH I normally support torrentfreak but it sounds like it was blown out of proportion.
“going to the theatre is more than paying to watch the movie. You are paying for an experience.”
Man, I love those grimey cinema chairs stained with something I don’t really want to know. People chatting and rustling packets of food and those dickhead kids throwing popcorn from the back row.
A timeless priceless experience.
@29 josh: I don’t know which cinemas you are going to then, my local one is great.
Now I think the 3d version will be uploaded soon too lol :D
1337x.org
Seriously? We’re still using DRM? Is it working against piracy? No.
Is it working against those who legitimately use the content? Yes.
Gr8 Idea guys. Keep it going. DRM helps make piracy more popular & therefore, more popular & easier…
Last time I checked DRM was just a waste of bytes.
BWahahahahaha… wait hold on a …. ha bwhahahahahah!!!!
I only saw the HD trailer and it shows promise. Mind you I thought the same thing about Waterworld, Catwoman, Bewitched, Battlefield Earth, etc.
I’ll reserve my judgement until I can steal/download a Bluray rip off of an unsuspecting neighbours wireless router. I love having free movie nights with my widescreen TV, leather furniture, cheap snacks and 7.1 surround sound. xD
what can i say but………. HA! HA!
wow lol i didnt know this movie was this popular, but if i like it then i download it n put it on my ipod until it comes out on dvd
Although I’m a big supporter of p2p, up and down, some of the comments an here are just incredible.
$8 to see this film is nothing. You can’t reproduce the cinema in your home. despite #34 leather sofa and surround sound (rich boy still steals wifi springs to mind)
Talk some sense on here. It’s no wonder p2p is frowned upon after reading some of the comments on torrentfreak.
DRM is nothing short of an anit feature. This is a perfect example of that.
@37 your right about most of the people who leave comments. We have a 3D cinema at Daytona Beach which is really cheap at $8, and they also offer FREE movies for kids during the week days to, and its nice and clean and the concessions are fairly priced. Free refills on drinks and popcorn.
caught the sold of 3D screening on wed night just gone. cinema had no issues thank god. movie looked amazing and surprising good. was expecting the 2012 think look good but utter crap
@ 39 you luckly with the 8 dollars
here in euro lad we have to pay 12.00 EUR about 17 dollars for the 3D screening. medium size snacks clock in around 8 euro for coke and popcorn. no refill. that in storm cinemas any way. others are cheaper but storm the only 3D screen near me with out a 4 hour drive
@ 39 you luckly with the 8 dollars
here in euro lad we have to pay 12.00 EUR about 17 dollars for the 3D screening. medium size snacks clock in around 8 euro for coke and popcorn. no refill. that in storm cinemas any way. others are cheaper but storm the only 3D screen near me with out a 4 hour drive
Wow! EPIC FAIL!
> failed in a way consistent with the movie’s epic status.
Lol’d XD
Proving once again that only the legal users are inconvenienced by DRM.
Oddly, I agree that first run movies and such should not be taken without the maker being paid once.
My beef with that DRM/ Mackerelvision/ RIAA circus is that they shouldn’t be so greedy. Charging you over and over for the same content always was ethically wrong. Once you buy it once, you should not have to buy it again. Unless you want to. That is where director cuts, and other improvements come in. Hint-hint.
I find it hilarious that they thought to give extreme DRM on this kind of thing.
I don’t know about you guys, but _I_ certainly have at least two projectors of the right kind and whatnot else to use this special 3D version, matching the specifications.
I mean, doesn’t every good pirate?
We’re also fond of sarcasm.
It amazes me how folks feel entitled to pirate a movie because they don’t want to pay the 6 to fifteen dollars for a movie that took years to make and cost a bazillion dollars. Call it what you will but it is still theft of creative property. And as for the guy that would rather watch it because he wants to be able to scratch his balls…. well I guess that just speaks for it’s self…
@ 22
idiot you can not watch imax, realD, in 3D on your f*cking HD tv dumb ass this moive is worth watching it in 3D if you watch it 2D then your a sucker that dint want to cough up the extra $$$ for a awesome experience.
