News posts from 2003 Q2

Nigel Moore · May 22nd, 2003, 01:35 AM

With the exception of their very good point that encryption effectively indefinitely extends copyright even after it's lapsed, I'm in favour of plaintiff on this one. A lot of us (myself included) copy CD tracks to make personal compilations, which although strictly against copyright is I think reasonable. But ripper and decryption software, although obstenibly marketed for personal use, is abused...either through commercial pirating or non-commercial file sharing.

Because file copying is abused, holier-than-thou Microsoft is introducing measures to clean up the industry act on pirating (while at the same time, condoning copyright infringement by making it easier to nab images from the WWW...hypocrite? Bill?)

At the end of the day, we all suffer. I cannot buy Sony CDs now, since I'm never sure if I'll be able to play them in my PC. I certainly won't be able to copy my favourite tracks for my own convenience.

Cosmin Rotaru · May 22nd, 2003, 06:01 AM

I don't understand: how does 432 by 240 make 311k?! I can only count a litle over 100k....

Jeff Donald · May 22nd, 2003, 06:27 AM

Joseph, what is the source of this article? Can you provide a link, please?

Rob Lohman · May 22nd, 2003, 06:58 AM

Let's hope so, Dylan!

I'm waiting to see Rodriguez's: Once Upon a Time in Mexico....

Robert Knecht Schmidt · May 22nd, 2003, 08:02 AM

Quote:

"So Sony changed that format from YCBCR 4:2:2, which was 8-bit, to a RGB 4:4:4, which is 10-bit. That's more numbers to represent each color and each brightness value of the pixels, and a true RGB format which is what is used in feature post-production, film recording, and digital cinema."

I count twelve bits.

Jeff Donald · May 22nd, 2003, 09:48 AM

You have to read the article, click on the link he provided. They are using something called field sequential color technology.

The article makes for a good read. This is display is on 1/4 inch diagonal, given the size, it's high resolution. It is meant to replace digital and analog VF. A link to the manufacture's site is in the article.

Joseph George · May 22nd, 2003, 11:06 AM

Guys, I don't remember the source. I also have another version of this that a friend sent me:

SAN FRANCISCO--The judge in a closely watched lawsuit challenging the legality of DVD-copying software said she was "substantially persuaded" by past court rulings that favored copyright holders, but closed a hearing Thursday without issuing a ruling in the case.

Seven movie studios are seeking to prevent 321 Studios from selling its DVD X Copy and DVD Copy Plus programs, alleging that the products violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's prohibition on software that can be used to circumvent copyright protections.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, considering a summary judgment motion, said she had carefully read decisions in two similar cases; judges for Motion Picture Association of America v. 2600 and U.S. v. ElcomSoft said that intellectual property holders can pursue software developers who offer products that crack copyright protections.

"I am substantially persuaded by them," she told both sides.

In the 2600 case, an appellate court ordered the hacker magazine to stop posting or linking to DVD-cracking code. In ElcomSoft, a jury acquitted a Russian software company of criminal charges over a tool that cracked the security on eBooks. But before the trial, a judge refused to toss the case out amid assertions that the DMCA should not apply.

At Thursday's hearing, the studios argued that 321's software violates the DMCA by stripping antipiracy protections out of DVDs to copy them. Essentially, the studios argue that it shouldn't matter what the consumers intend to do with the DVD after they've copied it--that the mere action of breaking the code runs afoul of the law.

"They just can't traffic in anticircumvention devices," Russell Frackman, a partner with Los Angeles-based Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp who's representing the studios, told the judge.

The DMCA has spawned a number of clashes between the entertainment industry, which fears the massive unauthorized distribution of its digital works, and technologists, who fear that a crackdown on software developers will thwart innovation.

During the hearing, the judge peppered attorney Darlyn Durie, a partner at San Francisco-based Keker and Van Nest who's representing 321, with questions about the DMCA's scope.

For example, when Durie opened her statements by saying the studios are mistakenly trying to argue that 321 is offering a tool for burglars, the judge fired back, "Under the statute, all it has to be is a circumvention device."

When Durie said there's no evidence consumers are using 321's products illegally and that it's not marketed toward pirates, the judge replied, "But it's marketed to allow circumvention."

After the hearing, 321 Studios CEO Rob Semaan said he wasn't worried by the judge's questions, because he thinks Durie raised some more issues for the judge to consider. "At least, out of the gate, she was starting at their end of the spectrum," he said. "But being persuaded and bound are two different things."

During the hearing, 321's attorney argued that declaring the company's products illicit would amount to "a ban on the digital printing press," because it would ban acts of copying and excerpting film that traditionally have been legal in the non-digital world.

