video file

[jasm]

Thanks a lot, djr33.
It would achieve my goal if it is not easy for one to download the file.
I hope to retain the WMV format and rtsp:// would not be applicable.

For WMV file, may I know if anyone know how to set the format similar to the RM so that the file cannot be easily accessible and saved to one's computer? I have to leave for the moment now and will be back in 6/7 hrs time.

[jscheuer1]

The tool to use is copyright. Incidental copying is no real problem unless you are selling your content. In which case, you should only make low quality example clips or short high quality preview clips available online. If you have original material of merit, it is protected by copyright law and you can sue if your rights are violated.

[djr33]

True.

I really don't know how you'd go about protecting it.

You can, if you want, make it hard to download. That's fine. Google it... buy some microsoft product that does it for you, whatever.


However, this is VERY important:
1. The people who can still download it will be the ones who would abuse it 'cause they are 'hackers', and would most likely not go to that much trouble unless they had a reason.
2. The people who can't download would just be sad and want to save your clip so they don't have to stream. They wouldn't know how, would be confused, and maybe dissapointed.

See... you still have the bad guys doing bad stuff, but you just don't let the good guys download too...

But... it can be helpful, and the above explanation isn't perfect.... it would still limit the random people who'd want to download it who you don't want to... but... wait... why is this?

[jasm]

Thanks a lot, Professor Jscheuer1 and djr33.

The video files that I put up are only meant for viewing and not supposed to be downloaded. They are the selected clips of a renowned taiwanese opera actress past 20 years performances. As most of the video clips were provided by the much senior fans of hers and also copyrighted, I need to have enough security measure to prevent other people from downloading the files before putting up for public viewing.

What should I do now?

[jasm]

I have found that I can save the file as "mms......asf". Such a format will not allow one to save the video file direct to hard disk without using a software program. I am now checking on how I can save the file as such.

[Twey]

I'm not suggesting that rtsp:// would be supported... I think it might be an entirely different server... or, eh, i dunno. I have no clue what that means.

You're right. I have no idea what it, specifically, is either, but it's a seperate protocol meaning that it would use a completely different server (program, not necessarily a different machine) to the one serving via HTTP.

I have found that I can save the file as "mms......asf". Such a format will not allow one to save the video file direct to hard disk without using a software program. I am now checking on how I can save the file as such.

A recent UserFriendly comic (damn, I love those ) illustrates the point perfectly. When you start trying to "protect" software and content, it's always the good guys who suffer. For example, I have a perfectly legal copy of the game FarCry, by Crytek and Ubisoft. Due to some amazingly clever copy protection, I can't play this game (using a Windows emulation layer) without first cracking it so it doesn't need the DVD. However, there is currently no such crack available for the latest patch. So, I'm stuck a version behind everyone else (unless I want to set about creating one, which doesn't exactly send me into throes of delighted excitement). Of course, I can copy the DVD just fine.
If you set this up, I will show you how easily it can be bypassed by anyone who knows what they're doing. As djr33 said above, anyone who doesn't know what they're doing is probably going to be a legitimate user.

[jasm]

Thanks to you, Professor Twey, for your kind input.
The video file that I am putting is only for viewing and not meant for downloading.
CNN and other TV stations around the world puts newscasts/program on video and it's not easy, if not possible, to download the video file to one's computer hard disk. That's what I thought of achieving. I have confirmed that my server can support MMS://. Too tired last night to follow through. Hope to get it tested out by today.

[Twey]

I have confirmed that my server can support MMS://.

But that doesn't mean the client will.

CNN and other TV stations around the world puts newscasts/program on video and it's not easy, if not possible, to download the video file to one's computer hard disk.

It most certainly is easy.

The video file that I am putting is only for viewing and not meant for downloading.

To view a file, the client must first download it. In the case of the web browser, it will download it and store it in memory or in a temporary directory on the hard disk, but it's still been downloaded. You cannot affect what happens to it after it's downloaded; you can't even tell whether it's then going to be saved to a file or viewed in a browser plugin.

[jasm]

Thanks again, Professor Twey.
I thought of trying out one file saving as "MMS" and see if other fans can view the clip before proceeding with others.

Sorry, I meant "saving the video file to the computer" instead of "downloading".

To a computer expert, maybe it is easy to figure out how to capture the stream/video file of CNN, but to most of us, it is not. I reckon you would need a software, right?

[Twey]

I thought of trying out one file saving as "MMS" and see if other fans can view the clip before proceeding with others.

Setting up an MMS server would not be so easy as simply saving a file in the correct format.

Sorry, I meant "saving the video file to the computer" instead of "downloading".

Same thing, unless you meant to the hard drive, in which case it's usually the same thing, but on rare occasions not.

To a computer expert, maybe it is easy to figure out how to capture the stream/video file of CNN, but to most of us, it is not.

A computer expert? Someone who knows the required bit of HTML and possibly Javascript to find the URI in the code is hardly a "computer expert."

I reckon you would need a software, right?

Certainly not. Ordinary tools that come bundled with most operating systems will do the trick fine: a web browser, a download manager. Telnet, if it comes to that.