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Theaters vs. Camcorders, Round 27

Posted by michael on from the body-cavity-search dept.

ackthpt writes "CNN is reporting two people, one in Los Angeles and one in Canada, were caught recording The Day After Tomorrow in cinemas, while a third got away. No mention if night-vision goggles, as previously mentioned, were of assistance." Reader azmatsci writes "Tuesday Sony was issued a patent for technology that will attempt to block camcorder recordings in movie theaters. Funny to me because I just came up with the same idea and discovered it while doing a patent search. Only problem with the idea is it will only block camcorders that use CCD recorders, which are sensitive to IR light. Another jamming idea which probably work for all camcorders can be found here."

15 of 351 comments (clear)

  1. poor taste by ralphmyers · · Score: 5, Funny

    They should be fined just out of poor taste.

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    D
    1. Re:poor taste by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

      "They should be fined just out of poor taste."

      Everybody in my theater was fined $8. :(

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  2. IR - varmth by Mick+Ohrberg · · Score: 5, Funny

    Interesting idea - crank up those IR emitters enough, and people will get hot, and need to go buy more drinks. Maybe the big soda companies have a stake in this too?

    --

    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

    1. Re:IR - varmth by webguru4god · · Score: 4, Funny

      Maybe the watermarks that they are including in some films could also be ads for popcorn and soda so that all a pirated copy would show was snack ads, and the consumers would get a nice dose of subliminal advertising ala Josie and the Pussycats.

    2. Re:IR - varmth by Phurd+Phlegm · · Score: 4, Funny
      I'm normally a nice guy, but everytime I hear some @$$holes cellphone ring in the theater, I have this overwhelming urge to twist their head from their shoulders, and shove the phone in the newly-created bloody cavity.
      . . . but being a Slashdot poster, you have to settle for sending them a ringtone that crashes their phone?
  3. magnets! by ncurses · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or the movie companies could require the theaters to do what they did in cryptonomicon: put really big magnets in the doorways, so that all of the camcorders are destroyed. They could even post a sign about it to avoid being sued.

    --
    Help! I'm being repressed!
  4. Hollywood Greatest Weapon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Keep releasing bad movies no one wants to bootleg.

  5. Better Idea by Ann+Elk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Instead of trying to prevent copying, cinemas should just force all viewers to strip naked before entering. As an added benefit, if the movie is boring, the audience can devise their own entertainment.

  6. Taping The Day After Tomorrow? by GrnArmadillo · · Score: 4, Funny
    Why would they WANT to pirate it? Steal it perhaps to destroy it and save humanity from its scourge, but propagating the thing? Evil!

    (And here's an amusing summary/parody of the thing for those who are up for a little MST3K style ribbing at it.)

  7. Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here's an idea: Security metal detectors! Homeland security will happily oversee who has what when entering the theatre. This will also reduce terror.

    Tickets will now read "seating at 6.45. Movie starts at 7.00. Please be here two hours prior to the show due to security measures."

    And this must work, since I haven't seen people recording movies on airplanes.

  8. Counter Night Vision by CHaN_316 · · Score: 5, Funny

    When filming a movie, get a buddy to sit with you with a camcorder as well. Activate the night vision on the camcorder, and scan for the evil anti-piracy guys using night vision. When you spot one of them, and they spot you, activate your camcorder's 1000 candle spotlight and aim at guy, and run for it.

    Hmmm... this sounds like a really good Splinter Cell mod. Splinter Cell: Theaters VS Camcorders.

    --
    "There is no spoon." - The Matrix
  9. Linux programmers source of problem again,,,, by FerretFrottage · · Score: 4, Funny
    The movie studios have been in search of a new DVD encryption scheme since the industry standard, known as CSS, was cracked by Linux programmers in 1999...

    Damn those Linux programmers, if we just had Windows virus/worm writers to worry about, the world would be a much safer place.

    --
    "Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
  10. The laws about camcorders in theaters... by rthille · · Score: 4, Funny

    make me want to make a fake camcorder out of a block of wood and some paint and see if I can get arrested...

    --
    Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
  11. Re:Not good... by shut_up_man · · Score: 4, Funny

    "...doing light-saber battles..."

    "I see your Schwartz is as big as mine..."

  12. Re:Good! by h4rm0ny · · Score: 5, Funny


    I've no really strong opinions on this at the moment, but looking at the situation from a pragmatic point of view, isn't the pirating a good thing for the studios?

    By passing around these low-quality versions, the studio gets free publicity by people wanting to see the movie 'properly.'

    The only time they really lose is if the movie is crap and they were just relying on the marketing hype to... oh, yes, I see why they're bothered.

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    Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.