Re: Jamming camcorders in movie theaters
This idea will die once substantial numbers of movie goers start getting headaches and vertigo. I think this would be, at best, a Pyrrhic victory. j -- Original Message -- From: "Major Variola (ret)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 09:34:24 -0700 >[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.] > Sent via the WebMail system at 1st.net
Re: Jamming camcorders in movie theaters
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." > > http://news.com.com/2100-1023-961484.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed > > - > Dear Mr Congressman, I am God > -Jack Valenti
Jamming camcorders in movie theaters
[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." http://news.com.com/2100-1023-961484.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed - Dear Mr Congressman, I am God -Jack Valenti
