Disney takes the lead in anti-piracy technology

Disney takes the lead in anti-piracy technology

Hollywood's war of wits against piracy moved up a notch when the Walt Disney Co. announced yesterday that it will adopt the latest technology of encrypted DVDs for the run up to the Oscars. The famous studio and distributor of some of the most well loved movies will be the first to engage in such a measure, in collaboration with Dolby.

Traditionally, the process of the awards function begins when various studios and distributors send DVDs and video cassettes of their movies to special voters' groups, who watch the pictures at home and subsequently vote for each category. These DVDs or cassettes are called 'screeners'. The Oscars are a big deal for Hollywood because they boost revenues when film lovers throng theatres after the kind of acclaim several movies gather at the awards show.

However, the effect has often been nipped in the bud by the piracy monster, as illegal copies of the movies float in the market and on the web, much before the originals are released in theaters or on home CDs.

The new technology entails the distribution of screener DVDs which are encrypted, and hence can be played only on a special DVD player developed by Cinea Inc., a Virginia based arm of Dolby Laboratories. This promises to avert piracy opportunities and safeguard copyrights when the screeners are distributed.

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Each DVD player is encrypted by way of registration against each receiver's name and the screeners received by each voter are simultaneously coded uniquely so as to be played only on that particular receiver's player. The players also play other DVDs.

Walt Disney Co. chairman Dick Cook, revealed that this year the studio will provide these encrypted DVD 'screeners' to its voting members. Disney's forthcoming titles like "Shopgirl", "The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, and the Witch and the Wardrobe" will be part of the initiative. Alternatively, Disney will arrange special film shows for voter's groups to aid them in the voting process.

Hollywood's experiments with anti-piracy technology have been ongoing for some years now. Two years back, there were failed attempts to forbid screeners. In 2004, 12000 new encrypted DVD players were distributed, albeit late, and the studios couldn't get the encrypted DVDs ready, making do with the non-coded version. Hence, not much piracy could be prevented. Those who did receive the players on time had an issue with the installation of such a heavy instrument. Moreover, there were grouses from non-Academy members that they were left out in the distribution of players.

Summarily, although Walt Disney Co. will initiate the adoption of the encrypted DVD technology, the same has been a bone of contention last year. According to Dennis Rice, Disney's head of PR, this is a significant move towards quelling piracy.

However, the other big banners like Sony Pictures Entertainment and Universal Pictures don't seem to think so and are still contemplating the choice. For them, the current method of watermarking or just using software codes works just fine as it helps in hunting down piracy offenders.

The stakes are high for Cinea. This year it has ambitions to provide 12,000 players to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. According to business development head Larry Roth, the organization is also in talks with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the trustees of the Golden Globe awards. It hopes that the incorporation of its new technology will pave the way for extensive use on the editing table and finishing phases, where piracy gains entry quite conveniently.

After Walt Disney, it remains to be seen whether the other banners follow suit. The risk is evident for the famous studio since its insistence for the encryption players could rein in fewer voters to watch its movies this year.