Coded Anti-Piracy, or CAP, is an anti-copyright infringement technology by way of marking with a forensic identifier used to help detect the illegal duplication of motion pictures, whether it be of motion picture prints, or by a moviegoer recording a movie being projected on-screen with a camcorder.
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CAP code
CAP coding is a multi-dot pattern that is printed in several frames of a film print of a theatrically exhibited motion picture. It is sometimes accompanied by text code printed on the edge of a motion picture print, outside the visible picture area. The code identifies the particular print of a movie, and is added during manufacture. It can be used to trace the print to the theaters that played that particular print. The dots are arranged in a unique pattern as identification.
Kodak's CAP
The original style of CAP code, developed in 1982 by Eastman Kodak along with the Motion Picture Association of America, is a series of very small dots printed in the picture area of a film print. The original incarnation of CAP developed by Kodak is a technology for watermarking film prints to trace copies of a print, whether legal or not.
Deluxe's CAP
A newer, and more common variation, has been developed by Deluxe Laboratories. It makes use of more visible dots, and was developed to thwart film piracy from theatergoers with camcorders, or prints that have been illicitly telecined to videotape or DVD.
Deluxe's version has been given the pejorative name of "crap code" by filmgoers[1], due to its quite intrusive nature when viewing. These dots are usually placed on bright areas of a film frame, so they can be more easily identified, and are a reddish-brown color. They are not to be confused with cue marks, which are black or white circles usually in the upper right-hand corner of the frame. A cue mark is used to signal the projectionist that a particular reel of a movie is ending, as most movies come to theaters on several reels of film.
CAP outside of movies
In the 22nd episode of the The Simpsons' seventh season, CAP is simulated during the film where Marge is looking after her 3 children.
See also
Notes
- ^ Film-Tech Forums : Film Handler's Forum, topic "The CAP Code" (topic #878), page 2 (post #18). 19 April 2000, 04:34PM (CT) . The term "crap code" was coined on a movie projectionists' discussion forum.
