Movie makers are planning to begin to use RFID tags embedded within media to prevent playing of pirated disks.  The technology will be applicable to DVD’s, HD-DVD’s and Blu-Ray disks.  Essentially, the system will read the ID tag to ensure the disk is authentic, which will require the unit 1) To be able to read RFID tags and 2) To be able to connect to some database to retrieve valid ID tags. All of this is going to be, of course, at the consumer’s expense.

I have a few issues with this upcoming system.  First of all, there will undoubtedly be ways to rip and re-burn the video into some generic form that will not require the player to scan the RFID.  Otherwise, it will make recording home movies and such impossible, so it doesn’t totally rid the potential of pirated media.  Additionally, when these new security measures come into affect, people with older systems that do not have the RFID capability will be forced to upgrade in order to view the new releases.  At $500 a pop for the low-end Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players today, I find it obscene to expect consumers to purchase a new device to incorporate new anti-piracy technology that likely will not be totally effective. Unless U-Tech, IPICO or the movie makers decide to upgrade consumers current equipment for free, I don’t think many people will find this a great idea.