AACS LA, LLC (www.aacsla.com), the cross-industry consortium that is providing the content protection architecture for use in next-generation optical media formats (including HD DVD and Blu-ray), identified the Verance audio watermark technology as an element of its content protection solution and approved the use of Verance watermark on AACS-protected pre-recorded HD DVD and Blu-ray discs in February 2006. AACS is expected to release final license agreements requiring the inclusion of VCMS/AV detector technology in HD DVD and Blu-ray players in the coming months.
According to Verance, the licensing program will enable high-definition entertainment player and component manufacturers to develop products that reach the full potential of the new formats. The Verance watermark technology provides HD DVD and Blu-ray players with the capability to identify and restrict the use of watermarked content taken from theatrical release print and prerecorded home video sources and redistributed without authorization.
Mitch Singer, chief technology officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said, "The unauthorized and illegal trafficking of movies that have been camcorded in a movie theater is a serious problem that increases the cost of entertainment for honest people everywhere. Verance's VCMS/AV technology provides a new tool in combating the illegal distribution of our movies and is the most effective and direct technical means available to curb this problem."
Adopters of the Verance technology include Universal Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Microsoft Corporation, who have all licensed the technology since it was first announced in 2003.
"Until now, available content protection technologies have been 'point solutions', addressing a problem in a particular format, device or distribution avenue," said President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Digital Platforms Group Craig Kornblau. "For Universal Studios, the compelling feature of Verance's watermark technology is that its capabilities extend throughout the lifecycle of content, including promotional, theatrical, home video, broadcast and online distribution. In our trials to date, we have successfully employed the technologies on dozens of projects, placing tens of millions of units of content carrying the Verance watermark into theatrical, home video and promotional distribution. We look forward to working closely with our distribution partners in furthering the adoption of this valuable technology."
