[Infowarrior] - Studios OK Movie Downloads Technology

[Richard Forno]

Jan 4, 7:04 PM EST

Studios OK Movie Downloads Technology

By GARY GENTILE
AP Business Writer

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hollywood studios have approved a new technology and
licensing arrangement that should remove a major obstacle consumers now face
with burning movies they buy digitally over the Internet onto a DVD that
will play everywhere.

Sonic Solutions Inc. is introducing on Thursday the Qflix system for adding
a standard digital lock to DVDs burned in a computer or a retail kiosk.

The lock, known as "content scrambling system," or CSS, is backed by the
studios, TV networks and other content creators and comes standard on
prerecorded DVDs today. All DVD players come equipped with a key that fits
the lock and allows for playback.

But movie download services such as Movielink, CinemaNow and Amazon.com's
Unbox haven't been able to use CSS because studios fear widespread DVD
burning could lead to piracy.

Studios have experimented with an alternative to CSS used by movie
downloading service CinemaNow, but only a small number of titles are
available for such burning and some users have complained of problems with
playback.

With Qflix - and its studio-backed copy-protection system - consumers should
have more options. But they'll need new blank DVDs and compatible DVD
burners to use it.

The system can also be used in retail kiosks, which could hold hundreds of
thousands of older films and TV shows for which studios don't see a huge
market. Customers could pick a film, TV episode or an entire season's worth
of shows and have them transferred to DVD on the spot.

Burning a DVD will take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes using Sonic's
technology, the company said.

Consumers still would be subject to restrictions placed by the movie service
and studios. For instance, using the copy-protection technology in Microsoft
Corp.'s Windows Media system, a service could specify that a given title can
be burned no more than two times.

Sonic has been working for three years to develop the technology and get
studios to agree to amend the CSS license to allow a "download to burn"
option.

"We are pleased and encouraged to see efforts like Sonic's creation of Qflix
that addresses the need for industry standard protection," Chris Cookson,
chief technology officer at Warner Bros. said in a statement.

The initial companies participating in Qflix include Verbatim Corp., which
makes blank discs, the movie download service Movielink, video-on-demand
provider Akimbo Systems Inc. and the Walgreen Co. chain of drug stores.

Studios must still figure out pricing schemes that appeal to consumers and
protect its lucrative retail business. Some retailers, such as Wal-Mart,
have talked about starting their own online downloading services or
installing kiosks to burn DVDs in the store.

Also, most consumers will need a new DVD burner that includes the latest
software. Some burners can be updated, Sonic said, and companies such as
Plextor, a Qflix partner, are expected to market Qflix-enabled DVD burners
that connect with a USB cable.

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