New Tech In Hollywood's Anti-Piracy War
BoingBoing's Xeni Jardin reports in Wired on some of the anti-piracy technologies that might soon come to your local theater. In keeping with the MPAA's subtle tactics, one of the new "solutions" is unironically named PirateEye and looks "looks like a mechanical replica of Darth Vader's head" watching movie patrons. Did a Hannibal Lecter mask fail in focus groups as too on the nose? The CEO of the company that makes PirateEye explains that antipiracy measure could be worse:
"I believe there should be an expectation of privacy in theaters, and we only generate an image when the algorithm establishes that there appears to be an active camera present.. Other solutions could involve focusing an infrared camera on the entire audience at all times, or planting security guards with IR goggles throughout the theater...Either of those would be far more intrusive."
Well, when he puts it that way, we'd like to shake his hand and thank him for his restraint. It was really nice that they stopped development on the explosive suppository that detonates if a poorly-trained usher thinks he sees a camera hiding in your popcorn bucket.