"A copyright holder has no right to prevent someone from engaging in fair use," Durie said, noting that the studios' position would prevent students from excerpting film clips for school projects or parents making backups of their work. "That, I would suggest, can't be right. That can't be what the drafters of the DMCA intended."

Throughout the case, the judge and lawyers from both sides talked repeatedly about the example of a movie reviewer who wanted to excerpt clips of films.

Restricting free speech?
Durie said that under the studio's interpretation of the DMCA, a movie reviewer could be banned from excerpting a digital work, a prohibition that would violate free-speech laws.

When the movie studios' attorney said that such fair use would not be banned, the judge asked, "Isn't it made more difficult? What about Siskel and Ebert?"

Frackman sidestepped the question, saying that at least one of the famous movie reviewers seems to be doing quite well. "Ebert and whoever can still talk about what they want to talk about (and) can still play clips of what they want to talk about," he said.

But he added that Ebert has no more of a right to make full copies of a movie than anyone else.

At one point, the judge called on Department of Justice attorney John Zacharia to answer some questions about the DMCA. The attorney has weighed in on the side of the studios in an attempt to defend the constitutionality of the DMCA.

Illston asked Zacharia to explain the conundrum of locking up copyrighted works behind encryption and then making the breaking of that encryption illegal, even after the copyrights on those works expire. The judge wondered if it would effectively extend copyrights to keep such works out of the public domain.

Zacharia said it would not, because the copyright had expired.

"But it's encrypted. If it doesn't stop being encrypted, it's still encrypted," Illston said, adding that such protected works still couldn't be legally copied.

Rob Lohman · May 22nd, 2003, 01:46 PM

The numbers after the words are number of samplings and
actually have nothing to do with bits..... MJPEG 4:2:2 sampling
is 16 bits for example. They use 8 bits for Y and 4 bits for U
and V totalling 16 bits per sample. RGB 4:4:4 is normally 8 bit
per channel or 24 bits combined. I think this article is talking
about bits PER CHANNEL. Not total number of bits. DV is probably
around 12-16 bits or something.

Dylan Couper · May 22nd, 2003, 11:22 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Donald : Joseph, what is the source of this article? Can you provide a link, please? -->>>

I read it on Yahoo news 2 or 3 days ago. I think they carry mostly AP stuff. If they have a recent archive, it should be there.

Vladimir Koifman · May 29th, 2003, 06:57 AM

At least, so they promise:

http://www.planetanalog.com/story/OEG20030527S0023

They focus on still cameras, as the market is mostly there. But they have some design wins in videocams as well:

http://www.nucoretech.com/nu2/30_pr/pressProduct.html

Can anybody comment on noise of JVC DV-300 and DV-5000? Do they really stand-out in their class?

Rob Lohman · May 30th, 2003, 07:14 AM

Interesting developments... But I still prefer to begin with as
clean a picture as possible. You can never increase quality
after it has already been made. You can minize the effect or
the visibility of it, ofcourse. Anyway, still interesting!

Justin Chin · June 2nd, 2003, 05:25 PM

Anyone going? I'm there this Friday. I'll probably be wearing my ZGC/Canon DV bucket cap. Stop me if you see me, I have long hair.

Exciting... we'll be bringing back a Pro35 on this trip. Right on!

Don Berube · June 2nd, 2003, 06:20 PM

Hi Justin,

I wish I was going but I am currently in orlando working the InfoComm Show. I think Mizell Wilson will be at the ZGC booth, definitely stop by and say hello to him. I am sure he would be interetsed to see some of your Mini35 footage.

Have fun at the show!

- don

Chris Hurd · June 2nd, 2003, 06:24 PM

Justin,

Personally I prefer the ZGC baseball cap. Like Don, I'm currently stuck in Orlando for InfoComm and June 6th is a travel day for me to go back to Texas. Sure wish I was going... it would be great to finally get to meet you! I'm expecting to go to the Showbiz Expo / L.A. DV Show thing near the end of June, but it's not confirmed yet.

Justin Chin · June 3rd, 2003, 10:13 AM

Funny, Chris.

I like the bucket cap purely for practical reasons. It shadows my face and head with full 360 degree coverage, plus it's floppy and I can flip up the brim when I need to operate cameras. But my perfect lid is a straight brimmed cowboy hat. Great for the outdoors, but bad for the viewfinder...

I digress.

I might go down to the showbiz expo. We could meet there and continue the hat topic.

