# Anti-piracy dots ruining films! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479 "2003-10-20T07:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/21 "2003-10-25T06:27:41Z")
So I saw Runaway Jury and tried to spot the spots, but I failed to see anything. My wife said she caught the barest glimpse of one set of dots. Do the rest of you have high speed eyes or something? And if these dots are so ethereal, how are they going to show up on a bootleg copy anyway? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/22 "2003-10-25T07:01:37Z")
I saw them at least half a dozen times in _Kill Bill_. They were especially egregious in the black and white scenes. :mad: **sturmhauke** - they only show up on one frame at a time, and they don’t occupy the entire frame. You have to be looking right at that spot on the screen at the right time to notice them. I guess I got “lucky.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/23 "2003-10-25T08:29:26Z")
I’m in China and haven’t seen them. Does anyone have a screenshot of a movie showing what they look like? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/24 "2003-10-25T08:57:17Z")
I’m in China and haven’t seen them. Does anyone have a screenshot of a movie showing what they look like? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/25 "2003-10-25T08:57:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mahaloth \* > \*\*I’m in China and haven’t seen them. Does anyone have a screenshot of a movie showing what they look like? \*\* There’s a link to a visual aid in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/26 "2003-10-25T11:41:00Z")
Sorry for the hijack, but what film was [this](http://www.film-tech.com/ubbpics/ubb3141c.jpg) screenshot from? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/27 "2003-10-25T14:16:10Z")
Wait a second. Are these dots on ONE FRAME or for say half a second or more. ---
**Author:** ![blasphmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@blasphmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blasphmer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/28 "2003-10-25T17:03:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*If i wanted to watch a movie with a guy with a laser pointer having an epiletic seizure, i’d go invite Eddie from down the block. \*\* But when he threatened your movie with a big red dot _what a guy_ _makes you cry_ _und I did!_ ---
**Author:** ![Selkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Selkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Selkie)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/29 "2003-10-25T21:30:20Z")
**zebra** , I can’t say exactly how long those dots last, but it’s definitely enough to be very visible - a half a second probably isn’t too far off for an estimate - and deeply annoying. Just returned from “Kill Bill”, and found the dots extremely distracting. Grrr. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/30 "2003-10-25T22:51:13Z")
Half a second would be, what, 15 frames? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/31 "2003-10-26T03:02:25Z")
12 frames ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/32 "2003-10-26T03:07:08Z")
So let me get this straight. Each print has a unique dot pattern. This pattern shows up on a pirate copy and it can be traced back to a specific print. And _maybe_ that print has only been at one theatre. And _maybe_ you can tell from the pirate copy that it was shot from the booth and NOT from the audience. So then you can blame a circuit for the loss because several people work the booth and you couldn’t prove that any one person did it. Unless it is some small independent there is no way any major action is going to be taken against that circuit/business partner. All this annoyance for _maybe_ getting one pirate. (sigh) ---
**Author:** ![flonks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3ab097/32.png) [@flonks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flonks)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/33 "2003-10-26T09:46:48Z")
I never saw, them, but if they are what you describe them to be - filled red circles, randomly placed in a frame, then it should be **very easy** to detect by a computer vision software. After the detection the software removes them by interpolating the neighborhood into the location. The lost information will not be missed since the artifact lasts only for a couple of frames. We just need to wait until the pirates have the software, then the only people who will see the dots are the paying guests in the theatres. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/34 "2003-10-27T14:03:14Z")
I saw Runaway Jury last night and I saw the dots. But they were nothing like the dots in the linked site. They were much much smaller. For instance if it was a medium shot the dots would fit on the shirt coller. They flashed by pretty quickly and were no more disturbing than a bit of dirt on the film. ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479/35 "2003-10-27T14:56:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > **…But they were nothing like the dots in the linked site. They were much much smaller. For instance if it was a medium shot the dots would fit on the shirt coller.** That’s exactly how they appeared in Freddy vs. Jason. (I started a thread like this the day after I saw the movie, but there were no answers then). Only in FvsJ, they came up first during a flash of lightning! Everything goes white, except this red dot pattern. -Looked sort of like a pattern of dots on dice. Unfortunately, they were horribly obvious! I thought I’ve seen a screen cap of them somewhere…I’ll try and dig that up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-piracy-dots-ruining-films/208479.md?page=1)