Wearable recording devices like Google Glass officially banned from movie theaters

Himanshu Arora

Posts: 902   +7

It's official! Now you can't use Google Glass inside movie theaters. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), which maintains around 32,000 screens across the US, have updated their joint anti-piracy policy to officially ban the use of wearable recording devices while watching movies.

The new rule was approved during a joint meeting of NATO and MPAA theatrical anti-piracy teams at ShowEast, the annual industry convention and trade show in Hollywood, Florida. The same anti-piracy policy already exists for phones and other recording devices.

"Individuals who fail or refuse to put the recording devices away may be asked to leave", said a joint statement issued by both associations, adding that if theater managers have any reason to believe that illegal recording activity is taking place, they will notify law enforcement authorities when appropriate, who will determine what further action should be taken.

Earlier this year, a Columbus, Ohio man wearing Google Glass was detained for over three hours by the Department of Homeland Security when he went to see the film Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. He was later released after officials couldn't determine that he was recording the movie, a crime that attracts a maximum of three-year prison sentence under US law, and was also given four free cinema tickets as an apology.

The news come a few months after a trade group representing over 90 percent of UK movie houses announced that the wearable tech is not welcome at its shows.

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With all the garbage movie they're putting out these days who in their right mind would go see a movie in theaters for full price anyway? Pirating new movies is like pirating a Justin Bieber album. You can do it if you REALLY want to, but do you? Not only that but no one wants to watch something recorded on what is effectively a cell phone camera. Stupid executives know they're putting out garbage and are trying to force us to buy it just like the record industry. Fact of the matter is that if you make quality products at a reasonable price people will not pirate nearly as much. People just don't want to pay $26(my local theater costs) for a ticket to a "4 star movie" that has no plot and is 90% explosions. Also it seems like they crank the volume up so high in the theater that it is quite literally painful to listen to. When people start bringing ear plugs to see a movie you know you're doing something wrong. When I went to see Gravity it was so loud that the speakers were cracking. The mic on Google Glass probably would pick it all up as static anyway.
 
With all the garbage movie they're putting out these days who in their right mind would go see a movie in theaters for full price anyway? Pirating new movies is like pirating a Justin Bieber album. You can do it if you REALLY want to, but do you? Not only that but no one wants to watch something recorded on what is effectively a cell phone camera. Stupid executives know they're putting out garbage and are trying to force us to buy it just like the record industry. Fact of the matter is that if you make quality products at a reasonable price people will not pirate nearly as much. People just don't want to pay $26(my local theater costs) for a ticket to a "4 star movie" that has no plot and is 90% explosions. Also it seems like they crank the volume up so high in the theater that it is quite literally painful to listen to. When people start bringing ear plugs to see a movie you know you're doing something wrong. When I went to see Gravity it was so loud that the speakers were cracking. The mic on Google Glass probably would pick it all up as static anyway.

You do know Micheal Bay will sue you for using the word EXPLOSIONS
 
With all the garbage movie they're putting out these days who in their right mind would go see a movie in theaters for full price anyway? Pirating new movies is like pirating a Justin Bieber album. You can do it if you REALLY want to, but do you? Not only that but no one wants to watch something recorded on what is effectively a cell phone camera. Stupid executives know they're putting out garbage and are trying to force us to buy it just like the record industry. Fact of the matter is that if you make quality products at a reasonable price people will not pirate nearly as much. People just don't want to pay $26(my local theater costs) for a ticket to a "4 star movie" that has no plot and is 90% explosions. Also it seems like they crank the volume up so high in the theater that it is quite literally painful to listen to. When people start bringing ear plugs to see a movie you know you're doing something wrong. When I went to see Gravity it was so loud that the speakers were cracking. The mic on Google Glass probably would pick it all up as static anyway.

You do know Micheal Bay will sue you for using the word EXPLOSIONS

You're going you be sued too...for typing Explosions® in all caps.
 
Movie theaters are fast approaching obsolescence. Outrageous ticket costs, dim screens, overdriven acoustics and rip off concessions, all have a part. They only exist by the grace of their babysitting services.

To top it off, Hollywood is producing some of the worst trash in recent memory.
Who would want to copy this Garbage is beyond me.
 
I wouldn't want to watch a recording from the top of someones nose anyway. What difference does it make if Google Glass was allowed or not? I will either watch the movie in theaters, purchase a DVD, or pirate a DVD rip. I'm not going to bother with some trashy cam recording.
 
I wouldn't want to watch a recording from the top of someones nose anyway. What difference does it make if Google Glass was allowed or not? I will either watch the movie in theaters, purchase a DVD, or pirate a DVD rip. I'm not going to bother with some trashy cam recording.
+1
 
I have never understood why *****s download CAM torrents. Awful picture and horrible sound, And its such a sad and pathetic waste of bandwidth. I don't think the people who download them should be sued tho. More, sent to a quiet place of the earth, filled with tigers and lions that deserve a free lunch.

