Courtesy of INTEL, HP and Toshiba

Jun 25, 2007 09:31 GMT  ·  By

The DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA) has come up with a plan of turning into reality one of the craziest ideas that ever popped into their heads. Due to the fact that currently DVD sales are pretty poor (all hail the DVD-ripping software!) and the fact that HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays will soon have the same fate, the DVD CCA is planning to release a document which will ban DVD disk copying in any type of device.

As a result, a DVD drive will not be able to play without a valid DVD disk being present inside it. And that's not good since such a hardware limiting method could just as well stop all the copying business. According to PC Magazine a vote for this amendment will soon follow at the Content Protection Advisory Council (CPAC) of the DVD CCA. If the amendment passes, its effect will be felt no sooner than 18 months. Warner, Walt Disney Studios, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Pioneer are among the biggest partners in this action against DVD-copying.

One thing I don't understand is how on earth they are planning to do that. I mean, such a protection can only be hardware based and that means all future DVD units (standalone or internal ones) will have hardware protections which will prevent a cloned DVD from running or an original one from being copied. Even virtual drives could be banned as a result of this new amendment.

And what will happen if other DVD drives producers don't comply with this new standard? Will that start a war between the drive integrators? Probably so. But one thing's for sure. DVD drive manufacturers won't be updated to the new standard. So keep an eye on your older DVD. Cause it may be the last one of its kind.

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