Matrix Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 On April 24, 2019, within hours of Avengers: Endgame being released in China, at least two copies of the movie appeared online after being recorded in cinemas. The movie industry is determined to counter this 'camming' threat but is there really a technological solution? A China-based partnership claim they have the answer - but do they? During February, China’s National Copyright Administration (NCAC) announced that it would be upping efforts to deal with copyright infringement. On top of a promise to “dig deep” into the sources of piracy and “sternly investigate” online platforms that help to distribute pirated content, the NCAC said it would also target unauthorized “camming”. Camming, the act of recording movies in theaters with video cameras, has been a major headache for the entertainment industries for decades. Illegal copies often hit the Internet within hours of a movie’s premiere, as was the case last month with Avengers: Endgame. While the NCAC clearly couldn’t do anything about that serious event, the question remains whether physical deterrents (such as bag searches and action against complicit theater owners) can also be augmented by technical measures. Before Endgame dramatically hit the web, the China-based partnership of Ogilvy and Focus Film Media, part of Focus Media Group, announced that they had developed a new system to prevent camming taking in place in cinemas. “Originality is the soul of the film industry and the foundation from which it thrives upon; it is our job to protect this originality,” said Jason Jiang, Founder and Chairman of Focus Media Group. “We are delighted to have gone beyond a conventional approach and develop the ‘Piracy Blockr,’ which allows us to address the problem in a discrete but effective way, ensuring that the film industry is protected for years to come.” Piracy Blockr in action? (Credit: Ogilvy/Focus Film Media) The image above, although clearly mocked up, provides an idea of how the system is supposed to work. A watermark, invisible to the viewer, is captured by camcorders when an attempt is made to record the screen. So how does it work? TorrentFreak spoke with Ogilvy to find out. “There is a lot more to light than what mere human eyes can detect, but a device in your pocket can help you see beyond your biological limits. Our eyes can only detect colors of light that we see as a rainbow, primarily shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet,” says Silvia Zhang, Ogilvy Marketing & Communications Manager. “So while our naked eyes can’t pick up on the wavelength of infrared light, the sensors in your phones and cameras can – essentially making the invisible visible.” Image: Supplied by Ogilvy Anyone with a smartphone can easily see what the system is about. Simply press a button on an infrared remote control and point it at the camera lens and the image on the screen will display the infrared light emitted by the device. The camera can ‘see’ the infrared light, we can’t. “We used this to our advantage to combat the multi-billion dollar illegal cam recording industry by embedding panels of infrared light powered watermarks, which we call the ‘Piracy Blockr’, behind cinema screens in China,” Zhang adds. The idea of using infrared light to foil pirates isn’t new. A report dating back almost 10 years reveals that Japan’s National Institute of Informatics had teamed up with Sharp to pulse infrared light through cinema screens to disturb digital recording devices. Since we haven’t heard of any such devices actually being deployed in cinemas, we asked Ogilvy how many screens its system currently ‘protects’ in China. The company didn’t respond to our question, despite repeated attempts. We also asked how the Piracy Blockr system is able to defeat determined cammers who attach infrared filters to their devices. The company didn’t respond to that question either. A request for a real-life image or video clip of Piracy Blockr in action received the same response. Some research appears to have been carried out in India (pdf) which considered the challenges presented by pirates who deploy infrared filtering but the problem clearly isn’t straightforward. If it was, someone would be making millions by now while resigning ‘camming’ to history. As for Piracy Blockr, we won’t be holding our breath while waiting for a live demo. VIEW: Original Article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On April 24, 2019, within hours of Avengers: Endgame being released in China, at least two copies of the movie appeared online after being recorded in cinemas. The movie industry is determined to counter this 'camming' threat but is there really a technological solution? A China-based partnership claim they have the answer - but do they? During February, China’s National Copyright Administration (NCAC) announced that it would be upping efforts to deal with copyright infringement. On top of a promise to “dig deep” into the sources of piracy and “sternly investigate” online platforms that help to distribute pirated content, the NCAC said it would also target unauthorized “camming”. Camming, the act of recording movies in theaters with video cameras, has been a major headache for the entertainment industries for decades. Illegal copies often hit the Internet within hours of a movie’s premiere, as was the case last month with Avengers: Endgame. While the NCAC clearly couldn’t do anything about that serious event, the question remains whether physical deterrents (such as bag searches and action against complicit theater owners) can also be augmented by technical measures. Before Endgame dramatically hit the web, the China-based partnership of Ogilvy and Focus Film Media, part of Focus Media Group, announced that they had developed a new system to prevent camming taking in place in cinemas. “Originality is the soul