-----------------------------------

aiolos

Wed 15 Mar, 2006


Another reason why DRM is bad for you

-----------------------------------

When users take the specifications of an MP3 player into consideration,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> one very important factor most take into account is the rated battery life.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> However,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> as many are aware,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> the battery life stated is generally the runtime from a full charge in ideal conditions,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> such as when the player is left playing without any sound enhancements <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>(EQ,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> bass-boost,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> etc.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>)<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> volume set to a moderate level,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> all music is 128kbps MP3,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> backlit display goes out within a few seconds and so on.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> However,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> according to tests conducted by CNET,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> they found that while many players met or exceeded their claims,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> one feature that has a drastic affect on battery life is the infamous DRM.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
When it comes to the Creative Zen Vision:M's 14-hour claim,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> CNET got about 16 hours of playback time with MP3s from a full charge,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> which was a nice surprise.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> However,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> when they tried playing WMA 10 DRM crippled subscription tracks on it,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> they only got just over 12 hours;<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> a loss of almost 4 hours <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>(<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>~25%<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>)<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> of playback time due to the battery-hungry DRM.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> CNET found similar results with other players with WMA DRM drastically reducing battery life by up to around 20%<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Apple's FairPlay DRM seems to have less of an effect with battery life being reduced by around 8%<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> when compared with MP3 playback.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
Article at cdfreaks