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Startup Tries Watermarking Instead of DRM

Posted by Zonk on from the commendable-actions-mean-profits dept.

Loosehead Prop writes "A U.K. startup called Streamburst has a novel idea: selling downloadable video with watermarks instead of DRM. The system works by adding a 5-second intro to each download that shows the name of the person who bought the movie along with something like a watermark: 'it's not technically a watermark in the usual sense of that term, but the encoding process does strip out a unique series of bits from the file. The missing information is a minuscule portion of the overall file that does not affect video quality, according to Bjarnason, but does allow the company to discover who purchased a particular file.' The goal is to 'make people accountable for their actions without artificially restricting those actions.'"

9 of 344 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What's the enforcement mechanism? by flanksteak · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm not an executive, just an..hey waiiit a minute...

  2. Blockbuster Watermark by 93,000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I see a future with millions of movie files on the P2P networks that are watermarked "Blockbuster Video".

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    Sweet informative mod.
  3. Hmmn, that sounds like Unix... by davecb · · Score: 2, Funny

    You can do almost anything, including while (1) { fork(); } but it's logged, so the sysadmin can ask you not to do that ever again (;-))

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    davecb@spamcop.net
  4. I'm an idiot. by 93,000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Please disregard previous post. In true /. form, I just now actually read the summary.

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    Sweet informative mod.
  5. Re:re-encode the movie by nblender · · Score: 5, Funny
    The bits they change are subtle and don't affect the overall plot of the movie. So, for example, everyone who downloads a copy of the movie gets Lindsey Lohan replaced with another actor (say, Danny Devito) in every scene in which she appears. This change, while sublime, is preserved through re-encoding.

    Quite clever, really.

  6. Re:What's the enforcement mechanism? by ArcherB · · Score: 2, Funny

    Heck, the pirate can randomly filter out a few more bits and thus fingering some other patsy instead of him/herself?

    SHHHHH! Don't give it away, patsy!

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    There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
  7. Re:Ohhhhh... by Oktober+Sunset · · Score: 2, Funny

    If I was in charge, I'd have people who were found with a copy of Spiceworld on their computer executed on the spot.

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    What if Tetris was invented by Nazis?
  8. Re:Ohhhhh... by iocat · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dude, if you've played Lost Planet HD and SD, you'll realize that HDTV is as much of a necessity as oxygen, or McDonalds.

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    Dude, I think I can see my house from here.

  9. Re:Ohhhhh... by teh_chrizzle · · Score: 2, Funny
    that their business model is outdated and self-defeating (may I add draconian?), and their prices are unfair.

    you forgot ugly, lazy, and disrespectful.

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    sarcasm:
    -noun
    1. harsh or bitter derision or irony.