At 12:41 AM 11/26/05 +0000, Dave Howe wrote:

Major Variola (ret) wrote: An older videocam can be used to copy

...

a movie off your screen (like a first gen cassette) even if all the video D/As are 0wned by the MPAA and forced to have DRM. (Don't think it can happen? Look at CALEA & Skype, etc.) Aren't the majority of 0-day "copies" of just released movies camcorder

recordings from inside a cinema?

Yes --the analog hole is alive and well. But in an Orwellian future, the movies have signals that disable the camcorders. Think macrovision for theatres. Think "copy flag" for video acquisition devices. Think CALEA for PGPfone :-) There are already patented plans to display the images such that the eye doesn't notice, but camcorders will record flicker. There are means to go around this, of course. See watermarking/steganography. (Not you, DH, just random readers seeking more) Of course, future *Sony* camcorders will *burst into flames* if you try to record such... techno-sharia, steal a copy, lose your fingers. Oh, but Sony would never do something *irresponsible and dangerous* like that...