That definitely won't happen, people would share like crazy and the studios are not down for that. This is the norm in the world of DRM anyway (iTunes). If you lose it, you've lost it. Which is why for video purchases, it just doesn't make as much sense. The entire industry would need to soften up on the matter first.
I looked up information on iTunes, XBL and PS3 video DRMs. All of them have similar movie rental DRMs -- tied to hardware; 14/30 day expiration period, 24 hour viewing duration. Apple's rental DRM is slightly more lenient because it allows you to watch the movie on exactly 1 authorized devices at any one time (download and watch on Mac, finish on iPod). In this respect, I am ok since the title is a rental anyway.
For movie/TV purchases, XBL allows you to redownload -- which is great. Everytime you buy a show, MS issues you 2 licenses at the same time: One tied to the hardware so that everyone on the same unit can watch, and the other tied to the XBL id you used to buy the TV show (so only the account owner can watch if he's signed on). Previously, if you change to a new Xbox 360, only the purchaser can watch the show if (s)he's signed on. Recently, a content license tools is provided to transfer the license to another hardware unit once every 12 months. This helps to plug the above hole
On PSN, you are able to share PSN game purchases on up to 5 machines with some restrictions, so no license transfer tool is needed (Excellent !). However, the PSN Video store only allows you to download a purchased movie/TV show once and it's tied to the hardware. They should at least do the following:
(1) Warn people not to delete the show before/after they download it (Did they ?)
(2) Have a migration tool for PS3 guys whose hardware has failed. This is my original motivation for tying the license to PSN id instead of the hardware id. I thought it was possible to reuse the PSN DRM but restrict it to 1 transferable device license, instead of 5, at any one time within a reasonable period.
If XBL can do something similar albeit clumsily, I don't see why Sony can't.
I take it more as a resource constraint or prioritization issue. As a content *and* platform company, Sony stands to gain more from advanced DRM R&D and policy studies.
That's not really up to Sony, and indeed would defy the entire reason that the studios wanted a high-def format to begin with (higher margins to DVD). I'm expecting BD to be sold at a respectable premium for some time to come.
The BDA has a target of US$1b title sales this year. If I remember correctly, they are less than one third there. Even with the holiday season sales bump (double) and Warner's repricing end of the year, I think the BDA guys would want to offer another round of holiday promotion like last year (or this year's Fathers Day sale) to seal the number.
************************************************************
I read the article; like with most things Sony-corporate related, I had mixed feelings on it. There were some interesting 'slice of time' insights for sure, but I don't think the author is otherwise very familiar with the goings-ons in the recent years. One thing I found interesting was the whole Gerstner mentoring; that was quite surprising for any number of reasons. Ultimately I'm of course a Kutaragi fan, and can't help but note that most of the technology initiatives that Stringer is credited for began with Kutaragi's hand. One thing that Stringer obviously has achieved though, and it's crucially important, is the breaking down of Sony's silo'd mentality... so so counter-productive for things to be that way. That was always a goal of the KK as well, but Stringer used the carrot where Kutaragi would have used the stick.
I check Cellius almost every week with deep anticipation just to see what Kutaragi is up to. In that sense, i am a fan. Without a supportive staff, I have doubts he could carry Sony this far though.
I think Howard and Kaz did a lot to undo some of Kutaragi's damages while trying to retain his original vision. It is no small feat.
Kaz's own vision will be apparent in the current PS3 software platform and PS4. I have not formed any judgement yet. I reckon I'll check in the fifth year.