Greg's Corner

Netflix to offer content downloads for offline viewing

A Netflix executive recently mentioned on a TV interview that the online streaming service is looking into offering an option for users to actually download content for viewing offline. This would allow users to view content while an internet connection may not be available. While this may only affect a niche market in the US, Netflix is targeting a more global audience that may not have the internet speeds needed to effectively stream their content.

One has to wonder how this will affect online piracy though. Most copyrighted content, whether online or off, is protected by what’s known as Digital Rights Management or DRM. That’s basically software or code that tries to prevent the copyrighted material from being copied and distributed for free. The problem is, rarely has there been a DRM that wasn’t cracked within a matter of days.

However services like Netflix and Amazon Video are actually curbing piracy by offering streaming content. It’s much easier to just click a button on your device of choice than going through a somewhat convoluted and illegal process in order to access content for free.