Concerns Rise About Recordable Dvd

Through their theatrical parents in the Motion Picture Assn. of America (MPAA), home-video companies have already been arguing against the legality of SonicBlue and ReplayTV recorders, which enable users to blank out commercials and transmit recorded programs to others via the Internet. They are now having to contend with DVD copyright issues, as a growing number of households have access to more affordable, multi-format DVD-recordable computer drives and DVD recordability software.

At the recent TechExpo at New York's Javits Convention Center, Tony Jasionowski, North American PD for the Recordable DVD Council and research and development group manager for Panasonic, aimed to defuse concerns about recordable DVD even as the council introduced DVD-Multi recorder/player specifications that will handle all three incompatible DVD recordable technologies— DVD-Ram, DVD-R (writable), and DVD-RW (rewritable)—in the same internal or external computer drive. (The specifications will also enable users to play any DVD-Video or DVD-ROM disc.)

"We are very strong on content protection and have worked closely with the MPAA from the start to ensure authorized recording and playback of copyrighted video and/or audio content," he says. "The new multi-drive system is designed to deal with future digital content, including 'copy-once' or limited copies, with the understanding that content owners will offer a certain flexibility for consumer copying for their own personal use. Our members have incorporated such technologies as serial copyguard protection."

Panasonic, Hitachi/LG, and Samsung all demonstrated production prototypes of the DVD-Multi units, which should be available at many consumer electronics stores this holiday season for approximately $350.

Acknowledging that the movie industry and its DVD/home-video divisions are facing more new challenges from technology, MPAA president Jack Valenti has said that the MPAA does not have any intent to bring legal action against individual consumers for their use of digital video recording devices. Copy protection features, though included in many of these previewed products, will likely be an issue with future hardware and software items as DVD household penetration in the U.S. approaches 40% by the end of the year.