May 22nd, 2003, 01:35 AM	#76
Nigel Moore Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Switzerland Posts: 358	Possibly unfashionable viewpoint alert With the exception of their very good point that encryption effectively indefinitely extends copyright even after it's lapsed, I'm in favour of plaintiff on this one. A lot of us (myself included) copy CD tracks to make personal compilations, which although strictly against copyright is I think reasonable. But ripper and decryption software, although obstenibly marketed for personal use, is abused...either through commercial pirating or non-commercial file sharing. Because file copying is abused, holier-than-thou Microsoft is introducing measures to clean up the industry act on pirating (while at the same time, condoning copyright infringement by making it easier to nab images from the WWW...hypocrite? Bill?) At the end of the day, we all suffer. I cannot buy Sony CDs now, since I'm never sure if I'll be able to play them in my PC. I certainly won't be able to copy my favourite tracks for my own convenience. __________________ _________________ Time flies like an arrow Fruit flies like a banana

May 22nd, 2003, 06:27 AM	#78
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Joseph, what is the source of this article? Can you provide a link, please? __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

May 22nd, 2003, 06:58 AM	#79
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Let's hope so, Dylan! I'm waiting to see Rodriguez's: Once Upon a Time in Mexico.... __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

May 22nd, 2003, 09:48 AM	#81
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	You have to read the article, click on the link he provided. They are using something called field sequential color technology. The article makes for a good read. This is display is on 1/4 inch diagonal, given the size, it's high resolution. It is meant to replace digital and analog VF. A link to the manufacture's site is in the article. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

May 22nd, 2003, 01:46 PM	#83
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	The numbers after the words are number of samplings and actually have nothing to do with bits..... MJPEG 4:2:2 sampling is 16 bits for example. They use 8 bits for Y and 4 bits for U and V totalling 16 bits per sample. RGB 4:4:4 is normally 8 bit per channel or 24 bits combined. I think this article is talking about bits PER CHANNEL. Not total number of bits. DV is probably around 12-16 bits or something. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

May 22nd, 2003, 06:01 AM	#77
Cosmin Rotaru Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Romania, Timisoara Posts: 453	I don't understand: how does 432 by 240 make 311k?! I can only count a litle over 100k....

May 22nd, 2003, 11:06 AM	#82
Joseph George Permanently Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 265	Guys, I don't remember the source. I also have another version of this that a friend sent me: SAN FRANCISCO--The judge in a closely watched lawsuit challenging the legality of DVD-copying software said she was "substantially persuaded" by past court rulings that favored copyright holders, but closed a hearing Thursday without issuing a ruling in the case. Seven movie studios are seeking to prevent 321 Studios from selling its DVD X Copy and DVD Copy Plus programs, alleging that the products violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's prohibition on software that can be used to circumvent copyright protections. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, considering a summary judgment motion, said she had carefully read decisions in two similar cases; judges for Motion Picture Association of America v. 2600 and U.S. v. ElcomSoft said that intellectual property holders can pursue software developers who offer products that crack copyright protections. "I am substantially persuaded by them," she told both sides. In the 2600 case, an appellate court ordered the hacker magazine to stop posting or linking to DVD-cracking code. In ElcomSoft, a jury acquitted a Russian software company of criminal charges over a tool that cracked the security on eBooks. But before the trial, a judge refused to toss the case out amid assertions that the DMCA should not apply. At Thursday's hearing, the studios argued that 321's software violates the DMCA by stripping antipiracy protections out of DVDs to copy them. Essentially, the studios argue that it shouldn't matter what the consumers intend to do with the DVD after they've copied it--that the mere action of breaking the code runs afoul of the law. "They just can't traffic in anticircumvention devices," Russell Frackman, a partner with Los Angeles-based Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp who's representing the studios, told the judge. The DMCA has spawned a number of clashes between the entertainment industry, which fears the massive unauthorized distribution of its digital works, and technologists, who fear that a crackdown on software developers will thwart innovation. During the hearing, the judge peppered attorney Darlyn Durie, a partner at San Francisco-based Keker and Van Nest who's representing 321, with questions about the DMCA's scope. For example, when Durie opened her statements by saying the studios are mistakenly trying to argue that 321 is offering a tool for burglars, the judge fired back, "Under the statute, all it has to be is a circumvention device." When Durie said there's no evidence consumers are using 321's products illegally and that it's not marketed toward pirates, the judge replied, "But it's marketed to allow circumvention." After the hearing, 321 Studios CEO Rob Semaan said he wasn't worried by the judge's questions, because he thinks Durie raised some more issues for the judge to consider. "At least, out of the gate, she was starting at their end of the spectrum," he said. "But being persuaded and bound are two different things." During the hearing, 321's attorney argued that declaring the company's products illicit would amount to "a ban on the digital printing press," because it would ban acts of copying and excerpting film that traditionally have been legal in the non-digital world. "A copyright holder has no right to prevent someone from engaging in fair use," Durie said, noting that the studios' position would prevent students from excerpting film clips for school projects or parents making backups of their work. "That, I would suggest, can't be right. That can't be what the drafters of the DMCA intended." Throughout the case, the judge and lawyers from both sides talked repeatedly about the example of a movie reviewer who wanted to excerpt clips of films. Restricting free speech? Durie said that under the studio's interpretation of the DMCA, a movie reviewer could be banned from excerpting a digital work, a prohibition that would violate free-speech laws. When the movie studios' attorney said that such fair use would not be banned, the judge asked, "Isn't it made more difficult? What about Siskel and Ebert?" Frackman sidestepped the question, saying that at least one of the famous movie reviewers seems to be doing quite well. "Ebert and whoever can still talk about what they want to talk about (and) can still play clips of what they want to talk about," he said. But he added that Ebert has no more of a right to make full copies of a movie than anyone else. At one point, the judge called on Department of Justice attorney John Zacharia to answer some questions about the DMCA. The attorney has weighed in on the side of the studios in an attempt to defend the constitutionality of the DMCA. Illston asked Zacharia to explain the conundrum of locking up copyrighted works behind encryption and then making the breaking of that encryption illegal, even after the copyrights on those works expire. The judge wondered if it would effectively extend copyrights to keep such works out of the public domain. Zacharia said it would not, because the copyright had expired. "But it's encrypted. If it doesn't stop being encrypted, it's still encrypted," Illston said, adding that such protected works still couldn't be legally copied.