@ 47
stfup resoned idiot dont flame him because its not “ok” to share flame him for being a dumbass and not realizeing that he can not produce imax 3D on his sh1ty hd tv
@9: idk where you live, but I haven’t seen a $6 ticket in 7 or 8+ years. I only go to the movies once or twice a year b/c the cost for a ticket ($13.00 now for adults here iirc) + $20 for soda & some popcorn is outragously (sp) high and not worth the money.
Situation Normal. All F**ked Up.
Will the industry take this shining example of the failures of Digital Restrictions Management to heart?
No.
Anyone with half a brain can see that DRM is, if nothing else, bad for business. DRM is antithetical to our technological advancement. It is technology that is designed to make content harder to use. It is anti-software. This is why I’m not surprised by this snafu, DRM technology is designed to be broken.
DRM rulez!!!
ok I will go to the scenena when I want those riaa gogles checking to see if I have a recording device (err watching me xx x with some chick beside me) = p r o n making movies in tha scenema
DRM 4ever, yippee!
@Smorgy Durd
I’ll tell you what is theft. Ticket in my country costs about $10. Yea i know it’s not a lot for you but here $10 is 1/68 of average payout. Yes average.. not minimum
what is wrong with these ppl. see here too
http://bit.ly/6xjyy8 Death Of The Internet: Censorship Bills In UK, Australia, U.S. Aim To Block “Undesirable” Websites
meow
talking about theatre prices 16$for 3d version take the family 56$ plus lolies drinks maccas afterwords theres your 100$ for a few hours you have got to be kidding verses free download mmmmm easy decision lol
I thought the movie industry was learning from the music industries mistake, but clearly not.
The important question is: do we have an open standard for 3D content on a PC, such that an independent producer can create a 3D movie, distribute it via torrent, and have it be playable on popular players like VLC (as long as the user has a 120Hz monitor like the 2233RZ and shutter glasses)?
point is the DRM in the 3D movie house is designed to prevent commercial piracy where the movie is copied by pirates and shown in their own theatre
of course it is the industry ripping off the industry because what other pirate has a movie house and expensive new 3D projection equipment sitting there ready ….
all the leaks come out of the industry by industry insiders, all the pre’s and screeners and demos. they should look to better management of themselves before they attack the customer who is only taking what they give
EPIC FAIL
http://www.epictorrents.com
You know me from here , guys, I share files… Just went to see Avatar pre-premiere here in Israel. First movie in theater after 5 years. It was cool.
Why do they give the cinemas DRM “encrypted” movies? Don’t they trust the staff? Can’t they just make a little secret watermark in the movie, so they can see which cinema that leaks the movie (if any of the cinema leaks the movie)?
surely any film should have a good storyline, so even if it watched on a cam, it should still be good. watching a film cos of the gimmicks sounds a bit shite to me…
#63 – If we all thought about gimmicks like that we’d still be watching films on betamax, or, even having to go to the cinema!
Todays gimmicks = tomorrows norm (if they work)
https://www.liberateip.com/index.html
I know if have nothing to do with the title but here.
Lets make filesharing legal.
The link above is trying to buy copyrighted material to release it under Free Lincenses.
That would make filesharing legal at an greater extent.
The idea is good after all if companies can hold on to copyrights so does the public LoL
“Lets make filesharing legal.”
Filesharing IS legal. It’s the sharing of copyrighted material without consent of the right holder that isn’t.
Sharing a Linux or FreeBSD ISO, Creative Commons, Public Domain, or my own stuff etc. is perfectly legal.
I know people will download this movie like crazy when it becomes available but i saw the movie today and i must say its visually stunning…
Whatever you do,watch the 3d version…No excuses…
Believe me it’ll be worth the extra money you spend…
The movie is 4/5…
DRM
it just doesn’t work
yeah cinemas a great experience alright, if you want to sit an hear F.uck all due to someone else’s brats talking or getting up and f.ucking wandering about, getting ripped off for tickets when a 3d movie comes out, or for food or drink thats extortionate
or worst of all teh tard parents who take their uninterested/under age kids so they can see the flick – whilst their darling offspring rampage around, and then they get upset when you aim a kick at their arses, coz they’ve waived their parental duties to watch the movie
yeah its an experience thats for sure
This movie feels like a hippie fest!
