Sonic Solutions and Macrovision Corporation have announced a licensing agreement to provide what they call the industry’s first comprehensive content protection solution to enable the custom manufacturing of secure DVDs by retailers, e-tailers and DVD production facilities.
The new system will make it possible for movie studios and other content owners to expand the number of titles in their catalogue that are available for purchase by consumers in a variety of channels. It will integrate Macrovision’s RipGuard and ACP technologies into Sonic’s DVD On Demand technology, which will allow content encrypted with the industry-standard Content Scramble System (CSS) found on mass-replicated DVDs to be recorded directly to optical DVD media. Sonic will license the new combined solution to video publishers and distributors.
With the addition of RipGuard and ACP technologies to Sonic DVD On Demand, Macrovision and Sonic can together enable DVDs on Demand that feature “triple protection” to safeguard against digital ripping and analogue and digital copying. This innovation will deliver vital security for content owners who wish to offer consumers more access to niche and “back catalogue” content, but have been wary to do so without adequate protection. With this fully protected custom DVD manufacturing solution, content owners can offer DVDs through a variety of existing and new channels, such as online sites and retail kiosks.
“Today DVDs remain the easiest way for consumers to watch movies at home and on the road, but most DVD stores have a limited inventory, which results in lost sales opportunities,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group. “What Sonic and Macrovision have done is make it possible to move nearly unlimited and secure DVD libraries incredibly close to potential buyers, opening up new profit opportunities for studios and retail partners that simply were not possible before.”
“Together, Sonic and Macrovision are providing content protection that doesn’t compromise the consumer experience, which is critical for the success of this exciting new business model,” said Fred Amoroso, CEO, Macrovision. “With the RipGuard and ACP technologies now available as part of Sonic’s DVD On Demand solution, studios and retailers will have the ability to deliver more of their movies to consumers using proven, studio-standard protection technology that we have developed and refined over several years.”
Systems equipped with the Sonic and Macrovision solution will produce DVDs that offer the same audio and video quality, features and protection as today’s commercially mass-produced titles. Sonic’s DVD On Demand platform will provide content owners with comprehensive copy protection against analogue copying and digital ripping using three industry leading technologies (CSS, ACP and RipGuard) while also maintaining the highest possible playback compatibility with set-top DVD players.
