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Really Microsoft? Really? (aggressive copyright censoring woes)

Pixie40
Expert Trustee

So, I have a neighbor who keeps harassing me for "being too loud" after I dared ask him twice to turn down his stereo so it stops shaking the apartment building. The furnace comes on, he is pounding on my door yelling at me to "turn down the TV". I turn on the radio and have the volume at the lowest it can be without having volume set to 0, he's pounding on my door yelling at me to "turn down the TV". I try watching any videos on the PC with the PC's volume set to 1 and the video player's volume turned down low enough I can barely hear it? He's pounding on my door and yelling at me to "turn down the TV". You get the idea. It's gotten to the point where I don't dare play any console video games or use my computer at all without using a pair of headphones.

 

The one thing he never harasses me about being "too loud" because of is my Quest 2. So I had this idea. I've bought a number of movies digitally over Xbox Live, and they are playable on my PC too. So why not watch those movies on a virtual movie theater screen? As it turns out, the reason is because Microsoft has implimented some rather aggressive digital rights encoding, apparently. If you are trying to watch anything bought from the Microsoft digital movies/tv storefront in any way other then "on your TV streamed/played from an X-Box" or "Streamed/played directly on your computer" you get audio only as the video gets blocked for "copyright" reasons.

 

I tried streaming to my Quest via Virtual Desktop to access my PC and playing it that way. It got content censored. I tried via launching the saved file in Bigscreen Beta (both via Quest 2 and Steam), and it got content censored. I tried launching it while using Oculus (PC) Home's built in virtual desktop, and it got content censored. Hell, I even tried streaming it to my roku TV like the Microsoft Movie/TV app allows and it still got content censored. I then put the movie file on my tablet and tried watching it that way. Yup, content censored. Really? What's the point of letting people buy movies and TV shows digitally if you're going to be that restrictive in how they watch their purchase on their devices? Hell, what's the point of having a "stream to your Roku television" option if you wont let the customer then watch what they are streaming?

Lo, a quest! I seek the threads of my future in the seeds of the past.
7 REPLIES 7

user_901925786032222
Expert Consultant

Shouldn't you really direct this at Microsoft?

Pixie40
Expert Trustee

Do you really think they would care? After all, it was a deliberate decision on Microsoft's part (probably) to block video if you aren't directly viewing via their console or a windows PC on that PC's connected monitor. This was mostly me venting frustration at how aggressively restrictive their digital rights encoding is. Normally, this wouldn't even be an issue. My go-to is usually watching movies on my 40 inch 4k TV via the xbox one (either physical copy or digital copy). And if it wasn't for a neighbor actively harassing me because I dared ask him to keep it down when he was literally shaking the building with his stereo I'd be doing so now.

Lo, a quest! I seek the threads of my future in the seeds of the past.

user_901925786032222
Expert Consultant

I'm sure microsoft wouldn't care but I'm not sure what anyone on this forum could do about that.

Pixie40
Expert Trustee

Again, mostly me venting frustration. I mean, it's almost as if Microsoft considers VR and AR to be a short lived fad, thus refuses to support it even as they market and sell VR headsets.

Lo, a quest! I seek the threads of my future in the seeds of the past.

user_901925786032222
Expert Consultant

I suspect it's more about the licensing terms Microsoft agreed to when making the movie available on xbox, probably something along the lines of "this movie can only be played on xbox".

wuzp
Rising Star

Re: the neighbor... when I was MUCH younger; I had a similar situation. I just went down to Layfette Electronics, bought a wireless mic; then I would carefully tune it, so it would catch the IF (Intermediate Frequency) of his stereo or TV. When he played his TV or stereo loud, I'd press the wireless mic to the floor and turn it on; creating a feedback loop; with his ceiling in the middle, until it blew out his speakers!🤣

JohnEBGud
Explorer

Such restrictions are imposed by the content owner, not Microsoft. Microsoft implements these restrictions as required by their licensing agreement.