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MPAA Bans Google Glass In Theaters
An anonymous reader writes: The Motion Picture Association of America, along with the National Association of Theater Owners, have banned Google Glass and similar devices from being in movie theaters. They said, "As part of our continued efforts to ensure movies are not recorded in theaters, however, we maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward using any recording device while movies are being shown. As has been our long-standing policy, all phones must be silenced and other recording devices, including wearable devices, must be turned off and put away at show time. Individuals who fail or refuse to put the recording devices away may be asked to leave." This is a change from the MPAA's stance earlier this year that Glass was "no threat" in terms of copyright infringement. A spokesman said the ban is geared toward combating more sophisticated wearables in the future.
how is this news? recording devices have always been prohibited.
...I'd like to cordially invite the MPAA to go fuck itself.
The belief that they can effectively ban use of recording devices in movie theaters "policed" by soon-to-be high-school dropouts, or that people will actually watch what's recorded that way.
Just like all of those cams on the Piratebay, good luck enforcing this one. I'll wait for the movie to hit HBO and Cinemax before dropping 15$ on a ticket.
I don't like people being able to surreptitiously record things; I don't like the MPAA or RIAA on principle alone (they're leaches sucking blood from the artists.)
So I've no sympathy for either side in this debate. I think they're both wrong.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Should Netflix send the MPAA a thank you card or a cake?
If the theaters start following the advice to search customers and watch them with night vision goggles is anyone going to be willing go to theaters anymore.
It will be fun to see this go up against the Americans With Disabilities Act (et al) in court in a few weeks/year when citizens rely on digital devices to augment their biology.
EG, as soon as my spectacles have on-board tech this fails fast.
Hey, would someone get on that? Why can't I snap picks like Spider yet?
hth
adric
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this has been around a long time.
And if it keeps the glassholes away, even better!
There was no reason to wear them while watching a movie. You're either watching glass or watching the movie.
Unless maybe you're a parent watching a kid's movie. But then you'd need to talk to the glasses which no one wants anyway.
The MPAA took the most restrictive course possible on keeping their movies from being reproduced without them getting a share. And in this case, they're well within their right. You bought a ticket to see the movie once. That does not give you a right to record it yourself. If you don't like their terms, don't buy the ticket.
Now, if I buy a copy of a movie for me to legally enjoy in the privacy of my home, but they impose technological restrictions that prevent me from doing so, then I'll bother to get upset. And yes, I dislike the MPAA for doing that. But that's not happening here.
This...is not news...not even for nerds...and it really doesn't matter. Story voted (-1) Flamebait.
So I can't use Google Glass, but I'm free to bring in my smart phone, which has an HD camera and likely better quality? Good work there, MPAA.
Seriously the effort of preventing recordings after a movie is available stunns me. I thin it was the first week of harry potter showings there were security empolyees in every theater, even after it leaked one day prior to the Dutch release.
And who downloads and waches the horrible cam rips. go to a theater, wait a month or two, anything is better.
Who voted to give these unelected fucks authority over anything?
So why are we banning Google Glass, but not cellphones? Cellphones have cameras too, they're much more annoying than glass for anyone in the theatre.
Waiting half an hour to buy a ticket for about ten bucks, then suffering for 3 hours in 100+ degrees heat to ensure you need to buy something to drink, sitting and standing in the leftovers of the previous show and getting to choose to either not understanding any dialogue or getting a tinnitus from explosions and music (or rather, having that choice being made for you)...
Seriously? Anyone still masochist enough for that "authentic experience"?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
They could have embraced new technology by releasing a multi-language subtitles glass app. Instead, they further alienate people to combat an unrealistic threat. Early gadget adopters may not be numerous, but they have outsized influence in creating trends. In this case, trends towards not going to movie theaters.
Yeah, fuck them! How dare they try to protect themselves from theft on PRIVATE property that no one is REQUIRED to go to. Fuck them indeed.
Disclaimer: My opinions are my own and do not, in any way, reflect the opinions of my employer or university.
Is there even a market for movies pirated using a Google glass? Seems like it would be one of the most shaky, poor quality videos in existence. I've seen some actual "cam" movies before and even those were very difficult to watch. I'm thinking the only loss in profits they're going to be seeing from Google glass users is that a lot of them will no longer come to see movies in theaters
hey!
The Motion Picture Association of America, along with the National Association of Theater Owners, have banned Google Glass and similar devices from being in movie theaters.
It reads like the MPAA are the ones mainly doing the banning, but I'm curious to know if they actually have any real power in the matter, or whether it really all lies with the National Association of Theater Owners.
If a theatre isn't part of NATO (hah) will they still have to follow the MPAA's ruling on this?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Why go? The MPAA is a fierce advocate for repressive copyright restrictions. If you stop going to the movies, you stop their money.
Besides, almost every movie in the theaters is an expensive imitative mess.
The "movie industry" should die. We'll do much better with a wide array of cheaply made productions.
I don't even spend my precious bandwidth on camera recorded movies... But if some MPAA lawyer want's make his job look more important, then kudos for him...
