RMN Site Admin
Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 587 Location: Lisboa, Portugal
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Posted: Sun 6 Apr 2003, 20:01 Post subject: |
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Macrovision is a proprietary standard, and to use it (especially in commercial products), you need to pay a fee to Macrovision Corp. (it's a very small fee, though).
Since Macrovision is so easy to cirvcumvent, it's being abandoned by most publishers. Specifically in the case of DVDs, Macrovision is not added directly to the video; the disc simply has a code instructing the player to enable Macrovision in the outgoing signal. Many players have Macrovision disabled, so the discs are easy to copy. As to signal-embedded Macrovision (used in tapes), anyone can buy a "signal enhancer" at an electronics shop, that will disable Macrovision and let them copy the tape, so again it's not very useful.
Most "copy protection" schemes are pointless, as the software industry has found (very few games use copy protection nowadays). The best way to enforce copyright is through the use of unique serial / registration numbers. This will not prevent anyone from making copies, but it lets you identify (and eventually prosecute) who made the copy.
RMN
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