Chips on DVDs could prevent theft

[Hum]

LOS ANGELES - 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 Emeryville.

The two companies are talking to Hollywood studios and expect to announce deals this summer, Kestrel Wireless Chief Executive Paul Atkinson said.

The companies said their technology also can be used to protect electric shavers, ink jet cartridges, flash memory drives and even flat-screen TV sets by preventing some critical element from functioning unless activated.

Retail theft of entertainment products, including video games, accounts for as much as $400 million in annual losses, according to the Entertainment Merchants Association.

Many retailers now keep consumer-entertainment products behind glass cases, but that can inhibit browsing. With technology that renders stolen products useless, retailers could display items openly, thus encouraging more sales, said Mark Fisher, vice president for strategic initiatives at the EMA.

"It will also get product into a lot more outlets that are afraid of theft, including grocers," Fisher said.

source

[Slimy]

They talk about it as if whatever is at the register that activates the chip can't be stolen :laugh:

[Pc_Madness]

Chips on DVD's? Isn't that even more of an incentive to steal? Free food + a movie. :\

[Mike]

how many DVDs actually get stolen from shops anyway?

[pyehac]

Chips on DVD's? Isn't that even more of an incentive to steal? Free food + a movie. :\

I prefer popcorn with my movie (and possibly a drink). :rofl:

[.Ark]

how many DVDs actually get stolen from shops anyway?

Yeah I was gonna say like what is the point in doing this? I mean if someone is gonna steal a DVD... aren't they more likely to just download that movie? Its a good idea, but I dunno if its worth investing millions of dollars into to implement this in stores.. :/

[[deXter]]

This technology isn't so foolproof as they think, if I understood the article correctly:

A thin coating that blocks a DVD player from reading critical information on the disc must also be added along with the chip

I think it means that only the index, ie, the inner circle of the disc is covered with the material, not the entire disc. So it means that a hardware player won't know what's in the disk, the file, their names, sizes, location, etc. Yes, that information is indeed critical, because without it the player won't be able to see the disc. But remember, the actual data part of the disc is still readable.

If you're playing it in a PC, all you have to do is open IsoBuster, and use the "Search for lost files" option :)

Trust me, it works. I purchased a few, really cheap discs and burned them. After a couple of weeks, a part of the inner circle actually got peeled away, but the rest of the disc was still intact. Windows wouldn't read the disc of course, but IsoBuster was able to! The only loss was that I lost my file names, but for a DVD this shouldn't be problem - we all know what the files are named anyways :)

Why, you wouldn't even need IsoBuster. One could modify a drive to ignore the index and just get the raw data off the disc. Then you could run a simple signature-based file recovery software and extract the files :p

[webeagle12]

I'll give you 24 hours before somebody write a program that will bypass/disable that chip :pinch:

[ahfunaki]

I'll give you 24 hours before somebody write a program that will bypass/disable that chip :pinch:

a program couldn't disable the chip, it would have to be something that physically altered the disc. it's not software protection.

and this makes me wonder why they haven't put some sort of chip ( something like the style of a SIM card or the like ) on the inner circle of DVD's that a DVD player would read and verify that the disc is a legal copy? you'd think companies would be much more worried about digital copies being made than copies actually being stolen from retail stores...

[Malisk]

All it takes is two people to circumvent this technology, and no hardware, no cracks:

1. A cashier with a friend.

2. The cashier's friend.

Friend goes to purchase some stuff from the store, along with some CD's. Or just CD's. If no one is around to see, he/she just "activates" the CD. Done. Sure, they better need to know each other, but it only takes one stolen DVD to hand out millions of copies on the Internet, Chinese streets, whatever. I'm not even sure why they bother anymore. What did this copy protection thing with custom chips cost to research and implement? As afhunaki said above, the problem isn't with the stealing -- that's neglible in comparison.

[rado354]

This is so pointless! :pinch:

Who watch their crappy movies anyway? :x

[RuudJacobs.NET]

you can not stop piracy, ever :cheer: