Had an idea on how to defeat piracy of movies still in the theature

[ImpulsE69]

I was thinking much the same thing. Since most theaters are going to digital, I don't think it would be hard to embed a code into the movie (that would transfer over to tape) similar to how data can be embedded into jpegs, etc. Find the leaked copies, and investigate to determine the origin. Since it's digital, it would be relatively effortless to do this. Though, with extra frames, it might be more difficult as that could (not sure how all the encoding works) unsynchronize the sound.

In fact, I'm surprised they don't already do this. I'd suspect that it's not a widespread problem - just a problem at a small handful of places. Determine the locations, and threaten that if they don't tighten their security, they won't be getting any more movies from any of the MPAA affiliated companies.

edit: this tab was open the last few hours while I sold a car. I see poofy already answered this.

Though, I find it amazing that the watermark that they put on the films CAN be discovered and removed by someone; seems that it should be able to be done in such a manner that it's impossible to detect.

Are you new to the digital era? If it can be make, it can be unmade. If not today, tomorrow. It just isn't going to go away. Long before the digital era people were "pirating". Rather than focus on the unsolvable problem, focus on better products and incentives. People get caught up on the holier than thou aspect of piracy, but the reality is, as a business, if you just focus on that, you are going to lose.

Movie studios are banking. Which is why it always makes me chuckle inside when they put out reports that they don't. There are reasons they have those "omg we lost millions" numbers and it isn't because of piracy. In many cases even if it made a bunch of profit (and we'll include music in this) they still show on paper that it was a loss or darn near. The real criminals ARE the movie makers and their accountant/lawyers. (of course not all of them). The accounting of rich people is all about legal wording and loopholes.

Oh and if companies want to continue to actually have people PAY for their movies, they should probably avoid insulting their consumers intelligence:

Weinstein has demanded that 20 minutes of footage be cut from the US release of Snowpiercer. The information comes from writer and festival programmer Tony Rayns, who spoke with Bong at the premiere of Snowpiercer in Seoul and learned about the impending cuts. Apparently the scenes that are to be removed are primarily ones that flesh out the characters’ backgrounds and development, and by getting rid of them, Snowpiercer will come across more as a pure action movie than a drama. The goal, said TWC when explaining the request to Bong, is to make sure his film “will be understood by audiences in Iowa… and Oklahoma.” Weinstein also asked for introductory and closing voice-overs to be added in.

 

[DrPizza]

write a script that compares frame by frame two versions of the same movie from different sources. I don't imagine this is all that difficult. they probably use interchangeable key frames throughout the video and change one or two per review copy. that way, sound doesn't come unsynced.

Since we're talking about digital copies of the movie, sure you could compare two digital copies side by side. However, there are a lot of frames in the movie. Think of something like a binary code, with one bit per frame. Some pixel, randomly chosen by the encoding software in each frame either left intact, or changed to a slightly different value. Sure, with two copies, you can determine the difference between the two copies. But, there would be more than enough overlap between the two copies that differed from other copies that any digital version released based on the two copies could be traced back to the two copies.

That is, let's say there are 3 copies of the film. All we need are 3 three-bit codes:
011
101
110

If you had the first two copies, you could see that the first two bits are different. Go ahead. Change them to 001 or 111, or whatever. But, you wouldn't be able to detect the third bit, since it's not different between those two copies. Thus, if that third bit is a 1 on the released version, we know it came from either or both of the first two copies.

Regardless - if others are saying there's really no point to doing this, I'll believe them. But, as far as identifying which copy something came from, I don't think it's that difficult.

 

[DigDog]

Fingerprinting has been tossed around almost since the Napster days, I wonder if it's actually in use. The problem with it being publicized is that the more readily known about the process, the less effective it will be as leakers will just take those frames, blur the watermark, crop the barcodes, etc..

that is because right now they use watermarks. watermarks are obvious because they are .. because they are watermarks. you can tell what is a wm just by looking.
but can you tell that @24:00:15 there is a leaf in your copy of Saving Private Ryan which is not on other copies?
(im not talking about cgi, but actual footage)

@fayd

you can find the frames if .. you write a script to check frame by frame two copies of the same film .. *if* you have two copies with different frames. by which time they are already in the wild. not perfect, but you do get the leak.
mind you, the two copies would need to have been encoded with the same encoder to produce two identical copies (if not for the accused frame) in order for this to work.

 

[John Connor]

Arrrrrrrr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I5dVBezF9k

HAHAHAHA! Never seen that before.

 

[John Connor]

Just install fucking metal detectors at the theatre and be a communist. Google glass not allowed. http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/01/22/feds-question-man-for-wearing-google-glass-in-movie-theater/

 

[sourn]

Or they could just stop making shitty ass movies and then blaming piracy for their bad sales.

 

[lamedude]

I can't be the only one that notices the crap codes.

There is a digital version.

 

[ProchargeMe]

Cam rips are terrible and I didn't think people still watched them.

