hybrid8 you misunderstood my point and actually reiterated it yourself when you said that the restriction applies to ALL DVD PLAYERS. Because of the patent issues involved with DVD, if you want to license the patents you have to agree to those ridiculous macrovision restrictions - you can't legally get one without the other. The exact same kind of "package deal" requiring mandatory restrictions on mp3 encoders and decoders could conceivably happen if Fraunhofer wanted to flex its muscles.

As for not voting for ogg because it "doesn't exist" - that's a catch-22. The empeg didn't exist either until the guys created it. Coming up with an integer implementation is just a matter of somebody with the right skills sitting down and writing it. In fact, it does exist, in at least one implementation, it just isn't free. If SB were to license that integer implementation for all of their rio devices we would probably be able to get it essentially for "free" on the empeg.

Another way to look at it is if ogg is widely implemented, Fraunhofer will lose what leverage they now have wrt to MP3. If an alternative technology is widely and freely available, then Fraunhofer would know that should they try to pull some draconian stunt, the whole world would switch over in a hearbeat. Think of it as insurance to keep Fraunhofer from making trouble. It's not like MS's super-monopoly hold on WMA is going to do much in the way of deterrence either.