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Ritek embeds RFID chips to fight copying

PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:17 pm
by cfitz
From Simon Burns at vnunet:

DVDs will soon be tracked with embedded radio transmitter chips to prevent copying and piracy, according to the company which makes movie discs for Warner, Disney, Fox and other major studios.

The technology, which can also be used for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs, will allow movie studios to remotely track individual discs as they travel from factories to retail shelves to consumers' homes.

Home DVD players will eventually be able to check on the chip embedded in a disc, and refuse to play discs which are copied or played in the 'wrong' geographical region, the companies behind the technology expect.

"This technology holds the potential to protect the intellectual property of music companies, film studios, gaming and software developers worldwide," said Gordon Yeh, chief executive of Ritek Corporation.

Ritek is the world's largest DVD maker, and its U-Tech subsidiary will make the discs.

U-Tech and IPICO, the company behind the RFID chips used in the discs, announced today that production of the 'chipped' DVDs will begin at U-Tech's main plant in Taiwan.

U-Tech's global network of factories stamps out some 500 million pre-recorded DVDs and CDs a month for major movie studios, recording studios and video games companies.

After ironing out bugs in the manufacturing process, U-Tech will work with major movie studios on a large-scale test of an RFID-based supply chain management process at its manufacturing plant and distribution centre in Australia.

RFID readers will then be built-in to home DVD players to extend the anti-copying technology into homes as part of a digital rights management system.

U-Tech described this as the "real end game" for the chip-on-disc technology, which would "eliminate optical disc piracy in the entertainment and IT sectors" .

IPICO claims that its RFID tags can be read from at least six metres away, and at a rate of thousands of tags per minute. The passive chips require no battery, as they are powered by the energy in radio waves from the RFID reader.

"I have envisioned using RFID to improve product visibility and enhance security in the optical disc industry for some time," said Yeh.

"Launching the chip-on-disc system has made this dream a reality and holds the potential to protect the intellectual property of music companies, film studios, gaming and software developers worldwide."

Gordon Westwater, president of IPICO, added: "[This is the] first step towards new international standards to safeguard optical media, and the subsequent adoption of the chip-on-disc concept as a global standard."

U-Tech Australia, where the project will undergo a large scale trial, did not reply today to vnunet.com's request for comment on the new embedded RFID chip process and the precise schedule for its rollout.

Press relations staff at U-Tech's office in Taiwan refused to provide more information about the technology.


Bah! :x

cfitz

PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:03 am
by Ian

PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:56 pm
by dodecahedron
Ian wrote:https://events.ccc.de/congress/2005/wiki/RFID-Zapper(EN)


that gives the German page (php won't accept parentheses as parts of a URL (not even in a php URL tag :evil: ).
for the English version go to the address bar and manually add the (EN) at the end of the above URL.

PS i almost forgot:
WHOA THERE, CFITZ!
good to see a lifesign from you! :P

PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 1:58 pm
by CowboySlim
Hi, Cfitz! :P

The technology, which can also be used for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs, will allow movie studios to remotely track individual discs as they travel from factories to retail shelves to consumers' homes.


Perfect, I'll buy a spindle and just leave it in my Jeep.
Then if it is stolen, I can call the MPAA?

Check ebay for my Lojack! :wink:

PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:49 pm
by burninfool
This must be a hoax. :o

PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:01 pm
by dolphinius_rex
CowboySlim wrote:Hi, Cfitz! :P

The technology, which can also be used for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs, will allow movie studios to remotely track individual discs as they travel from factories to retail shelves to consumers' homes.


Perfect, I'll buy a spindle and just leave it in my Jeep.
Then if it is stolen, I can call the MPAA?

Check ebay for my Lojack! :wink:


Wow... that's a brilliant idea.

Now I'm getting all sorts of thoughts about how this technology can be abused :lol:

PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:01 pm
by Ian
RFID has a range of like 6 meters. Unless the RIAA starts putting sensors on every street corner, it probably won't help you recover your car.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:52 am
by MediumRare
Ian wrote:Unless the RIAA starts putting sensors on every street corner...

Don't underestimate the RIAA!

G
P.S. Hi cfitz!!!

PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:42 am
by CowboySlim
Ian wrote:RFID has a range of like 6 meters. Unless the RIAA starts putting sensors on every street corner, it probably won't help you recover your car.


I'm not even sure about the 6 meters.
The one thing that I never understood about RFID is its power source.
Will I have to take my RFID'd DVDs in to have their batteries replaced?
Can I get a plug-in-the-wall charger?

I've got those chips in my dogs, but I don't plug them in.
Should I take them back to the vet for a recharge? :o

PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:12 pm
by Ian
From what I understand, RFID chips don't need a power source. When the transmitter sends out a signal, they just reply. Powered by the signal? I dunno.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:22 pm
by CowboySlim
I did a wiki on that.
There are two types, active and passive.
Actives have batteries and a longer range.
Passives do not and are powered by the incoming RF energy.
Therefore they have much shorter range.

It is the passive type that they put on merchandise,
implant in animals,
and which the aliens put in the back of my head when they abducted me.