BD+ joins Macrovision stable

Company acquires Crytography Research

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 11/19/2007

NOV. 19 | Macrovision has agreed to acquire assets from Cryptography Research, including the new Blu-ray Disc copyright-protection technology BD+, for $45 million.

Macrovision believes BD+, which acts as an added layer of content protection for Blu-ray titles, will complement its stable of various entertainment security offerings. Macrovision also plans to hire certain employees from Cryptography, which is credited for inventing BD+, to help manage the new technology purchase.

Specifically, Macrovision is set to purchase Self-Protecting Digital Content technology, which later evolved into what is now known as BD+.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

“As we continue to build our business and work with our partners to develop and implement new distribution models in the digital marketplace, we seek to expand our capabilities to address emerging standards such as Blu-ray,” said Fred Amoroso, Macrovision Corp. CEO. “The integration of SPDC into our product portfolio will enable us to continue to provide innovative technology to our customers as they expand their distribution vehicles. Not only is BD+ critical for content security, but it also supports value-added features that enhance the consumer playback experience such as potentially unlocking bonus content.”

One perceived advantage to BD+ is its unique ability to constantly adapt to new security threats, targeting only those illegally manipulating titles without interfering with legitimate consumers.

BD+ has been adopted by more than 20 companies, including many studios, according to Macrovision. Upon the closing of the transaction, Macrovision will serve as the primary licensor of BD+ for studios that wish to embed the technology into Blu-ray titles.

Recent DVD releases that are embedded with BD+ include 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Day After Tomorrow. Certain Blu-ray players, such as some Samsung models, have not been able to properly playback BD+, creating problems for viewers. But Samsung has since released a firmware upgrade that has improved BD+ playback.

“We developed SPDC to enable consumers to experience content across a broad range of devices while simultaneously providing content owners with the control to manage the security of content in this dynamic environment,” said Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist at Cryptography. “Macrovision shares this goal, and now that SPDC has entered commercialization, we are confident that Macrovision can take it to the next level.”