IPad – iTunes Movie DRM and Legalities

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Before I start, I'd like to be very clear: I have no intention of pirating anything. I like buying movies, I respect that the money pays for more to be made, lines pockets and generally keeps things ticking over.

With that said, I understood up until now that iTunes Movies were all DRM protected. I have read otherwise (I forget where) but wanted a definitive answer.

I would love to be able to buy all my movies, tv shows, etc from iTunes, store them DRM free in the cloud for my devices and watch them on my TV (Apple TV / XBMC). As far as I am aware, this is not currently possible. Is anyone aware of any legal alternatives that would give me a good legal argument for storing MP4 copies of my (legally purchased) movies and TV shows in the cloud?

Thanks!

Edit: I'm in the UK, but interested in UK and US options.

Best Answer

There are currently no major options for getting legal access to DRM-free video content. Your main options are to download videos with DRM (i.e. iTunes), stream videos with DRM (i.e. Netflix), illegally download movies without DRM (i.e. The Pirate Bay) or stick to watching obscure independent art house films, which you can sometimes find available to purchase with no DRM.

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