I read how they plan on doing this. I predict it will give a percentage of the movie-going public screaming headaches. (Or at least make them very uncomfortable.) These are the same people who are sensitive to the flicker of cheap 60 hz office lighting.
Not that a bit of discomfort was any concern to the MPAA. Look at the movies they put out! On Fri, 11 Oct 2002, Major Variola (ret) wrote: > [They want to exploit human persistance-of-vision vs. camcorder pixel > differences. > Seems to me that one could process the captured frames to eliminate > artifacts, though that > *is* another step required. In any case, insiders will have access to > the playback codes > opening the bits to duping.] > > > Jamming camcorders in movie theaters > > By Evan Hansen > Staff Writer, CNET News.com > October 10, 2002, 4:00 AM PT > > As one of the key architects of the discontinued Divx > DVD system, Robert > Schumann knows first hand how hard it can be to sell > copyright protection to the > masses. > > Still, some three years after Circuit City pulled > financial support for the > limited-use DVD technology he helped build, Schumann > and a group of > former Divx engineers are hoping for a second act in > Hollywood with the > advent of digital cinema. > > Herndon, Va.-based Cinea, the company Schumann > co-founded after Divx > folded in 1999, is close to unveiling a beta for its > Cosmos digital cinema > security system that will help movie distributors > keep track of how their products are used > while protecting them from piracy. > > Meanwhile, Cinea this week > scored a $2 million grant from the > National Institute of Standards > and Technology's (NIST) > Advanced Technology Program > to develop a system that it claims > will stop audience members from > videotaping digital movies off > theater screens. > > The company "will modify the > timing and modulation of the light > used to create the displayed > image such that frame-based > capture by recording devices is > distorted," according to an > abstract for the winning NIST grant application. "Any > copies made from these devices will > show the disruptive pattern." > > In an interview, Schumann compared the process with > distortions that appear in videotaped > images of computer screens, which may show lines that > are invisible to the naked eye. > Rather than produce accidental disturbances, he said, > Cinea plans to create specific > disturbances that it can control. > > "Machines see the world more closely to reality than > humans do. In the case of computer > screens, if you track the energy from a phosphor > coating (a light-emitting chemical used in > cathode-ray tubes), you find that it begins with a > strong burst followed by a period of > decay and then another burst, and so on. But people > see it as a single intensity," Schumann > said. > > Cinea, a privately held company with backing from > Tysons Corner, Va.-based venture > capital firm Monumental Venture Partners, expects to > have a working prototype within two > years. It is partnering with Princeton, N.J.-based > Sarnoff, which will conduct research on > image manipulation and analyze distortion and > possible countermeasures. The University of > Southern California's Entertainment Technology Center > in Los Angeles will evaluate the > system in testing with human subjects. > > "There's a difference in the way a camcorder and the > human eye see the world," Schumann > said. "We've figured out some ways to exploit that. > The trick is to make sure there is no > negative impact on the viewing experience for the > audience." > <snip> > http://news.com.com/2100-1023-961484.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed > > ----- > Dear Mr Congressman, I am God > -Jack Valenti
