Lib-Ray: Non-DRM Open-Standards HD Video Format

Hi!

I'm Terry Hancock, a frequent columnist for Free Software Magazine (
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com), and I've been working on a
"liberated" alternative to releasing on the closed/DRM Blu-Ray video
media. We're running a Kickstart which is on its last week now
(actually just 5 days), currently at about 74%. It's kind of dicey
whether we'll make it or not. PR below.

Cheers,
Terry Hancock


PRESS RELEASE

Lib-Ray Non-DRM HD VIdeo Standard Project Launched on Kickstarter

As part of a project to create a non-DRM fixed media standard for
high-definition video releases, Terry Hancock has launched a
Kickstarter campaign which will produce two Lib-Ray video titles and
player software to support them.

"Sita Sings the Blues" is the award-winning, feature-length animation
by Nina Paley, released under the Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike license. This will be a Creator Endorsed
release, with a portion of funds going to Nina Paley herself after the
minimum needed for the project is raised. This will be a beautiful
edition in 1920x1080 HD video with lossless stereo audio, and it will
be subtitled in over a dozen languages. This is the first time this
film has been available in high-definition, due to Paley's reluctance
to use Blu-Ray with its DRM issues.

The "Blender Foundation Open Movie Collection" will be a single
Lib-Ray release containing the three currently-complete Blender
Foundation Open Movies: "Elephants Dream", "Big Buck Bunny", and
"Sintel". These will be in 1920x1080 HD video with lossless stereo and
5.1 surround soundtracks. These will also have a number of subtitle
tracks and commentaries.

Unlike Blu-Ray, Lib-Ray releases do not support DRM, encryption, or
region-coding options, and are intended for worldwide release. Thus
the standard is designed with a highly-adaptable localization scheme,
providing many more subtitles than are typically available on Blu-Ray
or DVD regional releases.

The Lib-Ray standard will also incorporate metadata and cover art
options to make them easier to cache in retrieval systems -- an option
intentionally blocked by the design of proprietary standards.

It is hoped that Lib-Ray will become a viable niche standard for
free-culture and independent filmmakers to use for wider distribution
of their films in high-definition format without the hassle, cost, and
ethical issues surrounding proprietary DRM video standards.

Lib-Ray will be physically stored on high-capacity SD cards (SDHC
media) which are more expensive than optical disks, but rapidly
dropping in price. They are also a read-write medium, which allows for
some additional features for producers, including easier short-run
production and the possibility of publishing post-release patches
(such as for additional subtitle tracks as they become available).

The funds will support the creation of these releases as well as
player software to support Lib-Ray playback on computers, including
Home Theater PCs. A manual will also be available, containing the full
specification and tutorials on creating and using Lib-Ray releases.

Hancock says, "I recently realized that Lib-Ray will not get off the
ground without developing player software and that all the pieces
needed to create it were already available to me. I have the necessary
coding experience for this (it will be written in Python, using the
Gstreamer and Webkit library bindings), and so it's really just a
matter of time. It's too much for me to do in my spare time, but if I
can get the support to work on it full time for a short while, I
should be able to make it all work smoothly.

"I'm a regular contributor to Free Software Magazine, and I've been
documenting my progress on previous prototypes in my column there --
ever since I discovered the DRM quagmire that is Blu-Ray publishing!"

Kickstart:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2144275086/lib-ray-no...

Free Software Magazine Column:
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles_by/5

Website for Lib-Ray (Still in Progress):
http://lib-ray.org

More About Terry Hancock:
http://terryhancock.narya.net