People are dying, the music/movie industry has to go away we don’t wanna live in the 4th reich anymore
Or well back to the drawing board LOL :D
The same thing happened in India too.
There was an pre-release screening yesterday in Kolkata and I read in the newspaper that only the 2D version was screened due to some technical glitch.
LOL, you can tell who the people who havn’t been to the cinemas for years are.
9 times out of 10, movie theatres are clean and you can enjoy your experiance without interruption. I like going to the cinemas. Always a good experiance for me. And yeah, I know whos getting my money, and I don’t like that…but that shouldn’t take away my right to go enjoy a good movie with premium equipment. NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD 55″ HDTVs AND BLU-RAY PLAYERS!!
todays title should be called Hollywood ass lickers, and see how many of them can post today, yea the 3D might be good, but you dont need to give the tongue
some journalist, who has seen the world premiere, said, the 3d experience of this movie is not that great. most likely more advertisement than real experience.
Does anyone know if the entire movie is in 3D?
hahahahahahahahhaahahahahahahaha
*dies from lack of oxygen to the brain*
Ahem..
“…failed in a way consistent with the movie’s epic status…”
That summarizes what MAFIAA and merry friends are. A failure… for our amusement.
“L1ightSp33d
you guys are funny bitching about theatre prices…going to the theatre is more than paying to watch the movie. You are paying for an experience.”
watching a top movie = priceless
watching when you want where you want = priceless
watching in the comfort of your own home in the warm with decent food and drink with family and friends = priceless
the experince of cramped space, noises idiots curnching their way through the food , slurping their damned drinks, having idiots with their feet next to your ear, having your knees jammed against the back seat becuase of you height (even if you only 5ft9) and sitting on outdated seats from the 1800′s.
= priceless? NAA thats the legal cienmas goer’s way
And yet, they got it fixed. Much ado about nothing, anyone? Another one in the long line of useless articles which try to garner fanboy responses. Maybe you should seek employment at http://www.tmz.com/
this is priceless
by L1ightSp33d
you guys are funny bitching about theatre prices…going to the theatre is more than paying to watch the movie. You are paying for an experience.
Yes, the magical experience of giving money to the mafiaa.
Haven’t been to a cinema for 10 years, I just watch good movies, holywood movies are right-wing paying propaganda for retards.
Just a matter of time.
83 responses and no ones stated the fucking obvious. Who would want the 3d version compared to the 2d version, 2d doesn’t even have drm
I suspect that the movie looks identically bad in 1D, 2D, and 3D.
Not worth the time.
Haven’t been to cinema for good 5 years, wife dragged me to watch Avatar in 3D today.
Priceless experience – smelly badly-conditioned hall, idiots talking during the movie, idiots laughing at inappropriate moments (it is supposed to be dramatic, you morons), idiots not turning off cellphones, idiots explaining other idiots their idea of the events, uncomfortable chair (I’m average height – and the movie is a bloody long one).
Throw in some obscenely overpriced drinks (10 euro for a bloody glass of Cola!).
And all that joy is just for 25 Euro for two persons.
Also 3D thing is overrated – image is rather unfocused at times and dark (because of LCD in glasses I guess). Makes me eyes hurt. 3D glasses have amazingly bad ergonomics, they will make your nose hurt – they are quite hefty. Old-fashioned polarized 3D was better to my taste.
As for the movie itself – real masterpiece in SFX section, that’s for sure. Story and events are rather dull.
An obligatory moronic Hollywood happy-ending. Ri-i-i-ight, like humans did not invent carpet bombing and napalm, you blue-ass monkeys!
Basically, it’s a two-hour 3D demo (like 3DMark run on a cluster of supercomputers).
Ah, and Na’avi speak something quite similar to African languages (yoruba, etc.). Weird.
P.S. Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) is amazingly good. But he forgot to turn on some Wagner on PA at right moment. :-)
Leftist propaganda gets bit by the “greed” it claims to despise… You just can’t make this stuff up.
