14 DAY TRIAL // The big names in the entertainment industry have become practically obsessed with copyright protection, but at least they seem to be trying to make up for it, even if just a little.
A number of movie makers and IT companies have formed an alliance, of sorts, dedicated to the making of a new standard.
Said standard will allow protected HD video content to be moved and stored in any compliant device.
The consortium is called Secure Content Storage Association (SCSA) and includes Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, SanDisk and Western Digital, for now.
The name of the standard is Phenix and will lead to the possibility of users downloading a protected movie to an HDD or NAND storage device and then access it from any SCSA-enabled TV, laptop, tablet, Blu-ray player, phone or even game console.
“The vision for this new product is to store, play and back up in the cloud personal and professional content,” said Mike Dunn, president, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
“The device renders content up to 10 times faster than over-the-top Internet. We see Project Phenix as a key component of the emerging digital ecosystem.”
The optimized content will be made available for digital download or on physical media sold through kiosks, retail stores and whatever other means exist for digital delivery.
“The SCSA will provide consumers with a digital solution for movies and TV shows that is as simple to use as DVD and Blu-ray discs,” said Bert Hesselink, CTO, Western Digital Branded Products.
“The SCSA solution will allow the consumer to store high-definition purchased content, including copies of certain DVD content, in a secure, consumer-owned digital home library on a hard drive, along with their personal photos, music, and videos. Digital library content can be easily viewed inside the home on a TV, PC or tablet, or when owners are on the move with a portable library copy, providing mobile viewing even when a reliable Internet connection is not available, such as a plane, car, train or remote location.”
Unfortunately, the specification will need newly purchased hardware, software and the content itself. There will be no compatibility with the likes of Netflix or other free-content services, and an overall non-existent cross-platform support.