Morpheon posted at 7:35PM Mon, 02 November 2015 - #4236445

Razor42 posted at 11:00PM Sun, 01 November 2015 - #4236440

Fair enough, but doesn't the latest version of Poser include DRM? (EDIT: I see you only referred to content)

But hey, whatever keeps you rendering ;)

Actually there in no encrypted only content at Daz3D at the moment either...

Your second point first: you're right, there isn't any encrypted content at DAZ 3D currently, but that will change, and likely as soon as DAZ can make it. According to DAZ_Rawb and others, anything that passes through DAZ Connect will have key files encrypted, even the older pre-DRM content. The DAZ moderators keep saying that the ZIPs and downloads via DIM will remain intact, but they also quickly add that they can't make any promises about future developments -- which is a rather obvious fudge; it also requires a lot of trust on the customer's part that, personally, I don't think DAZ deserves. I think they'll s***-can the ZIPs and DIM and drive everyone to use DAZ Connect as quickly as possible.

As to your first point, the only reference to DRM within Poser that I can find is the fact that the software may know whether or not it's an illegal copy, and either shut itself down and/or dial home to Smith Micro to report the theft, which is pretty typical software security. Software serial keys are about as universal and unintrusive as you can get, and if you're using a pirated copy of Poser, Max, Photoshop, or whatever, you're a dirt-bag and too damn bad for you if it locks you out or calls the IP cops on you. I've personally been locked out of legally-purchased software a time or two, so I have first-hand experience that it does occur accidentally.

The difference with most programs is that any protection is APPLICATION-BASED, not CONTENT-BASED, as it will be with DS 4.9+. If my copy of 3ds Max suddenly decides that I'm not authorized to run the program, I can still open my files (assuming they're in the proper format, of course) in Maya or Lightwave or Blender; if my copy of Photoshop suddenly decides that I'm a pirate, I can still access my content via GIMP or CorelDRAW or whatever 2D paint program supports Photoshop protocols. But if DS4.9+ decides that I'm not an authorized user, I'm up S*** Creek, because the CONTENT will be encrypted, and no other application will have the means to access that content.

And if the content is encrypted, you don't own it and you don't control it -- you're at the mercy of whoever did the encrypting (in this case, DAZ). Doesn't matter if it's movies, music, books, games, or 3D assets -- I'm not paying good money to put myself in that position.

Ok forgive me here if this seems a little slow on my behalf. But actually dial home software is considered one of the most invasive DRM forms there is. Just ask Microsoft. You need an internet connection, if the dial home server goes offline either intermittently or permanently you need to find another app that supports your content and in a lot of cases that isn't possible or you are forced wait patiently for the servers to come back up . It's a continual process which is more likely to cause workflow interruption if there are any system issues either locally or with the servers. And treats every user like a criminal until the dial home correlates the license which some seem to rather dislike.

There's also a big contradiction some people are saying the encryption won't stop pirates in cracking the encryption for a few heart beats. Yet if in the future under worst case scenario's people will be locked out of their content. I'm not sure how the two stand side by side. But surely there is a solution to the second issue in the first? (Talking disaster management here)

Also a slight misunderstanding the Daz Content encryption on products only encrypts the DS files (.duf .dsf .dat etc) so things like textures (jpgs) are not encrypted and you're free to use them in other apps even with the DC encryption enabled. So if Daz3D goes away you will only be able to use the encrypted content in the latest build of DS that was available or the unencrypted parts of the content in any app that supports them (Basically any non DS specific file). The biggest issue if Daz goes away is if you haven't downloaded it you could lose it. But that exists with every brokerage I think.

IF SM goes bye-bye you've got a 6 month window at most till your program is bricked in my understanding so it would seem the risk to you is much higher in this form of DRM implementation.