Streaming movie rentals from Android Market blocked on rooted devices

By Adam Rosenberg May 22, 2011

youtube movies — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Android users with a rooted device are learning the hard way that the recently launched streaming movie rental service is unusable. The service, which runs through YouTube and allows people to rent a variety of titles for $3 to $4 via Android Market, is rendered inaccessible due to copyright restrictions, a according to an error message (via Engadget.

“Error 49” pops up automatically when you try to download a movie; a search of the Android Market help center brings a brief description, which lays out the “why” in very little detail: “You’ll receive this “Error 49″ message if you attempt to play a movie on a rooted device. Rooted devices are currently unsupported due to requirements related to copyright protection.” Someone with more expertise would need to confirm it, but the blockage likely ties to the worry that a rooted device, with it’s relaxed app restrictions, could conceivably be used to record rented material…? Maybe? Just spitballing here– any Droid-savvy readers want to chime in? Other video rental services seem to work just fine on a rooted device.

For now, this restriction really only affects the Motorola Xoom tablet, since Honeycomb 3.1 is the only Android OS that supports streaming rentals. It’s coming to other versions of Android soon though, so a choice will have to be made.

Google has taken a pretty enlightened stance toward embracing an “open” platform with its Android OS, even outright encouraging modded operating systems. As Engadget notes, the Xoom’s free 4G LTE hardware upgrade even still applies to rooted tablets. All of which suggests that there may have been some external pressures that fueled the decision to cut off streaming rentals.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Mobile

I keep forgetting about the Apple Watch Series 9’s coolest feature

Apps on the Apple Watch Series 9's screen.

I’m just going to come out and say it: I love the Apple Watch Series 9. A couple of weeks ago, I returned to wearing it every day after an extended period of not doing so. And you know what? I was surprised by how much I’d missed it.

But one thing has bothered me this time around: There's a feature I haven't been using. Not because it’s bad, but because I tend to forget it's there.
Effortless to own and wear

Mobile

3 foldable phone deals you should seriously consider today

The Google Pixel Fold with the screen open.

For those who are thinking about getting a foldable phone, we've rounded up three foldable phone deals for you to consider as your next purchase. Motorola is currently selling the Motorola Razr at $200 off, which brings its price down to $500 from $700, and the Motorola Razr Plus at $300 off, which lowers its price to $700 from $1,000. Meanwhile, the Google Pixel Fold is available from Best Buy with a $500 discount that slashes its price to $1,299 from $1,799. You can be sure that you won't regret purchasing any of these devices because they're all included in our roundup of the best folding phones, but you need to hurry because the offers may expire at any moment.
Motorola Razr -- $500, was $700

The Motorola Razr features a 1.5-inch external OLED display and a 6.9-inch Full HD+ internal pOLED display, with decent performance provided by its Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor and 8GB of RAM. It's got a 64MP main camera and a 13MP wide-angle camera at the back, plus a 32MP selfie camera inside. The folding phone features a metal chassis that's surrounded by soft but durable leather, and it folds without a gap.

Mobile

The OnePlus 12R is still one of 2024’s best smartphone deals

OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition in hand.

OnePlus is still quite new to me, as I was a lifelong iPhone user until I joined Digital Trends. However, OnePlus has a pretty solid reputation in the mobile world, and now I can see why, as the OnePlus 12 is one of my favorite smartphones that I’ve used so far this year.

But the OnePlus 12 isn’t the only phone that OnePlus launched in 2024. There is also the more affordable value option, the OnePlus 12R, which even comes in a cool Genshin Impact Edition.