New Anti-Piracy Technology Shivers Theater Owners' Timbers

If the Motion Picture Association of America has its way, sometime soon you might be able to stream all the latest blockbusters right in your own home...the same day they open in theaters. Variety reports that the MPAA wants the FCC to okay new tech that would allow this streaming to happen but prevent less scrupulous home theater owners from copying the movies as they're being streamed. Which is a great idea until somebody finds a way to crack this new technology, which will probably have happened by the time I finish typing this.

Unsurprisingly, theater owners aren't exactly thrilled at the idea of the public having the option of watching the latest horrible Transformers movie from the comfort of their sofa on opening day, rather than in an uncomfortable theater seat in front of a pack of teenagers who spend the entire movie texting and talking. While the MPAA hasn't said for sure that they want to stream new releases day-and-date with theater openings, theater owners are concerned about that possibility cutting into their business. It's a valid concern, although even though my home theater is nice, I can't imagine wanting to see, say, the new Star Trek film on my comparably tiny screen, rather than in a theater surrounded by people wearing Vulcan ears and Klingon foreheads. Some aspects of theater-going just can't be replicated at home, new tech or no new tech.