May 22nd, 2003, 11:22 PM	#84
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Donald : Joseph, what is the source of this article? Can you provide a link, please? -->>> I read it on Yahoo news 2 or 3 days ago. I think they carry mostly AP stuff. If they have a recent archive, it should be there. __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

May 29th, 2003, 06:57 AM	#85
Vladimir Koifman Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Israel Posts: 115	Bye-bye picture noise At least, so they promise: http://www.planetanalog.com/story/OEG20030527S0023 They focus on still cameras, as the market is mostly there. But they have some design wins in videocams as well: http://www.nucoretech.com/nu2/30_pr/pressProduct.html Can anybody comment on noise of JVC DV-300 and DV-5000? Do they really stand-out in their class?

May 30th, 2003, 07:14 AM	#86
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Interesting developments... But I still prefer to begin with as clean a picture as possible. You can never increase quality after it has already been made. You can minize the effect or the visibility of it, ofcourse. Anyway, still interesting! __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

June 2nd, 2003, 05:25 PM	#87
Justin Chin Major Player Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 227	Cinegear Expo? Anyone going? I'm there this Friday. I'll probably be wearing my ZGC/Canon DV bucket cap. Stop me if you see me, I have long hair. Exciting... we'll be bringing back a Pro35 on this trip. Right on! __________________ justin www.monsterrocket.com Filmmaker \| Cinematographer

June 2nd, 2003, 06:20 PM	#88
Don Berube Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Boston, MA (travel frequently) Posts: 837	Hi Justin, I wish I was going but I am currently in orlando working the InfoComm Show. I think Mizell Wilson will be at the ZGC booth, definitely stop by and say hello to him. I am sure he would be interetsed to see some of your Mini35 footage. Have fun at the show! - don __________________ DONALD BERUBE - noisybrain. Productions, LLC Director Of Photography/ Producer/ Consultant http://noisybrain.com/donbio.html CREATE and NETWORK with http://www.bosfcpug.org and also http://fcpugnetwork.org

June 2nd, 2003, 06:24 PM	#89
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Justin, Personally I prefer the ZGC baseball cap. Like Don, I'm currently stuck in Orlando for InfoComm and June 6th is a travel day for me to go back to Texas. Sure wish I was going... it would be great to finally get to meet you! I'm expecting to go to the Showbiz Expo / L.A. DV Show thing near the end of June, but it's not confirmed yet. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

June 3rd, 2003, 10:13 AM	#90
Justin Chin Major Player Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 227	Funny, Chris. I like the bucket cap purely for practical reasons. It shadows my face and head with full 360 degree coverage, plus it's floppy and I can flip up the brim when I need to operate cameras. But my perfect lid is a straight brimmed cowboy hat. Great for the outdoors, but bad for the viewfinder... I digress. I might go down to the showbiz expo. We could meet there and continue the hat topic. __________________ justin www.monsterrocket.com Filmmaker \| Cinematographer