Sonic and Macrovision Enter into Licensing Agreement to burn css direct

[BJ_M]

Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ:SNIC), the leader in digital media software, and Macrovision Corporation (NASDAQ:MVSN), the leader in digital media protection, today announced a licensing agreement to provide 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 solution will make it possible for movie studios and other content owners to expand the number of titles in their catalog that are available for purchase by consumers in a variety of channels.

The solution will integrate Macrovision's RipGuard and ACP technologies into Sonic's DVD On Demand™ technology solution, 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 analog and digital copying. This innovation will deliver vital security for content owners who wish to offer consumers more access to niche and "back catalog" 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 analog 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.

"Our DVD On Demand manufacturing solution creates a revolutionary new business model that will benefit movie studios, channel partners and consumers alike," said Jim Taylor, senior vice president and general manager of Sonic Solutions' Advanced Technology Group. "The synthesis of Sonic and Macrovision expertise means that studios and video publishers can safely and cost-effectively distribute a wider variety of content into existing and new distribution channels."

The new Sonic and Macrovision solution will be available later this quarter.

About Macrovision's RipGuard and ACP Technologies
The Macrovision RipGuard technology is the anti-ripping solution preferred by Hollywood studios and used on major DVD releases today. Macrovision ACP is the world's leading device-to-device analog content protection system, protecting over 4.5 billion DVDs for Hollywood and other rights owners since the format's introduction. Macrovision ACP closes the analog hole on nearly every DVD player, DVD recorder, PC, and digital video recorder. The combination of RipGuard DVD and Macrovision ACP form a comprehensive DVD protection solution that plugs both the analog and digital holes in a single step.

[rumplestiltskin]

Is it permitted to say "Horsefeathers!"?

[VegasBud]

Removing all the PR nonsense, that leaves:

...make it possible for movie studios and other content owners to expand the number of titles in their catalog that are available for purchase by consumers in a variety of channels. ...The...solution will be available later this quarter.

I guess that's good news, to be able to get a bigger selection of material on dvd.

I've got to admit, I'm curious how they can get CSS to work on recordable disks. I had read earlier this year that the dvd cca was working with disk manufacturers to produce a recordable disk that was css-compatible, but it seems like they would also need special burners.

[Joe The Dude]

Removing all the PR nonsense, that leaves:

...make it possible for movie studios and other content owners to expand the number of titles in their catalog that are available for purchase by consumers in a variety of channels. ...The...solution will be available later this quarter.

I guess that's good news, to be able to get a bigger selection of material on dvd.

I've got to admit, I'm curious how they can get CSS to work on recordable disks. I had read earlier this year that the dvd cca was working with disk manufacturers to produce a recordable disk that was css-compatible, but it seems like they would also need special burners.

This sounds like a good idea to me, so long as either someone comes up with some software to "Rip" that protection out, OR the movie studios allow you to register your purchase and allow you to download and burn one backup disk per year, per title, for no additional fee (or like $1), or something.

Hopefully, this will also allow Netflix, Blockbuster, and so on, to have a wider selection, and to easily replace lost or stolen movies affordably.

[normcar]

I read the other day, was if a non-css disk is placed in a css device, at some point in the future to be determined, the device will only play at the standard resolution (480). Therefore, older titles without the protection, and titles with ripped-away css will play at the lower resolution.

[VegasBud]

Joe The Dude,

All they mention is CSS, ACP, and ripguard, which the current rippers can remove, so to people who know how to backup their dvds, it just means more movies available. There are lots of movies that will never come out on dvd any other way, some of them I would really like to have...if the price is reasonable, and they really are dvd quality.

[VegasBud]

normcar,

It wouldn't bother me at all if my dvds only play at dvd resolution.

If the article you read was about hi-def, they're going to have a real problem selling hi-def recorders that won't play back in hi-def.

[normcar]

It wouldn't bother me at all if my dvds only play at dvd resolution.

If the article you read was about hi-def, they're going to have a real problem selling hi-def recorders that won't play back in hi-def.

Yes, but it will piss off people like me who purchase up converting DVD players/recorders to play my 100's of old DVDs. Hopefully it will not happen for a long time, and will not be tolerated when it does happen.