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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."

11 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
  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?

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    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

  3. This won't help... by Mz6 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    A quick browse through some of the bit-torrent sites shows the vast majority of movies that are still in theaters ("Tomorrow" included) are TeleSync and Screener copies. So, while being able to stop camcorders from actually recording the cinema from your seat seems like the best solution, it still doesn't stop those that are getting the feed directly from the projector booth or those that have other means of obtaining the film.

    I am not sure what the best solution would be. It's very hard to stop piracy on these types of thigns because of how many hands they cross when being produced. Most movies created these days require outside influence for CGI enhancements. From there it gets shown to have the music soundtrack added.. Include test audiences (and those that screen it for them), previews to movie theater employees and you have so many leaks along the chain you sometimes don't know where to start. This also isn't all inclusive of the movie industry either... The music industry suffers the same fate, albeit the music is a lot easier to take than a full-length movie.

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    Hmmm.
  4. What about IR filters? by hellraiser943 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I do not know too much about camera filters, but I have heard of ones to block IR. Would that not make the system pointless?

  5. 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.
  6. 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.

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

    Keep releasing bad movies no one wants to bootleg.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

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    "There is no spoon." - The Matrix
  10. Up to no good. by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Will these people go to jail, or just get a slap on the wrist?

    Assuming 'Intent' must be proven, maybe a quick ransac^H^H^H^H^H^Hsearch of their homes by the gest^H^H^H^Hauthorities could turn up a system and evidence of previous nefarious activity. I'm sure somewhere beyond the usual warning 'Use of recording devices is forbidden, yada yada yada' there are some teeth to back the warning up.

    I also doubt 'Fair Use' has a twig to lean on here..."Hey, I was just capturing it in case I missed a part and wanted to rewind and see it again *during* the movie."

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    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  11. 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.