Macrovision targets rippers

Encryption system developer Macrovision has introduced a new system to stall DVD ripping. The system is a format-based technology that uses a unique digital framework per title. RipGuard DVD is verified through a new program offered by THX, a San Rafael, CA, company that provides quality assurance services for the entertainment industry.

Macrovision said the RipGuard DVD could prevent 97 percent of the estimated $1 billion in annual lost movie industry revenue. RipGuard causes ripper software to crash or stall, thus preventing it from copying the content of a DVD. Similar schemes have been used for music CDs with mixed results; in some cases, protected CDs wouldn't play in some CD players, which caused consumer uproar in Europe and slowed to a dribble the introduction of protected discs into the United States.

For more information, visit www.macrovision.com.

Back to the top