#22. You are a moron if you think that watching on your crappy HD TV at home will come ANYWHERE close to seeing this movie in 3D on a big screen.
But your choice…. Ignore the most stunning visual experience in film and degrade it down to HD. Your loss
ROTFLMAO
The irony of this anti-corporate screed being FU by DRM greed is hard to wrap my mind around. The very subject they rail against, capitalistic greed is the very issue that brought it down. HAhahaha.
Terry
#88 i sort of agree with 22…… plus i really dont love 3d… never really enjoyed having to put Fricking lenses on. I will wait for the future when you dont need too :)
the only advantage i see to watch in the movies is surround sound.
on another note, isnt drm supposed to be really easy to crack?
Blah, after seeing the trailers and reviews, I personally will not be wasting my money on this over budget white elephant! The whole movie reeks of cheesiness. A combination of Fern gully, Dances with wolves, Pocahontas and Japanese anime plots. It all looks like a damn video game!
I won’t be happy until I can download a full 3D Imax version and play it in my skull. Any day now.
I lol’ed D.R.M you failed it!
“DRM Fiasco Ruins James Cameron’s Avatar 3D Preview”
AH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!! HEH-HEH!!
And I don’t even need to say “I told you so”.
This is one of the many reasons why movies are available on the torrent networks.
Can’t wait! Awesome trailer.
;D
will go to see it at the cinema, though it’ll be online in a day or two.
So DRM is really unnecessary stupid frickin technology… Just as RIAA and it’s likes
major flop!
very nice
This is a movie somebody should watch in 3-D.
You cannot watch 3d @ home the only way you can do it is going to the theater. Believe me it is worth the money. The 3D version of course.
Now 4 the DRM matter. DRM is totally worthless 4 the time being, since home equipment that can reproduce 3D is eather too expensive or too complex. Therefore copying it would make no sence to any pirate.
What a waste of money.. They probably had to redistribute everything lol!..
This made me ROFL XD
It seems to be a good Movie ) I will watch it in cinema )
alot of people are saying that they’d rather pirate it, but whats the price to pay for getting caught? no, seriously im asking, i dont want to have to pay james cameron $200,000 and spend a year in jail because his movie is so awesome that i couldnt wait the 6 months for it to come out on dvd.
I just watched the movie in 3D and must say I actually enjoyed it. Sure, it’s not the “True 3D” as the movie does most of the focusing (a pain in the ass sometimes but so are focusing in 2D films as well >:( ), but overall it was quite enjoyable.
But still, I don’t think the extra money wasted is worth the “extra” dimension. See it in 3D at least once, then decide if it’s better or worse than 2D.
James Cameron can take his 3D and shove it up where the sun don’t shine!
I dunno how it works in other countries, but in the states previews are generally free, so the attendees wouldn’t have had money wasted, just time. Still, EPIC LOL!
Just watched it yesterday, and I loved it,the actors where perfect,the soundtrack was a masterpiece and the effects were out standing! I’ve got a imax and a massive cinema with 3d screens not too far from my house, luck eh? I guess I take it for advantage with all the complaints on here about 3d screens!
“NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD 55? HDTVs AND BLU-RAY PLAYERS!!”
Even people with 300″ projectors, 3000W RMS 7.1 & 1080p Bluray like me don’t get the cinema experience from home viewing.
Anyone who thinks they can get the equivalent of a 100 foot screen, 5000p resolution and digital cinema sound at home is a noob who has NFI about comparing and evaluating quality. Sure, you can stop, smoke etc but the home cinema experience pales in comparison to a good cinema.
Also the raving about the cinema being full of chip packet rustles, people making out etc have NFI and are simply parroting others – considering it’s dark, the screen fills your vision and your eardrums are being blown out as if you have any idea what is going on.
All the people whining about how DRM is so bad in this case etc are twits. This DRM has nothing to do with consumer level content and is therefore a complete non-issue to anyone.
To those other twits asking why (which is slightly more intelligent) it is to prevent direct conversion from studio source which would provide an extremely good reproduction.
