Business | Features
Hollywood calls for new ways to curb movie piracy
Studios exploring on-demand delivery of films direct to home
- By Derek Baldwin, Business Features Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 26, 2011
Dubai: Falling DVD sales and piracy of movies is leading to renewed calls by Hollywood for new technologies to prevent unauthorised distribution of their intellectual properties.
A recent study by Adams Media Research found that DVD sales declined by 27 per cent since the heady days in 2004 when sales reached $12 billion worldwide.
To boost falling revenues and protect content, studios are "exploring on-demand delivery of theatre movies direct to consumers' homes, confident that the service will not impact traditional theatre movies and DVD releases — that is, unless the business model is disrupted by piracy," says global security software security firm Irdeto.
To prevent illegal viewing of pirated satellite signals around the globe, Irdeto has patented new "watermarking technology for set-top boxes."
The company said that "studios are requiring additional security measures to mitigate potential threats of piracy and new software must be deployed to every set-top box offering early release entertainment."
Irdeto said its new watermarking technology "allows content owners to trace illegally distributed content to individual users."
Pirated movies, for example, that have been recorded over an official Pay TV source can be watermarked by Irdeto to that if those same movies are uploaded to the internet, they can be traced directly back to the TV box that helped in the illegal recording.
Irdeto said in a statement that "from there, content owners can identify and shut down illegal distribution networks."
Bernie Rietkerken, account manager for Irdeto Middle East based in Dubai, said his company provides security for virtually most Pay TV broadcasters through cards that are installed in descramblers as well as software that is installed in TV boxes.
Media solutions
Irdeto provides pay media solutions for companies in the Middle East such as Orbit Showtime Network, Abu Dhabi Media Company and Al Jazeera.
In December 2010, for example, Orbit Showtime Network took new steps to block illegal viewing of its 75 channels and 100 monthly movie premieres by introducing new Showbox HD decoders the company said would lock out five million viewers.
When the new decoder was put into effect, OSN said it would help "put an end to piracy."
Meanwhile, Dubai's Irdeto offices are among more than two dozen company offices around the world — the company employs 1,000 people.
"Security is still key next to user experiences," Rietkerken told Gulf News in an interview, noting that Pay TV corporations "need to select a solutions provider of best-in class security.
Pay TV operators need top security protection as well, he said, to ensure that content distributors do not lose trust in certified licensed broadcasters.
In addition to Pay TV card protection, Rietkerken said that Irdeto also offers Pay TV companies protection of the actual software "in any device, the application, the player" to guard against reverse engineering of illegal boxes that can descramble satellite signals to view content illegally.
Irdeto is working on more than just security.
"It's not just about content," said Rietkerken. "It's also about how a consumer will be helped to experience the content."
The company is also moving toward new user-friendly software programs and applications to make conditional access content more enjoyable to discover and share, said Rietkerken.
One concept under consideration, he said, is the creation of software for TV boxes that build what he called a virtual channel in which subscribers list their interests and the software simultaneously monitors viewing habits.
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