BD Managed Copy Launches in 2010, New Player Required (Update)

We reported early this week that the recently-approved final AACS license included Managed Copy, enabling consumers to make one copy of any Blu-ray Disc they buy. Now additional details on the acquisition procedure and on the actual rollout of this feature have arisen. Soon, the vast majority of BDs will support Managed Copy, but studios will be able to charge for it, and new players will be needed (update: except possibly the PS3). Video entertainment site Video Business has contacted the chairperson of the AACS Licensing Authority, Michael Ayers, who confirmed that virtually all Blu-ray discs released after the first quarter of 2010 will offer consumers the ability to make one full-resolution backup copy. There are some exceptions where the studio won't be required to offer Managed Copy, such as for small distributors and when the content owner may not have all the necessary rights to allow copying. Content owners will be in tight control of the backups made, and will be free to charge for the copy. Managed copies are possible on to various media: burned to writeable BDs or DVDs, downloaded on a Windows Media DRM-compatible portable player, hard drive or memory card, or as a bound copy, such as a digital copy file on the disc. Surprisingly, the AACS-LA has not received a submission from Apple to make Blu-ray copies to Apple devices, and thus downloads to iPods, iPhones and other Apple devices are not approved at this time. When managed copy is operational, the disc menu on the BD will include an option to make a managed copy, or the consumer will access copy through the player controls. Then, the player will connect online to an authorization center (run by a studio, supplier or the AACS-LA), which will give the go-ahead to make a copy. Discs are serialized, so that the authorization centers can tell whether a copy has already been made off a given disc. Most existing BD players and devices don't support Managed Copy, so in all likelihood a new player will be needed. A notable exception is the PS3: back in April 2008, Sony engineers claimed that, once Managed Copy was adopted, it would be possible to add the feature to the console via a firmware upgrade. Hardware manufacturers aren't expected to get new players out until the first or second quarter of 2010 at the very earliest. Managed Copy support won't become a requirement in the Blu-ray specification, so it is up to the individual manufacturers to include it in their players or not. And if they do, they will have to add additional content protections, safeguarding copies from piracy. Ayers said he expects hardware manufacturers will add Managed Copy because it's something consumers have indicated they want. “We think that consumers really do want the ability to use their content flexibly,” he said. Andy Parsons, U.S. chairman of the BDA Promotions Committee and senior VP of product planning at Pioneer Home Entertainment, agreed. “There's enough interest in the consumer community that there should be enough incentive in the hardware community to do this,” he said. Parsons said he hasn't heard of any hardware manufacturers including managed copy features in players on the market now or those that have been announced. It's unlikely that the feature could be added to players already on the market. “It doesn't seem likely as a firmware upgrade because the specs weren't done,” he said. “Hardware guys don't like building stuff that might not be done.” June 14 update: information added regarding PS3 and Managed Copy.
Source: Video Business | Permalink	Relevant for:

Mark_H  » Jun 12, 2009
As long as existing players continue to play new discs... will be very unhappy if forced to upgrade player even if I have no interest in making copies...

HDTV1080P  » Jun 12, 2009
This is good news, but I am not interest in making copies. I guess for those that have a bank of several 2TB hard drives on a home network it would be neat to access every BLU-RAY disc from anywhere in the house. As long as the managed copy is a perfect bit for bit copy maybe one day I will get a server that does 20TB's and network all the BLU-RAY players in the house to the server.

MacDaddyOJack  » Jun 12, 2009
Sure it might be a good thing to make a copy, but I would much rather be able to actually use my BD player than be able to make a copy after spending $400 on a new player

Ashamed Pegasus  » Jun 12, 2009
New player required?... Not interested...

bhampton  » Jun 12, 2009
Grrr,... Why don't they leave things are they are and give Blu Ray a chance at replacing DVD. If I need 2 copies... I'll just buy 2 copies.

Rainman208  » Jun 12, 2009
No thanks. And can we get the basics down before adding more stuff to the pot please? There are companies still making "New" players that are only Bonus View and not BD-Live capable so I have to explain that difference to people when they ask about Blu-ray, now this. C'mon.

Grubert  » Jun 12, 2009
Managed Copy will be optional for players, so existing players will play the new discs all right.

bhampton  » Jun 12, 2009

Some people think the time to buy a Blu Ray player is ... later, once it's settled. This kind of non-sense only makes that thinking true. If that's what they want they are going to kill the format. Some people never understood aspect ratios on DVD yet for Blu Ray they have to consider digital copies, managed copies, BD Live, and a never ending attempt to tack on that feature that will appease everyone.