Google glass wouldnt necessarily make an improvement on picture quality as the guy rocks around looking down at how much popcorn he has left, or tries to check in the dark how sticky that spilt fizzy drink patch is thats narking him as his trainers stick to the floor.
But banning google glass wearers from all public places should be the next step. Then all phones with cameras. :)
 
With all the garbage movie they're putting out these days who in their right mind would go see a movie in theaters for full price anyway? Pirating new movies is like pirating a Justin Bieber album. You can do it if you REALLY want to, but do you? Not only that but no one wants to watch something recorded on what is effectively a cell phone camera. Stupid executives know they're putting out garbage and are trying to force us to buy it just like the record industry. Fact of the matter is that if you make quality products at a reasonable price people will not pirate nearly as much. People just don't want to pay $26(my local theater costs) for a ticket to a "4 star movie" that has no plot and is 90% explosions. Also it seems like they crank the volume up so high in the theater that it is quite literally painful to listen to. When people start bringing ear plugs to see a movie you know you're doing something wrong. When I went to see Gravity it was so loud that the speakers were cracking. The mic on Google Glass probably would pick it all up as static anyway.
Actually theater chains are starting to realize that they need to offer something different - like this theater near me - https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/amc-webster-12 While the sound there is not quite up to the standard set by the THX theaters of the 1990's it is quite close, IMHO. When the sound is loud, it is quite clean. In my opinion, more theaters should follow a similar path. I might go to the movies more. Right now, there are only three theaters in my area that sound better than my HT room - and I really have nothing special in there. The above theater is one, a Cinemark is another, and what is now a Regal but used to be a Hoyts is the last one. None of the other Regals in my area are worth going to, IMHO.

But I agree. The execs that sat around and decided to make this ruling just don't get it, and I also agree that many movies out there rely far to heavily on SFX and lack plots. Unfortunately, there is enough of a similarly minded crowd that they just keep making them.
 
I go to about 3 movies ayear and more restrictions don't seem to be an encouragement. So what if someone filemd a bad recording of a movie?
 
These corrupt bastards have to much power if anyone cared they would use a 720p bluethooth hidden camera on ebay for $40 the price of a blueray. Morons fighting innovation. Tpb keep it playing on repeat if you hate it press delete.
 
Random thoughts:

Someone handed me an in theater bootleg of, "Thor". I put it in a DVD drive. I ejected it within a couple of minutes. I carried it to my microwave, popped it in, then pressed its "play button".

...[ ].... and I also agree that many movies out there rely far to heavily on SFX and lack plots. Unfortunately, there is enough of a similarly minded crowd that they just keep making them.
The only problem with this is, movies that involve human interaction, are often awkward, contrived, social dynamics, trying to pass itself off as "comedy". I wouldn't want to be part of these "families", much less be in their company. In fact, they send me, somewhat shaken, fleeing back to the company of my cats. That, "Meet the Fokkers" crap, is a prime example.

It has been my experience that a Siskel & Ebert, "two thumbs up", is practically the kiss of death. Enough with the "character development" nonsense already. A massive body count is food for the soul. Even Tom Cruise is entertaining with enough FX as a supporting cast. "Live, Die, Repeat", is a classic example. It was enough to make you forget about his Scientology affiliations. (For a couple of hours, anyway).

In any event, FX can take you someplace else, rock your world, and boldly take you where no one has ever gone before, or even been invited.

I went to a movie maybe 5 years ago. The theater smelled of stale air conditioning and urine.I sat through a stinker about "Letters to Juliette", the female lead of which, (Amanda Seyfried), is a dead ringer for, "Polly A" the art model. That POS, even had some fool riding in on a white horse.

I rented "Transformers; Age of Extinction", and along with it, "Space Station 76". Transformers was spectacular. "Space Station 76" reeked to high heaven. All I learned from that was Liv Tyler's modeling days are over, unless they pour her into about a half dozen pairs of Spanks.

Needless to say, I won't be kicked out of a movie theater for wearing, "Google Glass", anytime in the foreseeable future. I'd go so far as to say, "I won't be kicked out of anyplace in the foreseeable future for wearing Google Glass".
 
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For FX movies, my tastes are along the lines of Captain America, District 9, The Avengers, some of the X-Men movies. But, I also like those that tell stories of humanity, say, like The Descendents, or Chef, or _some_ other art house films.

And I agree that some of the "two-thumbs-up" movies in recent days are trash, say, Beasts of the Southern Wild, or Tree of Life (depending on whether you already understood what Tree of Life was trying to reveal - if you do, then it is a complete waste of time, IMHO).
 
DHS? really? Never mind protecting our country from terrorists and illegal aliens entering our country, let's just get those guys recording a movie! BAD BAD BAD!

Seriously MPAA needs to refocus their efforts here. If they could get movies to be offered at low cost, easy to download and keep, available to the masses their profits would probably go up and "pirating" would go down. People steal when they can't afford or can't easily obtain what they want. I'm not saying that it is right, I'm just saying this is what a lot of people do.
 
Silly. First, as a Google Glass owner, I can tell you the video quality isn't very good and second, the battery won't last long enough to record a movie, nor is there storage space to save it. A cell phone, which is not banned, will do a much better job.

What they should do is ban large groups of loud children and people who kick the back of my seat too.
 
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