Macrovision Introduces RipGuard DVD To Dramatically Reduce Digital DVD Piracy

NEW YORK (Macrovision Co) - Macrovision Corporation, the world's leading supplier of content and software value management solutions, announced the worldwide availability of RipGuard DVD a digital rip-control solution for DVD Video. RipGuard DVD plugs the "digital hole" created by PC-based DeCSS ripper software, which allows millions of average consumers to make unauthorized perfect digital copies of copyrighted DVDs in mere minutes. These copies can be burned to inexpensive recordable DVDs or uploaded onto the peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. P2P downloads and the "rent, rip, return" of DVDs are an ongoing source of billions of dollars in annual revenue losses for the movie studios.

RipGuard DVD is a unilateral content protection system that is applied to DVD discs and requires no additional software or hardware to be incorporated into PCs, DVD players or DVD recorders. The combination of Macrovision's analog copy protection technology (ACP) and RipGuard DVD provides comprehensive DVD protection for both major piracy threats faced by video content copyright owners � the analog and digital holes. RipGuard DVD is a technological solution that effectively protects a copyright owner's rights. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it illegal to attempt circumvention of such technological measures.

"Macrovision RipGuard DVD is designed to dramatically reduce DVD ripping and the resulting supply of illegal P2P content. For over two decades, Macrovision has provided the premier solution for device-to-device copying using DVD players, VCRs, DVD recorders, digital video recorders, digital set-top boxes and media center PCs," said Steve Weinstein, executive vice president and general manager of Macrovision's Entertainment Technologies Group. "Ultimately, we see RipGuard DVD and the ACP framework evolving beyond anti-piracy, and towards enablement of legitimate on-line transactions, interoperability in tomorrow's digital home, and the upcoming high definition formats."

The two processes of applying RipGuard DVD and ACP to DVD optical discs can be transparently combined at the replication facility, regardless of the type of manufacturing systems used. In support of the worldwide content protection ecosystem, Macrovision has developed extensive test and certification facilities used to validate both these products for seamless playability on nearly all manufacturer's DVD players, drives, and recorders prior to market release.

RipGuard DVD is available in select replication facilities, with general availability anticipated in the second quarter of 2005.