"If you have older video drivers (pre-July 2005) and are using a laptop and/or a VGA output device there is a chance Windows Media Player will think there is something wrong."

So the obvious solution would be to do a system update and just get going, right? Well, if it only was that easy. First you have to figure out the release date of the driver you are using, and then you'll have to manually find a newer version:

"The Update Driver button in the window is unlikely to do this properly. You should go to your computer manufacturer's web site to download the latest drivers, or to the site of your video adaptor manufacturer."

Looks like watching a TV show on your computer just got really, really complicated. Especially in my case, since I'm using a four year old Sony notebook for all my Windows needs - and Sony lists the newest video driver being from 2003. Chipset manufacturer ATI apparently doesn't even remember they ever made such a chip. Seems like I'm out of luck.

Or am I? Just when I'm about to give up an email from Bittorrent's support folks comes in. They suggest to use some third party tool to modify and install ATI's drivers. Sounds adventurous, but it's supposed to work. Says the support guy whoose name I won't mention here:

"I had the same issue you had and used this tool to update my laptop's graphics card."

You know your download shop is in deep trouble when even your own support folks can't play your movies because of flawed DRM. And trouble it is for Bittorrent.com. The website confirms that content from Fox and MGM is affected, but some test reports also mention problems with rentals from Paramount. (Note: I've been trying to get an official response about this from Bittorrent for a week now. I've been told that they are still working on the issue, and I'll update this post as soon as their response comes in.)

Judging from a quick tally of the site's catalogue this means that some 800 titles may cause major playback problems for anyone who happens to own a notebook with a graphics driver that is more than 20 months old. That's about 25 percent of their total video catalogue.