Blu-ray to Allow "Managed Copies" - New Hardware Required

[lordsmurf]

A new article circulating this week claims that starting in 2010, Blu-ray players and recorders will allow consumers to make one copy of their video, to a number of pre-approved devices.

Read on...

Big news from the Blu-ray world: beginning in 2010, Blu-ray players must be configured to allow one full-resolution copy. This requirement has always been part of the Blu-ray standard, but the details have now been finalized.

What's the catch? None of the current batch of Blu-ray players or recorders have the required electronics to allow this. Manufacturers aren't expected to have this feature added to players until mid-2010. The players will prompt users if they wish to make a copy, then connect to an authorization server online, and initiate the copy procedure.

The copies will be made to Blu-ray or DVD, downloaded to a Windows Media player or hard drive, or a memory card. Currently, Apple devices are not supported in the initial requirement, although the license allows for more formats to be added at a later date.

Great. Just as people are finally making the switch to Blu-ray, their players are suddenly obsolete. Do you feel ripped off?

from the dvice.com newsletter, credited to techdirt.com