The MPAA does not have a magic wand to "ban" something, they only have contracts and laws. The article does not mention any new legislation to this effect, so I'm guessing they are relying on the former mechanism.
But how many movie theaters are part of the MPAA club and therefore subject to this decision?
These comments are mine; I do not speak for my employer.
that I can't bring my 70mm camera and tripod in, and can no longer tap into the theater sound, either. what a bunch of spoilsports!
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Last time I tried to go to a film with my sons they wouldn't let me bring in my own bottle of water. Got a refund and I'm never going back. I don't need to go to the cinema. I get the lame ass films for free if I want. But these days since their output is so bad I don't even bother. Some time in the future it will be mandated that your eyes be gouged out and your ears deafened before you enter the theatre. Three cheers for the MPAA! Sieg...
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Because "cams" are so great, the only thing better would be one that included EVERY SINGLE MOVEMENT OF THE WEARER'S HEAD. Fucking A.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
In a few years the miniaturization of components is going to make this difficult if not impossible to enforce. If you can't distinguish a regular pair of glasses from these devices...
Lodragan Draoidh
The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
Waiting half an hour to buy a ticket for about ten bucks
I have NEVER waited more than about 5 minutes for a movie ticket ever. Not once in over 40 years.
then suffering for 3 hours in 100+ degrees heat
Ohh bullshit. Movie theaters are almost always too cold if anything.
Anyone still masochist enough for that "authentic experience"?
We can talk about it when you actually describe one. I get people not liking the experience at a movie theater but it's nothing like the nonsense you were claiming.
Quite apart from how horrible it would be to try to watch a movie recorded by a camera the width of a matchstick that's strapped to a person's head while they watch the movie, does Google Glass even have the battery life to record a full movie? It seems like this is a symbolic gesture by the MPAA. I get that long-term battery life will probably improve, but why not wait until something is actually a problem before sending out press releases that might annoy your customers?
In fairness I havn't been to a theater in about a decade. If a movie looks decent I'll just wait for the DVD/Blueray.
While Google Glass is not an FDA approved medical device, it can contain medical devices such as prescription lenses.
Additionally, it is used by people suffering from various medical conditions as an assistive device.
Not only do they run the risk of being sued for discriminating against those with disabilities, but it seems unlikely that someone intent on pirating movies would choose to wear expensive, conspicuous Google glasses with their bright-red "record" LED on the front when there are much cheaper and discrete options for glasses embedded with high resolution cameras designed to record video.
Google Glass even when heavily modified cant record more than a couple of minutes. Are these people complete morons?
They should ban the Samsung top of the line Smartwatch as it has a camera on it ZOMG!!!! it can be used to violate the precioussssssss.....
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I have the impression that Google Glass is already 'out' before it's even being sold.
-- Cheers!
Another aspect is that the MPAA sees a business opportunity, so they first need to ban usage in theatres until they have worked out deals for selling their own versions of the product. Thereafter, only MPAA-approved gadgets will be allowed "to further the enjoyment of their customers."
"...the ban is geared toward combating more sophisticated wearables in the future..."
You mean like... devices that could interface directly with human optic nerves and visual cortex? Would love to find out how they would combat that.
we paid money to watch a movie and are instead distracted by the texting and one-sided phone conversations.
Texting wouldn't be so bad if they just mute the damn alert tone and stop reading their texts out loud.
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
...I'll use my Epson Movario BT200 then as my eyeglasses of choice. Hey - they banned Google glass, not other products that do the same thing and more.
Glad to see that neither of you are slinging massive over-generalizations....
Scan for copyrighted material while in record. Emit continuous high pitched screech through bone conductor speaker if in violation.
.
Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
Haven't been to a movie in over 10 years.
I do have a very nice home theater; I'm guessing over that span it was cheaper.
Hope the theater operators enjoy the grave the MPAA is helping them dig. They can get cozy with the cable operators next door..
..don't panic
Now we just need to ban google glass everywhere else.
Fuck the glassholes, fuck every last one of em.
It would require an external battery pack (very possible) and an asbestos pad between the glass and the wearer's head. It actually would probably shut down from overheating. It doesn't like running and charging at the same time, and I think recording that much video would overheat it anyway.
Error 404 - Sig Not Found
What are they going to do when this augmented memory technology is embedded onto our bodies? The MPAA continues to fail to understand the future.
So lets see what evidence we have.
Given Hollywood accounting means no movie ever makes a profit, whether cam'd or not, this appears to show that they lose no profits from anything outside.
Bugger all evidence from you.
So HOW THE FUCK do you come up with the "thought" that they would lose money???
Get a fucking clue. Your revenues aren't what you want them to be because you don't enforce any of the "common courtesy" rules in your theaters. Talkers, texters, and lately, vapers, have ruined my experience every time I've visited one of your mainstream theaters. With an arguably superior presentation platform available in my house, why would I pay good money to be annoyed throughout the movie in your theater?
You got mislead by the trollish title. They didn't ban people from bringing in a Google Glass, you just have to put it away and not wear/use it during the movie. Just like a cellphone. The theaters forbid you from holding up your cellphone and recording currently also.
