I am as anti-DRM as the next guy, but the encryption and rights management built into D-cinema motion picture distribution is actually a benefit to all involved.

The National Association of Theatre Owners publishes a set of Digital Cinema System Requirements that address equipment interoperability and compatibility. If some theatre in buttfuck nowhere can’t unlock their copy of Avatar, they are either not following the standards or they are not legally allowed to screen the movie at that time.

D-cinema distribution allows digitally perfect copies of films to be distributed to theatres on $60 hard drives instead of $2000-$5000 film prints. Each time a D-cinema package is projected, it ‘phones home’ to ensure that the particular theatre is authorized to project that film at that time. This enables studios to control when films are released in various markets, to accurately bill exhibitors only for the number of actual screenings, and (presumably) to watermark each screening to track piracy. If a copy is lost or stolen they can simply disable that copy.

D-cinema DRM is not at all comparable to the horrendous controls people try to place on consumer media. Digital theatres invest in millions of dollars worth of gear to project digital movies and DRM has been part of it from the beginning. In fact, D-cinema encryption is probably the only reason digital exhibition is allowed by the studios to exist. This is not some poor schmuck who can’t watch his iTunes movie because he isn’t connected to the Internet. Digital cinema systems are designed from the ground up to be rights managed and net-connected.

For moviegoers, D-cinema allows us to see films with the picture quality and sound the creators intended, to always view a perfect ‘print’ without scratches and sound pops, and to (maybe someday) benefit from the reduced costs to theatres and distributors.

D-cinema and the DCI Standard are examples of DRM with a purpose and it works very well.