If you had the option to watch the biggest and best new movies in your living room on the day that they were released in theaters, would you take it? Even if it meant that movie theaters would suffer greatly, and maybe even disappear?
In November of 2009, the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) submitted a request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking that it be allowed for new movies to be available in the comfort of people’s homes either on the day of theatrical release or sometime soon after release so that those who can’t make it out to theaters have the option to see films when they’re new.
Yesterday, the MPAA announced that the FCC had indeed approved of the request, making this future movie-watching option official. This was somewhat impossible for a while, but it looks like the deciding factor is that now there is the proper “selectable output control,” which allows for the highest-quality HD films to be offered securely. This should prevent would-be bootleggers from just using their own outputs to acquire the HD-quality films illegally from home.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press