The basic idea behind this solution is to fingerprint discs with the identities of players as the discs are played.  (This meaning of the word "fingerprint" differs from another one that refers to technology that determines the identities of music tracks by examining the actual digital content.)  In addition to special DVD recorders that create discs in Cinea's format, the technology requires special players that encrypt the data and imprint it with the player's identity; therefore, any copies that anyone makes will be traceable to the individual player.  Special players will need to be distributed to all Oscar reviewers, and the film studios will need to pay for the special recorders.

This technique is quite similar to technologies already used in the music industry for distributing promotional copies of albums and tracks to critics, radio stations, and others who normally receive music before its public release; companies like DMOD, Activated Content, MusicPoint, and Interoute have technology or services for distributing music over the Internet in this way, while some record labels are using SunnComm's copy protection technology for CDs for the same purpose.  It is impractical to send feature film content over the Internet in this way, so any solution to the screener piracy problem would have to work on physical media.  (Despite that, the UK firm CyphaWare has an Internet-based solution for secure digital video distribution.)

At the same time, the CSS encryption scheme for DVDs is woefully inadequate to ensure security.  A number of large technology companies submitted proposals for watermarking-based DRM schemes for DVDs to the DVD Copy Control Association a few years ago, but that process seems to have been stalled.  More recently, a handful of small firms have been developing this type of technology, including First4Internet, USA Video Interactive Corp., SunnComm, and Cinea, which was acquired by Dolby nearly a year ago.  All else being equal, it should be little surprise that the one of those firms with the best existing Hollywood connections should obtain the Academy's blessing -- particularly because Dolby is heavily involved in the emerging world of digital cinema, to which Cinea's technology could readily apply.

Although no film studios have formally agreed to use the Cinea technology to distribute Oscar screeners, it is expected that many will; moreover, they will need to pay Dolby for the recorders as well as a technology licensing fee.  (It is unclear whether or how the studios will pay for the screener viewers' special DVD players.)  It is interesting that the content industries are subsidizing DRM schemes like Cinea's that are used for targeted-release content, whereas they would not subsidize consumer technologies like CSS -- which was designed by consumer electronics vendors with the presumed primary criterion of low unit cost rather than effectivness.  If they had done so, then the piracy scenario for DVDs and other content formats would undoubtedly be much different today.

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