According to a news published at Reg Hardware, a new method to protect DVDs has been introduced by Kestrel Wireless. This time, it's not a method to prevent legit copy of the media, but a way to fight shoplifters.

The idea is rather simple: to add a switchable element that makes the physical disc (and thus the content it stores) non-readable when it enters the supply chain and then readable again at the Point-of-Sale (POS).

Kestrel has developed an optical "shutter" that can be switched on/off to make the disc non-readable or readable regardless of the playback device.

The optical shutter is an electro-optic device less than 1/100th the thickness of a human hair. When the disc leaves the factory, the shutter is closed, thus preventing the player's laser from reading the content stored in the disc. At the POS, which can be at the retailer or via mobile phone, the shutter is switched open and the disc is made readable - and valuable - again.

An RFA™ IC and antenna are embedded in the disc to provide the conditional control and power needed to switch the shutter.

However, I agree with concerns expressed at Reg Hardware: will consumers accept the notion that the studios will know exactly which disc they own - just link the purchase data to the unique identity code embedded in each RFID chip?