New Chips On Dvds Could Prevent Theft

[webguru 0]

New technology designed to thwart DVD theft makes discs unplayable until they’re activated at the cash register. A chip smaller than the head of a pin is placed onto a DVD along with a thin coating that blocks a DVD player from reading critical information on the disc. At the register, the chip is activated and sends an electrical pulse through the coating, turning it clear and making the disc playable.The radio frequency identification chip is made by NXP Semiconductors, based in the Netherlands, and the Radio Frequency Activation technology comes from Kestrel Wireless Inc, based in USA.Retail theft of entertainment products, including video games, accounts for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses, according to the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA).

[sparkx 0]

Now I this helps if the dvd is stolen out of a store but doesn't stop people from downloading it off the internet illigally. What would be good is if they made it so you could store personal information and documents on a CD allowing the user to activate the chip and make the CD only readable (and editable) if a password is sent to the chip. That would be quite advanced but I bet it would be popular (assuming it wasn't to expensive and was on re-wrightable CDs. However I am not sure how long CD/DVD or game consulse that use CDs will last. They have already changed it for music and computers, it probably won't be long until your DVD player has a USB port and your game system uses memory cards as the games.Thanks,Sparkx

[.:Brian:. 0]

hmmm....interesting idea....however will it be effective?Or how long is it until someone finds a way to activate them themselves? In which case there would be a market for devices or instructions on how to illegally steal dvd's and activate them so that they are playable....I don't know much about this technology, but it does sound like an interesting idea....and it would probably stop your average criminals....Although I do have to agree about the DVD's on the internet, and finding a way to fix that.....

[xerxes1405241546 0]

As with any other, externally activated system, people will immediately learn the frequencies used to alter the state of the coating, with devices emitting the signal appearing on the black market soon afterwards. Of course, one can always argue that the signal emitters may have to be quite complicated, but that's rather impossible if the solution is to be implemented world-wide. Otherwise only the biggest shops will afford spending additional money on such a solution, and thus they will need CD/DVDs produced specifically for themselves, which will elevate the costs even higher. One can presume that -R(W) media will be (much) more expensive as well (companies would have to alter the manufacturing lines for relatively few customers).Offering a kind of security that can be provided by more advanced coding algorithms (one you know the frequency/password, the whole scheme is useless), and being quite expensive, this solution is bound to fail.

[Punkcat 0]

I think the tendency is leaving all physical devices behind, and everything is usually stored online in megaservers. Everyday you get more and more "free space" to upload or keep your e-mails, photos, and all. P2P networks - as much as big companies hate them- are here for good and they share material which was usually on cds and DVDs. I've also heard that the new PCs will come without hard disks, and will all be done through internet connection. So I don't think there's much future in security devices for physical storing systems, at least for the everyday user.

[lifetalk 0]

Well, I would say, that PC's without hard disks is a very far-fetched idea, and I doubt that will be a possibility for many years to come. Hard disk is essential, and network connections cannot be relied upon every time. Plus, if this were to happen, then countries with an under-developed network and internet infrastructure would be faced with problems.Anyway, the new security system/idea that they are thinking of, WILL, eventually fail. And that is obvious. Crackers/hackers have always managed to keep ahead of everything. What about the promises of Vista being the most secure build ever. Was eventually cracked, sooner than expected!Anyway, it won't be long before people actually learn and get hold of the frequencies used to unlock these devices.Just my 2 cents you know

[ethergeek 0]

Yeah...all this sorta thing will do is motivate people to steal it the white-collar way, by downloading it. The only people that will lose out are the people that will legitimately buy these dvd's, as the cost of the chips will jack up the price of the media.

[Jewbacca 0]

It's a nice idea, but it won't be long before theives take the technology out of the cash register and put it into a small handheld device which others can use.Most retailers only keep cases on display and have the discs stored in draws at the counter anyway so wouldn't it be a waste of time? The only people with access to the draws are the staff so it wouldn't take long to figure out who is stealing the stuff anyway.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Nice idea, but someone down the road will eventually crack it. Piracy is inevitable.xboxrulz

[xerxes1405241546 0]

Nice idea, but someone down the road will eventually crack it. Piracy is inevitable.

I have a particular difficulty in understanding why no company has actually tried to break the vicious circle:You invest big bucks in ineffective anti-piracy systems, the prices of copyrighted media go sky-high, less people can afford your products. Where's the logic behind that?

If somebody would cut the whole security-thing out, the prices would drop and less people would rely on piracy. Look how the companies were scared of releasing DRM-free media on iTunes, and it came out to be an enormous success, not mentioning the original idea, where songs are offered cheaply. Let's agree on one thing - figures that are displayed by big corporations are wrong, people who rely on piracy would not buy a record if there was no piracy. So fighting piracy is basically pointless, as you still need money to buy the original. If there is no money, no one buys anything.

How much more resourceful would be to cut the prizes by 50%, instead of drowning that money in senseless pursuits. How many of you would actually buy a game if it would be 50% cheaper? I say it's worth a try, and you?