Fear of Movie Piracy Delays Theater Releases
Written by Ernesto on March 19, 2009The movie industry leaves no stone unturned in its quest to eliminate movie piracy, particularly illegal camcording in theaters. Unfortunately, it’s the public that has to deal with the negative consequences. In some parts of the world, it means that you’ll have to wait a few extra weeks or months before a movie premieres.
Movie theaters nowadays are becoming more secure than some airports. Employees are equipped with night-vision goggles and instructed to closely monitor movie goers. Metal detectors are installed, the public has to hand over all recording devices and in some instances even their candy. Despite all these efforts, desperately poor-quality camcorded films that are hardly worth watching still leak onto the Internet – so more has to be done.
Quite common by now are the watermarking techniques used by the studios to track down the origin of cams. Through these watermarks the theaters where the movies are recorded can be identified, and every now and then an arrest is made. Recent technological advances even make it possible to get a fairly accurate estimation of the location of the camcorder equipment using audio watermarks. These audio watermarks have not been implemented yet since they require a lot of extra paperwork in order to work well.
In a recent blog post John August, the director of hit movie The Nines, discusses some of the anti-piracy tools the movie studios are using to decrease or deter camcording in theaters. August himself has a fairly balanced view on illegal downloading. In a previous interview with TorrentFreak he said that he wouldn’t think bad of people who downloaded his movie using BitTorrent. In talks with other studio insiders, however, he discovered something that made our jaws drop.
We’ve mentioned many times before that when a movie hits the theater, or a DVD or TV show debuts in one country before it does in another, this is a major incentive for people to turn to BitTorrent. People don’t like waiting for something that other people already have, especially if the solution to that is just a few clicks away. However, instead of putting time and effort into making their content premiere globally, the studios are purposely delaying movie releases in some countries because a lot of cam releases originate there.
So, instead of working towards solving the problem, the studios are actually encouraging piracy by restricting access to millions of potential customers. Like many others, August himself acknowledges that delayed premiere dates in some locations might actually encourage people to pirate movies and TV-shows.
Instead of adding restrictions and thereby alienating their customers, the movie and TV studios should focus on dropping the release windows for their content. It may have been possible to keep people and countries apart pre-Internet, but not any more. People worldwide are closer together today than ever before – and only getting closer.
Previously: Torrent Sites End Up on Aussie Blacklist
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73 Responses
let the fucking worse than nazi movie/music industry die, we never needed it and it’s been only preventing REAL change
I note that the film industry has decided to solve the problem by making the cause even greater.
Any chance the film industry is run by old woman with a shotgun trained on her rabbit-slippers-that-just-so-happen-to-look-too-much-like rabbits?…
Wow, and my cinema has a, well, a person who takes your ticket as protection! cinemas are turning into airports.. making the whole expierience terrible! gone were the days of a peacefull viwing of a cfilm it seems.
Great, they’re worsening the situation. I watch pirated movies BECAUSE they are released to our theaters so fucking late.
I don’t watch dubbed movies anymore and it takes them at least 4 months longer to release their shit when it’s already in theatres across the US and other markets.
Don’t blame me, blame your shit decisions.
OH NO don’t release it where you can make your last dollars then blame piracy HAHAHAH
more proof they are on some form a glue
what drugs they smoke in the CEO offices
@3
Experts are calling this an overdose of the highly addictive “Nostalgia”.
Apparently the abuser gains delusions that happier times when they weren’t acknowleged as such, have become a personal idealic wonderland.
Delusions continue that this period is the current, anything getting between this fantasy and reality is the work of the devil, pedobear, Anon, Terrorists or Alastair Darlings eyebrows.
Take that as you will.
The strange thing about the cam paranoia is that very few people actually watch cams. I can’t stand them and don’t know anyone who can.
I think the pirated movies are helping Europe learn English better by weaning everybody off of those crappy dubbed versions of films!
This is going to be another EPIC FAIL.
hahah cant wait till they realize it was all counter-productive hahaha
@9
I think you’re right. In my personal experience, people in countries that don’t dub movies speak english much worse. Spanish, French and Italian people are notoriously bad at english.
