Studios and other content providers will be required to allow consumers to make one full-resolution copy of any Blu-ray Disc title they purchase ("managed copy") as part of a reportedly long-planned, largely unpublicized scenario for the Blu-ray realm.
The stipulation was recently finalized by the Advanced Access Content System License Administrator—a consortium of studios, manufacturers and software firms that licenses the AACS copy protection used on Blu-ray Discs. According to Media Wonk blogger Paul Sweeting, the managed-copy requirement is part of the AACS licensing agreement approved in June. The license apparently still requires final approval before taking effect, which is expected in early December.
The provision appears to signal that all Blu-ray content released starting in the second quarter of 2010 will be subject to one 1080p copy per customer as a back-up.
However, a current lack of Blu-ray players with recording abilities—as well as a content provider's option to charge for the managed copy, among other likely hurdles—could make it difficult for most consumers to secure managed copies of any of their newly acquired Blu-ray content in the near-term future.
