DVDs ship with anti-theft chip

RETAILERS are being offered an RFID chip that stops a DVD being read until it is activated.

The chip is fixed to a DVD, along with a thin coating of goo that blocks a DVD player from reading the disc. Activating the chip sends an electrical pulse through the coating, which turns it clear and allows the disk to be read.

The RFID chip is being made by NXP Semiconductors and the Radio Frequency Activation technology comes from Kestrel Wireless.

The two companies claim they have interested two Hollywood studios in the technology and it should be around later this year.

According to Associated Press, the big idea is that by having technology that renders stolen products useless, retailers could display items openly, thus encouraging more sales.

The tactic of displaying the cases while keeping the DVDs locked in a drawer near the cash register seems doomed. µ