So basically Avatar is a real life version of the Smurfs. The humans represents the evil Gargamel, Jake Sully = Johan and Neytiri = Smurfette.
How lame can you get?
@107 Dec 20, 2009 at 08:31 by Anonymous
Not much lamer than your analogy!
It’s not an analogy, it is a comparison! Albeit a lame one, that is the purpose. ASS face!
lol @ DRM fail – why do they bother?
Seriously though – don’t bother downloading this. Visually it’s absolutely STUNNING. Anything else I’d say try-before-you-buy, but this movie is wasted on anything less than IMAX3D.
This one is totally worth the price to see in BIG :)
Finaly Dance with smurfs is on local cinemas in 3D !!!
sooooo, any predictions on when it will be on any file share programs? (limewire, frostwire)?
On the last years I’ve gone to cinema once a year or less as it’s a total ripoff. I prefer to see movies at home with HD and a good home cinema system.
But this year I went to see Pixar’s Up in 3D and this new technology was jaw droping.
Today I’ve seen Avatar and I think it’s not a movie, it’s an awesome experience to see it in 3D. Totally worth the money.
Why exactly can’t I watch this movie @ home and have the same experience? The “3D” projector that’s projecting on a “2D” surface? Why wouldn’t they sell the Blueray with a pair of 2D glasses and sell the additional ones for extra “$$”?
I’d gladly go for the experience but IMHO the iMax in my area is a little TOO big, I end up looking around during the movie and inevitably miss something in the lower left corner?
OOP… I ment “3D” glasses
OK!
I will answer once and for all how it IS possible to get a 3d effect at home.
3D is generated by each eye recieving a different image. There are three main ways of doing this:
1. Red/Blue / Amber/Blue glasses
2. Shutter glases
3. Polarised glasses.
First off, the Red/Blue glasses are shit, so barely even deserve a mention. However, they will work on most tv’s. They work by only alowing the oppositly coloured part of the image through each eye, alowing two streams of vision, and thus 3D.
Shutterglases work by each lens alternating between opaque and tranparent, at 30fps, while the tv syncronises exactly with this, and flickers between the two at 60fps, so the two eyes see a different picture; ie; when the left hand picture is on, the right lens goes opaque, and vice versa.
The disadvantage of this is that it requires specialist equipment, so is out of the reach of most of us.
nVidia sells a kit for aprox £200, but that requires a £400 monitor.
Finally, there are polarised lenses.
This is the system used by Real3D, and it works on the principle of polarisation ( that light polarised in one plane is blocked by a filter polarising in a different plane).
Essentially what is happening here is that you have two different sources of light, one polarised horizontally, the other vertically.
The glasses lenses are too, so, once again, your brain sees two pictures.
This effect can be replecated at home with two projectors, each with one of a pair of the glasses lenses in front of the focussing lens.
You then line the images up on the wall, wear another pair of the glasses, and you can watch in 3d.
However, to achieve this, the origional recording must be two streams of video,
either by obtaining a source master, or using two cams, one behind each of the glasses’ lenses in the cinema,
kinda obvious to the staff.
__________________________________
To be brutally honest though, you will never get BD (blu-ray) quality from a cam, so you might as well wait for the commercial release.
Plus, 3D is a gimmik at the best of times; I don’t know why I just spent 15 mins writing this…
That’s an EPIC FAIL, innit?
Today (Christmas) I decided to watch this film.
My first thoughts about this movie was, “Wow another computer generated film, this is gonna be a cartoon-ish piece of crap.”
When I saw the movie, I was awestruck at how GOOD it was. It is the kind of movie that will make you keep your eyes at the screen. I guarantee you will not feel bore or anything!
I watched it on normal (not 3D IMAX) but it was still AWESOME!
Compared to Sherlock Holmes, which i saw today also,(its good too) this movie still beats it!
I cannot wait for the SEQUEL!
That’s called DRM strikes back!
I laughed at the person who said you go to the cinema for the experience. (18)
With how crappy some cinimas are its not that good of a experience.
Id rather watch a old movie at home with my gf. That experience is always better.
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