People need to stop downloading crappy quality cams and just wait for r5s and dvdrips.
@10 sorry, i got that wrong, people speak better english in countries that don’t dub
“fear of piracy”
sounds like a movie
So so true.. I could watch Lost this Sunday on Irish TV.. but I dont wanna wait so I get it on Wednesday.. same with every other TV show.. and even moreso for movies..
Global release dates would give them a LOT more money..
Could we organise a Pirate AGM where we declare CAMs sh*t and pointless??
Seriously, who are these crap pirates who watch CAMs?
Taken came out as a DvdRip MONTHS befor the theatrical release…DVD…not shitty cam…and it STILL made over 100 million worldwide. So much for piracy costing the mpaa money.
So let me get this right:
They will delay the movie in some cinemas because people cam there? Then weeks later it will be shown to these cinemas too but there will not be so much customes because people downloaded cam version, that was cammed in another cinema?
LMAO
I just think i have found the most perfect solution to the movie piracy: make movie and don’t show it. If people can’t see it in cinema, then “bad evil pirates” can’t cam it and there fore no piracy. They must not sell the DVD also because “bad evil pirates” will make dvdrips and then upload it to ThePirateBay.
No cinema, no DVD = no piracy!!
IT’S PERFECT … most of the movies nowdays are crap anyway
LMAO
What will they ever think off next …
Anyone who thinks crappy cam releases have an impact on the industry needs to have their head examined.
N.
I’d rather not see the movie at all than see a cam release.
i watch telesyncs occasionally =\
i think this
“Movie theaters nowadays are becoming more secure than some airports.”
is a bit over the top. australia doesnt have any of that. a guy takes your ticket and you walk into the cinema. were you a less scrupulous person, you could even walk straight out of one theatre and into another with no trouble, effectively seeing another movie for free.
Just read this about the new film by pixar called up:
“Up is out in the US on 29 May and will be released in the UK on 16 October.”
We must be top cammers! :-)
Who watches cams?
I never watch cams, they’re really bad quality.
The people who want to watch a cam are cheap bast**ds who wouldn’t pay to watch a film in the cinema anyway.
Let’s face it movie companies lose far more money from screener releases than cams.
Movies and tv shows have been delayed in different countries for decades…
It is not that they just started that ridiculous behaviour when bitorrent was founded…
Just think about the Simpsons, when they had a new premiere and how long it took, until the same episode was aired in Europe, for example….
@16
Stupidly that money should never ever go to the MPAA. Not a cent.
It should go to the artists that made the film. Not some inept, secret organisation that seem to dictate what ever they want.
CAM’s are horrendous most/all of the time.
DVDscreeners can be better but it depends if the studio went A.D.D. with labels across the screen.
We need global release, things are getting closer (eg. Lost & Battlestar airing a few days after the US) but for movies I’d also want to see a directors unrated [maybe guidance from director themselves] edition of any given film, which the MPAA wouldn’t get a $ from. Wonder which version would sell more…
HERES WISHING THERES A SPECIAL HELL FOR ALL THOSE INDUSTRY FAGS!!
“Like many others, August himself acknowledges that delayed premiere dates in some locations might actually encourage people to pirate movies and TV-shows.”
I have trouble with this concept – show me evidence that people pirate less in the location that content is released to first if that’s the case.
I don’t believe that if movies & TV were released to all locations simultaneously that this would reduce piracy.
I mean I download Aussie TV shows whilst I’m in Australia – it’s more convenient: I can watch it when I wish and not skip through\endure advertisements.
Have to agree with this as staggering releases has certainly pushed me to grab stuff for free in the past, even with stuff I’m a big fan of and had every intention of purchasing, but then when you’ve got it for free and it works as good as the original and days/weeks/months pass… well, interest wanes… and they lose a sale.