Those folks who happen to have foolishly put Google Glass onto a prescription set of corrective lenses (and not carry a non-Glass set) will no longer be able to enjoy the movie now. Whether the Glass user was wise to attach their device to prescription lenses is an question left for the reader.
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...but FUCK YOU MPAA.
$10 ticket, $10 popcorn, $10 soda to sit in shitty seats, have crappy sound, sticky floor to watch what's likely an execrable film for what, 90 minutes?
No thanks.
I'll either watch it at home, or if I *really* want that AUTHENTIC experience, I'll go to http://take-up.org/ where this group rents out otherwise-unused tiny (50 seat?) mid-20thC theaters iin Mpls neighborhoods to show 35mm projector classics on the Big Screen like Casablanca, Buckaroo Banzai, Yojimbo, or Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. $25 for 5 tickets, plus a concession stand that sells normal candy at decent prices AND Coca Cola with sugar.
It's a great experience, and if it wasn't 40 miles from my house, I'd go multiple times/month.
So truly, fuck the MPAA and their whole crew.
-Styopa
I mean other than drunks and losers who can't find a babysitter. Fuck the MPAA fuck the movies fuck them all.
Since someone wearing Google Glass will probably lead to me having a fistfight with them.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
actually $8.43, but don't ask how I know this.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
This means there will be less shakey-cam dumps on Pirate Bay and more quality transfers.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Since the MPAA doesn't pay the theater employees there's no chance in hell they're going to be able to enforce this any better than they do pre-existing recording technologies. Most people working at movie theaters wouldn't know what google glass is if it slapped them in the face. This is utter nonsense.
"Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."
Segway did not consider the implications of being a pioneer in electric scooters and the mish-mash of local laws. Google is likewise pioneering more seamless wearable/camera based device, but didn't consider (or with hubris, thought they could muscle through) the implications of having folks walking around with cameras potentially on all the time. There isn't even any surefire way to be sure that a Glass user is or is not recording.
The really frustrating part, is that I would really love Glass if I could only get a version that didn't have the camera. I don't want to be part of any panopticon, but having a heads-up display with latest emails, texts, weather (or hell, anything you might have on your lock screen widgets), etc - I'd have been all over that.
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and neither is a $15 movie ticket, a $6 popcorn, a $5 drink, a $4 candy bar....
The MPAA went on to mandate
(1) Ebola workers must be quarantined, without access to internet, for 21 days after crossing any international border,
(2) Those who abstain from visiting a movie theater for three or more consecutive months will be required to pay the MPAA a convenience fee $47 per month, and
(3) P2P computer communications are banned. To facilitate enforcement, all TCP/IP packets will hereafter be routed through MPAA servers, where they may, at MPAA's option, be forwarded to their destination address.
Honestly, who wants to go to a theatre? Dirty floors, uncomfortable seats, jerkass patrons, outrageous prices for food and tickets... My living room is 10x better than any theatre in town. The MPAA is as doomed as a dodo if they're spending their time making rules about electronics in theaters. Soon, movie releases will mean internet releases, and no DRM has yet been invented that wasn't eventually cracked, so they're going to have to figure out how to make money selling things other than content, and we all know how well they've been doing at that so far. Keep doing useless things MPAA, you're dooming yourselves and I'll be happy to see you go.
A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills
If a user has their Google Glass customized with prescription lenses, then forcing that user to remove the Google Glass in the theater or leave it in their car would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and open the opportunity for a lawsuit against the theater and the MPAA
Copyright infringement is not theft. Stop referring to it as such.
The geek has been fighting on this line since the days of the 300 baud dial-up modem. It plays well to his fellow geeks, but common usage ignores him.
and i think of all the cam vids out of the CHICOM-controlled world - the MPAA is full of retards for sure!
Does anyone go to movies in theaters any more?
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
I pissed myself reading this! Luckily I was sitting in the theater reading Slashdot so I didn't ruin my own chair *golfclap*
But since you were with your bro's and ho's you went ahead and let them search your shit so you didn't look like a douchebag. Stickler my ass. You're a pussy plain and simple.
This obsession over something as minor as recording a movie, is just utterly crazy. If someone wants to make a shaky recording, with a head mounted device, who cares? It isn't a crime (at least it isn't in countries that aren't corrupt).
Clearly someone at the MPAA is needing a serious psychiatric evaluation.
So MPAA is still abusing copyright to create artificial limitations to resource that by its nature is unlimited. Theres unlimited amount of culture out there.
Personally i would rather see them lower movie ticket prices and stop making mega expensive movies that cost more then sending probe to mars for god sake.
If movie costs more then sending science equipment to another planet, then there's definitely something wrong with budject of movie.
Do not pretend you have no idea why they are doing this. All the other recording devices you mention have to be pointed at the screen in an obvious way that makes it easy to see what you are doing with it. The glasses, on the other hand, are exactly in the same position whether they're recording or not.
Most people are not bothered by someone walking around with a camera. They are however bothered by someone walking around with a camera pointed at them, even if it might or might not be recording.
Running from new technology and burying your head in the sand has worked so very well for the MPAA so far. That must be why they keep at it. It's so very effective!
Burying your head in the sand, ignoring new technology has worked so well for the MPAA.