 

[DigDog]

my take here is that first, films are just plain bad.

when i was younger i enjoyed commando, predator, terminator, red october, aliens, star wars, dune, young at heart, pulp fiction, braveheart, matrix, etc.
from the cheesiest to the artsy, they were pretty much all good and very few stinkers.

these films were done by professionals who knew shakespeare, beckett, shaw, miller, moliere, chekov (not the star trek guy), along with french impressionism, kurosawa, antonioni, etc. even films for children were done by "adults";

on the other hand some modern scripting seems to be done by people with IRL mental problems - adam sandlers films for example. or the barebones stories and plots most hollywood productions have these days. the bland characters, phoned in plot twists, and the over-reliance on cgi.

prime example of this is the reboot of star wars. talk about jumping the shark, not only was the first film a sodding pile of shit, they went ahead and did two more.

ofc there were some good films, i really enjoyed the batman / heath ledger film (scary stuff), but i think if i went and paid for Prometheus i would have torn out my seat.

second, if a film is good, i'll go watch it in the theaters -sitting at home with a divx doesnt compare to a night out with friends, popcorn, THX and IMAX.

but the thought that if i skim through 4 films in before bed i stole $100 is ridiculous - i would spend the same amount of money on films as i do whether i have access to piracy or not - i won't magically make extra money appear to spend on them, nor would i anyway.

what would make me spend more would be if i could go with confidence to a theater and watch a random film, and expect it to be good.

i used to; back when i was in college, i would go to the Loews and pick something to watch .. i used to do this to "broaden my horizons". I stopped doing this when i walked into Independence Day.

Sorry but i've suspended my suspension of disbelief. No more hollycrap stuff for me.

 

[John Connor]

To be honest the last good movie I've seen was Gravity. Before that I go back to Terminator Salvation. YES! IT'S A GOOD MOVIE! LOL!

 

[BUTCH1]

Arrrrrrrr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I5dVBezF9k

LOL, that dude played "Dr. Daytsrome", the inventor of the "MC5" computer in the Star Trek episode when the MC5 runs the Enterprise on a test mission then goes berserk and starts attacking anything around it.

 

[norseamd]

LOL, that dude played "Dr. Daytsrome", the inventor of the "MC5" computer in the Star Trek episode when the MC5 runs the Enterprise on a test mission then goes berserk and starts attacking anything around it.

that dude is blackula

 

[mnewsham]

To be honest the last good movie I've seen was Gravity. Before that I go back to Terminator Salvation. YES! IT'S A GOOD MOVIE! LOL!

You dont watch too many movies. I could rattle off 5-10 that came out after terminator that are as good as or better than Gravity.

 

[norseamd]

You dont watch too many movies. I could rattle off 5-10 that came out after terminator that are as good as or better than Gravity.

that movie is more recent than i would even consider for good movies

not like i watch very many hollywood movies

 

[mnewsham]

that movie is more recent than i would even consider for good movies

not like i watch very many hollywood movies

Watch more foreign and independent films, some great stuff comes out all the time.


as for a list of 5 since 2009

Django
Kings speech
Lincoln
12 years a slave
Lore (2012)

 

[norseamd]

Watch more foreign and independent films, some great stuff comes out all the time.

that is where i look

how is warlords?

ever see the battle of the red cliffs?

any of those you listed as good as glory

 

[mnewsham]

how is warlords?

ever see the battle of the red cliffs?

any of those you listed as good as glory

seems you like a particular genre, asian and or war.

The warlords was pretty good, if you enjoy that kind of film you will certainly enjoy warlords.

Red cliff is in the same vein as warlords, if you like that kind of movie you will love it.

any of those you listed as good as glory

Depends what you mean by "as good as glory", hard to say really. Lincoln I felt captured the time period very very well, similar to glory. But much less fighting, more political workings.

Lore I felt was a fantastic if not depressing movie set in post war germany, more about the emotional struggles and social issues going on in Germany at the time than the war itself.

If you like lots of action and war, not movies for you particularly.

 

[norseamd]

Red cliff is in the same vein as warlords, if you like that kind of movie you will love it.

have it

have watched much of the first half

 

[norseamd]

If you like lots of action and war, not movies for you particularly.

well thought out movies and good plots

no cheap shit

a literary movie with or without action or war

something as good as a book

something you would put on a two story shelf in a private library in a estate after climbing a rolling ladder

 

[John Connor]

You dont watch too many movies. I could rattle off 5-10 that came out after terminator that are as good as or better than Gravity.

I go to the movies all the time. Django Unchained wasn't bad, but I have high standards just like for woman. If they ain't tall, blonde and have green eyes I'll walk away. LOL

 

[MongGrel]

HAHAHAHA! Never seen that before.

Watch "Amazon Women on the Moon" sometime.

It's a silly little fun movie.



The movie "Moon" itself as far as one of the Indie ones I like, there are many others.

 

[Ns1]

these films were done by professionals who knew shakespeare, beckett, shaw, miller, moliere, chekov (not the star trek guy), along with french impressionism, kurosawa, antonioni, etc. even films for children were done by "adults";

those films still exist. just follow the film festivals, you see all the deep artsy stuff that never gets a wide release.

 

[DigDog]

Watch "Amazon Women on the Moon" sometime.

It's a silly little fun movie.



The movie "Moon" itself as far as one of the Indie ones I like, there are many others.

and the Kentucky Fried Movie too, ofc.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

This would raise costs, lower battery life due to powering a radio and be easily defeated by any pirate worth anything. dumb idea.

 

[John Connor]

http://www.jammerfromchina.com/categories/WiFi{47}Bluetooth_Jammers/