New technology to curb………_文教Education
a silicon valley company unveiled tuesday a new technology that it claims to be able to block 97 percent of the dvd-copying software used by internet pirates, without interfering with a dvd's playability or picture quality.
macrovision corp. said its ripguard system, which can be included in personal computers, dvd players and dvd recorders, would plug the digital hole through which unauthorized versions of dvd films can be easily copied on a computer and then "burned" to other discs or put online for downloading.
the company is just the first of several firms expected to roll out new anti-piracy technology that has been years in the making, according to a los angeles times report carried by its online version.
for hollywood studios, the technology could help wring even more revenue from dvds, which have become a leading source of their profit.
it is estimated that unauthorized dvd copying cost the studios some 1 billion out of the 27.5 billion dollars they collected from worldwide dvd sales and rentals in 2004.
"macrovision ripguard dvd is designed to dramatically reduce dvd ripping," steve weinstein, head of the company's entertainment technologies unit, said in a statement tuesday.
although the software used to rip discs is illegal in the united states, it has been in widespread use online since a norwegian teenager and his chat-room friends wrote an early version in 1999.
the potential market for macrovision is huge. with hundreds of billions of dvds pressed every year, even a small licensing fee from the major studios would generate a significant boost to the company.