Originally Posted By: Dignan
What does that leave? Those digital files you get with DVDs?

Even those turn into iTunes DRM locked files for me, as I'm not even going near the alternate version that uses Windows Media. Basically I still buy movies I like on DVD or BluRay, then rip them to my NAS. If I want to play them back at home, I just play the raw files via DVD Player or Front Row. If I'm going on a trip, I use Handbrake to transcode them to standard h.264 files that the iPad will play. The Mac Pro lets me transcode a full movie in usually 20 minutes, so in the time it takes me to pack, I have a few movies ready too.

I'm just not convinced any of the current DRM locked video solutions will provide me the flexibility I want for the next 10 years. Looking back 10 years, I had a growing DVD collection (all still playable today), and was a mildly annoyed Windows user. I can't predict how things will end up in 10 years down the road, but I have a higher confidence in my ability to play back DVDs then then I do in playing back DRM locked files in 2020.