Copy protection and compatability testing...............................
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Macrovision, Digimarc Propose Digital Watermarking Solution for Digital Copy Protection
Macrovision Corporation and Digimarc Corporation have announced a joint plan for addressing the digital copyright issues associated with the DVD platform and other digital distribution media. Digimarc and Macrovision are submitting their digital watermarking solution in response to a call for proposals from the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG), an ad hoc industry group comprised of Hollywood studios, consumer electronics manufacturers, PC hardware and software companies, and suppliers to these groups. This jointly developed technology will protect Hollywood movies and other video content from indiscriminate copying on future digital recording services. Macrovision and Digimarc plan to license the technology to video rights owners worldwide and plan to work cooperatively with consumer electronics manufacturers, PC platform companies, and their suppliers to implement the decoder technology that will make digital-to-digital copy protection a reality.
Digital watermarks embedded in movies and other video material act as an invisible identity, providing basic copyright identification information, as well as various rules to allow or disallow playback, viewing, and copying onto another digital recorder. The technology will be based on Macrovision's patented play control technology and Digimarc's patented watermarking technology. The digital watermarks are designed to be imperceptible to the viewer, but can be read easily by special-purpose decoders that can be built into software or silicon chipsets. The watermarking technology adds a new dimension to the DVD hardware CSS (content scrambling system) and Macrovision's APS (analog copy protection system), which have been selected as the copyright control technologies of choice for the DVD players introduced in the United States and Japan.
(Digimarc Corporation, 521 Southwest 11th Avenue, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97205; 503/223-0118; Fax 503/223-6015; digimarc.com. Macrovision Corporation, 1341 Orleans Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089; 408/743-8600; Fax 408/743-8610; macrovision.com)
OSTA Conducts Compatibility Tests Between CD Media, DVD Devices
The Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) has announced a comprehensive, industry-wide compatibility testing initiative between DVD devices and compact disc media. The tests are designed to ensure a clear migration path for current users of optical storage technology, like CD-R, to newer devices such as DVD-ROM. In addition, compatibility testing will ensure the preservation of major investments made today in data marts and data warehouses that use current optical storage technology. "Corporate America has embraced CD-R jukebox solutions and is moving now to CD-RW," says Ray Freeman, OSTA facilitator and president of industry analyst firm Freeman Associates. "Soon DVD-R and rewritable DVD will be in the fold. Losing access to data already recorded is not an option for anyone. That is why OSTA continues to build consensus within the industry and to sponsor testing that significantly benefits end-users." Fourteen DVD-ROM manufacturers have agreed to participate in the OSTA compatibility study, with more expected to join. Final test results are expected to be made public in February.
(Optical Storage Technology Association, 311 East Carillo Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 805/963-3853; Fax 805/962-1541; osta.org) |
