Microsoft switches off old DRM
Microsoft has announced that old DRM services will be deactivated. This affects older media players and operating systems.
(Image: Bild erstellt mit KI in Bing Image Creator durch heise online / dmk)
Anyone who still uses old Windows-based media players or has digitized their CD collection with Windows Media Player will soon lose access to their media. Microsoft has announced that it will declare old "legacy" DRM services as obsolete and thus deactivate them in the near future.
Microsoft has now added legacy DRM services tothe list of "deprecated" functions. These legacy DRM services are used by Windows Media Player, Silverlight clients, Windows 7 and Windows 8 clients, among others.
Discontinued functions
The Redmond-based company also explains the effects of the discontinuation of the old DRM services: Playback of protected content in Windows 7's legacy Windows Media Player will no longer work. The same applies to the playback of DRM-protected content in Silverlight and Windows 8 clients. Anyone using Silverlight or Windows 8 clients to stream to an Xbox 360 will also see a black screen. And finally, playing self-ripped CDs on Windows 7 clients with the Windows Media Player no longer works.
However, Microsoft does not reveal how those affected can help themselves. The DRM-protected MP3 collection can probably only be converted to DRM-free or alternatively protected formats in a roundabout way. Old hardware on which no alternative operating system can be installed that can handle the DRM must then be disposed of or replaced with new hardware.
Digital rights management (DRM) is a constant source of friction and annoyance for users. In mid-2022, for example, e-audio and e-video files that had already been encrypted with copy protection in the online lending network Onleihe were deleted from clients due to a "failed system process". In addition, there were and still are annoying copy protection procedures. But these could also be entertaining: some people will fondly remember the "Dial-a-Pirate" disks from Monkey Island.
(dmk)