Through its iTunes software and online shop, Apple is the
largest distributor of legal music online, and is responsible for
more than 70% of downloads. It has not agreed to be part of the
consortium, called the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem
(DECE).
"To open up the market for digital distribution, we are
developing a specification that connects a wide variety of services
and devices," said Mitch Singer, the consortium's president. "DECE
is taking the lessons learned from the successful 'buy once, play
anywhere' experience that we enjoy with CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray
today, and using a similar approach in developing the next
generation digital media experience."
The group's members include Microsoft, Sony, Toshiba, Warner
Brothers and NBC Universal as well as computer equipment makers
Cisco, HP and Intel.
It said that it will publish a specification in the future which
the makers or distributors of music or video can use to ensure
their material will be playable on machines built to that
specification. It will create a logo which devices and services
that are built according to that specification will display.
While file formats such as MP3 and MP4 themselves have become
industry standards that are usable by almost all services and
devices, digital rights management (DRM) systems have not been
standardised.
It is Apple's DRM system which ties some material acquired
through iTunes to devices that it manufactures. If it stays outside
of DECE then iTunes material is likely to remain incompatible with
players subscribing to the DECE specification.
Singer told the Financial Times newspaper that he did
not believe that Apple's absence will damage the proposed
standard.
“I’m not sure that the absence of Apple is a negative to what
we’re trying to achieve,” he said. “Apple is a very good ecosystem
that will continue to sell content. What we’re focusing on is a
different type of consumer that really wants more choice.”
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