Who the hell wants to watch some other section of the world explore some new content (movies/games/tv/etc) while you get to sit around waiting because some fool figured that the best policy?
i usually watch movies in their native language (i.e. 90% in english) but a nice side effect of movies being delayed in countries where dubs are standard (Germany in my case) is that you don’t have to go through all the cam and TS cr4p because by the time it’s on screen here there’s almost always already a dvd quality video source =)
I don’t see any logic behind this. They’re only harming themselves. And if movies are going to circulate on the internet, it would be better business for them at least to screen it in the theatres before it arrives on the internet, rather than the other way around.
@27 Mar 19, 2009 at 23:57 by NubCakes
“I mean I download Aussie TV shows whilst I’m in Australia – it’s more convenient: I can watch it when I wish and not skip through\endure advertisements.”
I told you son, do not take those pills again! Step by my office and I’ll show you Australia.
Its folly, no matter where movies are released there will always be someone there to record it. This is a bad movie by the movie industry, as they are loseing money, which they will blame on piracy. LOL
muhaha this is funny
meanwhile in canada they shove dsl into nothing land and make 60GB caps mandatory in may
for that teksavvy 200GB well pay up to 180$ per month now
its so expensive that people will be leaving the net in droves
and NOT returning thus paying that isp back with reduced sales and therefore more overhead
how long before those outsourced indians start getting laid off?
They’re just afraid the CAMS will show what a crappy movie it really is and stop suckering people into goin into the movies to watch a non-original overused plotline in an oversexed multimillion dollar B-class film.
Reverse psychology is not FTW. Silly executives.
dont like cams dont like theatrics hello hd mkv’s!
@33: “muhaha this is funny
meanwhile in canada they shove dsl into nothing land and make 60GB caps mandatory in may
for that teksavvy 200GB well pay up to 180$ per month now
its so expensive that people will be leaving the net in droves
and NOT returning thus paying that isp back with reduced sales and therefore more overhead
how long before those outsourced indians start getting laid off?”
Jeepers and I thought AU was bad … best deal here is 200GB for $90 ATM.
Though as far as higher data plans go ISP’s make less money off these users: because they pay wholesale for capacity the higher per MB cost they can extract from customers the more money they make – as well as higher data plans usually going to customers who saturate their connection (eg. Bittorrent, Usenet)
I rarely watch American movies anymore, less than one yearly at most, so i can’t care less… That said, CAMs DO SUCK and HQ releases almost come immediately (sometimes even before) a theater release, so who cares?
I spend more quality time playing online, browsing pages, reading stuff, watching news, etc.
I often watch tv series from other countries, while i can still get US junk with ease (eztv.it and such) i find myself interested in other regions, that never get shown or sold here anyway.
For music i do the same. Here i have this 300gb+ torrent filled with lossless indie music inspired in the music from an indie game…
The only losers here are the RIAA and the MPAA. Not only will i never buy their junk, I’m no longer exposed to any of it.
The world is full of nice culture and counter culture outside of US. Heck, even inside of US there is still independent production and non commercial junk.
They dug their own grave.
this stuff is so dumb! they put all this effort into stopping cammers and then go and release every single movie that comes out in Russia, Thailand and other countries on DVD before it comes out on DVD here in North America.
These movie company people are friggin idiots!
Who the hell watches cams nowadays anyways?
@38: “this stuff is so dumb! they put all this effort into stopping cammers and then go and release every single movie that comes out in Russia, Thailand and other countries on DVD before it comes out on DVD here in North America.
These movie company people are friggin idiots!”
I assume you’re talking about R5 (region 5) DVDs – my apologies if you are not.
R5’s are released before other regions and sometimes even before theatre release in an effort to *combat* piracy believe it or not – the reasoning being that the region 5 has an enormous, endemic bootlegging and piracy problem beyond other areas.
Not all studios release R5 DVDs before other regions for this reason – last I checked Paramount do not as well as others.
R5 are actually high quality telecines that are produced before post processing effects are added as well as some mastering changes and hence lack extras and fancy menus usually.