Anton  » Jun 12, 2009
I cannot for the life of me imagine that the PS3 won't be upgradeable to be able to perform managed copy. It has a HDD, it has fully configurable firmware, it has the processing power to re-encode video & audio and it has the capability to interface to external devices.

odin24  » Jun 12, 2009

Ah, if you can't beat them... might as well cater to their needs aproach. Piracy and copying, whether you'd like to ackowlege it or not, has been going on for quite some time now... bit for bit copies as well. Now, it's not against the rules using their method. All this is, is another selling gimmick to get more people on board with blu-ray that haven't made the transition. If this doesn't interest you, or if you are unsure how things work... just as someone, there are plenty of people who know how things work.

KretzJ  » Jun 12, 2009

and just MORE fodder for the anti-Blu groups.... a new player will be needed? What kind of cracked up BS is this? The Anti-Blu squads will pick up on this within HOURS today and it will get ugly. The BDA might have been better served by just forgetting managed copy completely compared to the PR this is going to bring. Copying Blu discs isn't exactly rocket science by now anyway... this is just their way to try to get more $$$ in their pocket. I spend $22 or more to buy the disc and now the publishers get to rape me for more $$ to make a copy of a disc I have legal "fair use" rights to make in the first place?

neos_peace  » Jun 12, 2009
I think this is pointless. Why would you want a back up of a movie. Why would you want a copy of any movie. Isn't that the same as digital copy. only wihtout the hard media? I don't know I don't think this will be a big consumer item at all.

Sonny  » Jun 12, 2009
Why don't "they" first come out with some stand-alone BD players that will play every disc............

Dynamo of Eternia  » Jun 12, 2009

Well, as long as you only need a new player to use this feature and the disc can otherwise be played normally on existing players, I guess this is ok. It still seems kind of pointless though. It's sort of like Digital Copies now. They sound like a good idea, but generally speaking, they are more of a hassle than people want to deal with. The code expires to activate them if you don't use it right away... if your data gets corrupted or you get a new computer, you are out of luck... there isn't one consistent standard as to what devices these copies will work with across all studios (i.e. not all support playback on an Ipod or a PSP). I just get this feeling that this "managed copy" non sense is going to be another things with varying options and standards from one studio to another with varying types of DRM that will allow you to do some things with movies from certain studios, but not do all of those same things with movies from others. Plus, let's face facts. Even with how big hard drive sizes are getting these days, if most movies start coming with this feature, it's not going to be practical to back up every movie that one buys, particularly for big collectors, on their computer. It will fill up way to fast. So, the only real viable option (at least in the forseeable future) would be to back it up to a blank Blu-Ray disc. But if that's the case, rather than even going through the hassle of creating this whole new type of technology, with all this complicated authroization processes, etc, why not just include to copies of the movie in the same package? Its much less of a hassle by comparison as far as I can tell. I just hope this doesn't jack up the up front cost for the Blu-Ray, itself. If it does, then this will be really annoying. And even if there is no price increase, let's face facts. Sooner or later someone is going to figure out how to make back-up copies on their own terms, just like many people can do with DVD now. It may not be official or technically legal, but from an ethical standpoint, if they are just making back up copies for their own personal use, then it's really not harming anything, and those who don't want to go through a bunch of hassle will find the easiest way to do this, regardless of whether or not the studios approve.

stubiedoo  » Jun 12, 2009
I dont like the sound of this and think its a complete waste of time.Why would i need a copy when ive got the real disc.

BD4Life  » Jun 12, 2009
Sounds like another way to keep new players at $399.99 and up MSRP. On the other hand, if people want to make back up copies of there BD's, this is a good thing for studios to do. It will deter hacking and reverse engineering of AACS/BD+ because there will be no need for legit customers to use software to break the security on there discs to make the copies of there expensive movie purchases.

Scraps  » Jun 12, 2009
Aren't people making their own copies right now ? Plus I'm sure there are br rips out there already. I'd actually just prefer a dvd copy if I really really really really need a second copy at no extra charge. One company is doing this at least right now , at least with a few of their newer releases MGM

Beta Man  » Jun 12, 2009
I predict people will buy movies, make their one copy, and sell the original with artwork to re-sale shops and Amazon Marketplace etc..... meaning lower prices on used movies..... nothing wrong with that.

fdm  » Jun 12, 2009
No more digital copies maybe?

sonnyworld85  » Jun 12, 2009
Not interested if it requires a new player.

Add comment