of the film industry and the foundation from which it thrives upon; it is our job to protect this originality,” said Jason Jiang, Founder and Chairman of Focus Media Group. “We are delighted to have gone beyond a conventional approach and develop the ‘Piracy Blockr,’ which allows us to address the problem in a discrete but effective way, ensuring that the film industry is protected for years to come.” Piracy Blockr in action? (Credit: Ogilvy/Focus Film Media) The image above, although clearly mocked up, provides an idea of how the system is supposed to work. A watermark, invisible to the viewer, is captured by camcorders when an attempt is made to record the screen. So how does it work? TorrentFreak spoke with Ogilvy to find out. “There is a lot more to light than what mere human eyes can detect, but a device in your pocket can help you see beyond your biological limits. Our eyes can only detect colors of light that we see as a rainbow, primarily shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet,” says Silvia Zhang, Ogilvy Marketing & Communications Manager. “So while our naked eyes can’t pick up on the wavelength of infrared light, the sensors in your phones and cameras can – essentially making the invisible visible.” Image: Supplied by Ogilvy Anyone with a smartphone can easily see what the system is about. Simply press a button on an infrared remote control and point it at the camera lens and the image on the screen will display the infrared light emitted by the device. The camera can ‘see’ the infrared light, we can’t. “We used this to our advantage to combat the multi-billion dollar illegal cam recording industry by embedding panels of infrared light powered watermarks, which we call the ‘Piracy Blockr’, behind cinema screens in China,” Zhang adds. The idea of using infrared light to foil pirates isn’t new. A report dating back almost 10 years reveals that Japan’s National Institute of Informatics had teamed up with Sharp to pulse infrared light through cinema screens to disturb digital recording devices. Since we haven’t heard of any such devices actually being deployed in cinemas, we asked Ogilvy how many screens its system currently ‘protects’ in China. The company didn’t respond to our question, despite repeated attempts. We also asked how the Piracy Blockr system is able to defeat determined cammers who attach infrared filters to their devices. The company didn’t respond to that question either. A request for a real-life image or video clip of Piracy Blockr in action received the same response. Some research appears to have been carried out in India (pdf) which considered the challenges presented by pirates who deploy infrared filtering but the problem clearly isn’t straightforward. If it was, someone would be making millions by now while resigning ‘camming’ to history. As for Piracy Blockr, we won’t be holding our breath while waiting for a live demo. VIEW: Original Article.
mp68terr Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Mach1 said: We also asked how the Piracy Blockr system is able to defeat determined cammers who attach infrared filters to their devices. The company didn’t respond to that question either... Blocking the IR bandwidth is one way; only allowing the visible spectrum with a pass-band filter seems more efficient to bypass this anti-camming system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjun Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 So subconscience info added to music, movies and printed media from '90 are all back. Bravó! If this is really massively distributed - all media "bad boys" will start it use in short time. ...and even clean paper will not remain clear anymore but full of invisible ADs.....!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halvgris Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 with money spent on preventing this you could release it globally at a lower cost. me however won't ever go to a cinema unless it's a date. people eating snacks and / or talking put me off. to much of a distraction to pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudboy Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 One can only hope this works. I hate cams and will never understand why anyone would watch that garbage rather than waiting 2-3 months for better quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mp68terr Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Some movies are garbage already, without the need of any camming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 10 hours ago, mp68terr said: Some movies are garbage already, without the need of any camming. Most people really don't like cams as stated above Avengers End Game was one of the rare moments were it got a watchable HDTC , but its not cams coming out of China that messing up Hollywood no way , its the R6 HD VOD leaking out of China months before the west release it that hurting Hurting Hollywood, Just a few days ago Shazam! (2019) and Pet Sematary (2019) 1080p HC.HDRip leaked these are watchable rips posted on sites that don't even post cams at all if you don't mind Chinese subtitles . It's not just China ether sometimes they come from South Korea as well it just depends on who gets it 1st. The problem is they give the release to China early to try to slow down piracy in China but it speeds it up everywhere else and it most of the time not a cam at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mp68terr Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 1 hour ago, steven36 said: The problem is they give the release to China early to try to slow down piracy in China but it speeds it up everywhere else and it most of the time not a cam at all. Then shall we say that Hollywood-related movies business is shooting itself in the foot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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