In practice most films do not reuire or get much post-processing applied to them before other region coded DVDs are released so in many cases R5 rips are very similar to the region 1 as far as video quality goes but seeing as they arent English a source from elsewhere must be muxed (video editing speak for combining streams) with the video that can come from various sources: the FM source at a drive-in, the headphone jack for hear-impaired etc. and hence is often low quality sound, though rarely a release will have the studio audio obtained from the production studio.
Since the video may be changed, and the audio another region rip will not dupe an R5 in the scene.
Scene labelling will be:
Title.R5.[LINE][LD].[DVDR][XViD]-Group
(LD = Line Dubbed)
There may be other tags for other audio, I’m unsure.
It’s like DRM.
People who simply torrent movies aren’t effected by delayed theater releases, so the only ones being punished by this are the paying customers.
And so the paying customers start turning to BitTorrent.
Metal detectors, bag searches, staff spying on you with nightvision goggles, previews, commercials, PSA’s telling you not to “steal” the movie you just payed for, and artificially delayed releases.
It’s like the MAFIAA is trying to make the buying experience so completely lousy, that if filesharing didn’t exist, it’d be better to just go without.
Yet they wonder why movie piracy keeps growing. Uh, DURR!!
Releases simultaneously around the world would deter piracy, no doubt.
NubCakes strikes again will his dumbass comments…
I don’t believe that if movies & TV were released to all locations simultaneously that this would reduce piracy.
I mean I download Aussie TV shows whilst I’m in Australia – it’s more convenient: I can watch it when I wish and not skip through\endure advertisements.
If your that dumb u can’t think of anything to do in a commercial break & also download FREE to air tv in your own country….
Future is not looking bright people if we’ve got dumbs__ts like this in our midst.
2010 FTW
Considering how spoilertastic the internet can be at times, do they honestly exprct people to wait an extra month, or more, for a movie to get released?
As an industry, they have shockingly little focus on custumer satisfaction.
I dont like the way you make it sound as if every country in the world with a theater has these silly stupid procedures. In fact the only procedure uk theaters have there is to keep an eye out for people using a cam of sorts, and its rarely found in the uk because we lack the care.. unless theres lots of money in it they wont bother to much… or depending on there mood….
“If your that dumb u can’t think of anything to do in a commercial break & also download FREE to air tv in your own country….
Future is not looking bright people if we’ve got dumbs__ts like this in our midst.”
Me and millions of others – I only said I believed piracy wouldn’t be reduced, you said no doubt, so where’s your evidence?
Nice troll BTW. You sound angry which sometimes happens when the truth annoys you.
I haven’t been in cinema for a few years. I’m not so stupid to pay for something I don’t know and even for lots of ads – there is about ten minutes of ads just before the movie starts (I live right in the center of the Europe – i that the same in other countries?). So I don’t really care if movie industry wants to delay something. If they don’t want their customers to watch or pay for their movies … so be it. It’s simply their problem, not ours :).
I hope they succeed in stopping cam recordings. I have wasted so much bandwidth in the past d/l incorrectly labelled files only to get s POTS release.
cam movies are a waste of everyones time.
Oh dear nub boy, trying to get technical are you??
“Where’s your evidence” it says.
Me angry, if anything i’m amused that someone can be born into this world with such a lack of intelligence without the doctor, mother or father dropping you on head..
Angry hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
yea,i watch cams………..
CAUSE IM OLD SCHOOL BABY!!!!!
prolly most of you pre-school n00bs cant even remember back when Cams was pretty much the only thing out there,when having anything better than dial-up made you THE MAN ,when having a 266 comp with the (new)3 1/2″ floppy,with 24x CD-ROM…..
yea, im old school and yea i still watch cams………….
More incentive not to go to the movies then. Well good luck on the movie theaters doing this. They must of failed economics and repeatibly confused sales maximisation with minimisation.
Oh god it offcial, the movie industry really has absolutly no flipping clue. The more you restrict something, the harder you make it to get, the more demand there becomes for it, and the more often people will turn to illegal sources to get it, especially when people elsewhere are deemed fit enough to have access to what you are told you can’t.
