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Theaters vs. Camcorders, Round 27

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."

7 of 351 comments (clear)

  1. Infrared wouldn't work... by Otto · · Score: 5, Informative

    As they'd just stick an IR filtering lens on the thing. Problem solved. Cheaply too.

    The thing with varying the framerate to introduce distortions sounds cool, but probably overly expensive for the limited scope of the actual problem itself.

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    - Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
  2. IR Filter by ifreakshow · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't know how effective the sony method would be. It seems like a dedicated person could filter the IR. I know that they do this in astronomy when using a CCD to look at stars and in high end photography:

    high end photography using filter astronomy using hot mirror

  3. Colour CCD cameras by advocate_one · · Score: 4, Informative

    have a blocking filter that will defeat this technique. Surely camcorders will have it as well...

    --
    Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
  4. Re:Infrared wouldn't work... Neither will timing by jeffmeden · · Score: 4, Informative

    Modern digital handheld camcorders can use extended exposure to essentially mimic the human eye's perception, making the frame timing rather useless unless you alter it so much that it looks bad to the eye too. technology simply advances too fast, they wont be successful til they stop the gear from getting in front of the screen in the first place. Add that to the fact that camera rips certainly arent the only source of leaks, this technology will be rather pointless eh? find a cure for cancer or something!

  5. Re:This won't help... by radixvir · · Score: 3, Informative

    there arent any screeners available for that movie yet, its mislabed. but all a telesync is is a cam with an external audio source (ie the handicapped seat). but you are right in that the people recording usually are in on it with the projectionist. these people arent the same people who leak the stuff on the internet, these people are in the business and sell the copies on the street. the people who release on the internet just pick up the copies off the street and release them.

  6. Re:Prosecution by BCoates · · Score: 4, Informative

    You don't know what you're talking about. The DMCA is an act that made substantial changes to copyright law, and it affects all copyrights. There are not special copyrights for digital vs. analog works, and there is only one set of copyright laws in the US: Title 17 of the US Code.

  7. Re:Prosecution by Alsee · · Score: 3, Informative

    The DMCA starts with the word Digital

    True...

    and refers only to methods of copyrights protecting digital works.

    FALSE!

    The DMCA does *NOT* restrict itself to digital. For example there does exist analog encryption. Circumventing analog encryption is just as criminal as circumventing digital encryption. Distributing analog decyption devices is just as criminal as distributing digital decryption devices.

    About the only part of the DMCA that is restricted to digital materials is the internet notice and takedown proceedures, and that is not actually a legale restriction, it is merely an implicit restriction because there do not exist any analog materials on the internet.

    If someone were to make internet hardware that could carry analog data (rather difficult, but not impossible), then the internet notice and takedown proceedures *would* apply to analog materials as well.

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    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.