Would there have been an illegal trade in alcohol and moonshine in the Great Depression if it wasn’t outlawed, nopes. The movie industry again feels they are the exception to the rule, and they are wrong.
i would love to be part of a pay for tracker run by the big four record companys (NOT ITUNES STYLE)MAYBE RUN ON RATIOS AND DONATIONS.
that would rock.
unfortunately they are too greedy.
and so i run to scc what and waffles
Still dont know who the hell watches cams.. industry is so retarded..
Even if you do find someone who watches cams, ask them if that keeps them from going to the cinema.
@17 nobody uploads movies to pirate bay
How about they just delay theater releases indefinitely? That would completely stop the illegal camcording.
I agree with everyone above that cams are very poor quality due to either a poor camera being used or almost every cammer’s inability to switch their auto-focus function off causing everything to go blurry and unviewable during dark scenes (Saw III was one of the worst for this).
However, I guess cam rips are useful for some who:
1. want a quick preview before going to see the film in the theatre
2. Don’t care about quality at all. If it’s watchable it’s “good enough” to them
3. Can’t wait for a better quality version like a DVD release and don’t want to pay the high ticket prices.
In #1’s case, the industry is making money from then anyway because eventually they go see the movie and for #2 and #3, they wouldn’t have paid to see it in the first place so the only real difference is whether they got to enjoy the movie or not.
So yeah, the MPAA’s methodology once again makes so sense.
IMO we all can live without CamRips, beside the too much high risk, not many people get it, most of us prefer to wait for the DVDrip release.
Anyway, the theaters will fail, they will fail because people will start thinking:
“This is so fucked up, i want to watch a nice movie at theater with my girlfriend and i have to wait 1 month for it??? Better buy a home theater set and rent the movie in a month… Or download it from the internet cause thats what they deserve more each day!!!”
They are going down if they don’t stop, so down…
Bah. Why won’t Hollywood go away already!!!
I want something mer intressante än Häri Pöter.
perhaps the problem is the 15$ per ticket prices and 20$ for a popcorn and drink.
if i want to watch a movie, it shouldn’t cost as much as taking my girl out to an expensive dinner.
So delaying a release on other countries will help them defeat piracy?
Doesn’t that motivate piracy in the first place because you don’t want to wait for the movie?
Dumb asses, they’re so going down
Dude, in Brazil this delay takes almost a year!!!
And some even don’t even show up, so the only option is download!
Cuz f*cking street selling pirates dont have them eight
This is just unreal. I hate going to the movies now because of all the bullshit you have to deal with. I’d rather wait a few extra weeks most of the time and download a screener.
I don’t think the movie industry even knows the consequences of doing something like this. Like what others say, it forces some people to turn to illegal sources.
Overall, when they start to lose money because of this actions, they’ll just blame it on piracy again.
why don’t they just set up infrared beams to go across the movie screen, that would stop cammers, well i guess digital cams xD
The industry whines and complains about ilegal downloading yet the budgets keep growing , the actors earn more money every movie yet the people at the theaters keep making minimum wage or close to it.
Night vision ehh? Well, sounds like I’m gunna have to hit up some movie theaters covered in infa-red LED’s. Maybe go hand out special infa-red emitting jewelry in front of the box office, heh.
speaking about shooting oneself in the foot, can’t do better.
I think they are trying to reduce the cost/numbers of copies for theater, so later release get a scratchy one. Call it saving in jew term.
The distributors should spend less on marketing (to hype up mediocre movies), which makes bootlegs that much more desirable, and rely more on the quality of the movie to earn money.
@69 But the distributors main job is to do marketing… Are you claiming the movie distribution industry is superfluous in the age of the interwebs?
I also don’t like it that general availability (ie, Pirate Bay) is much delayed compared to scene sites… can we do anything about that, please?
Who in the world watches crappy cam rips though-
Oh yeah, people that have the movie artificially delayed in their area. >:Y
Slow and delayed releases are just exactly and the only reason WHY I download movies.
Backward idiots.
amen for that”minimom” …..Night vision haa! movie theaters must send there employees to basic training for infantry lol all you need to do is know someone that works setthing the movies on the theaters lol and eveything would be oh good lol
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