Royal Philips Electronics today announced the launch of 'RepliTrack', a turn-key video watermarking solution for forensic tracking purposes.

The product comes as ready-to-install software that will work on PC compatible computers with Windows 2000 or later version, and works in conjunction with existing professional recordable DVD replication equipment. RepliTrack can be used to embed a unique watermark into a DVD disc that will play on any DVD player. Any copy of the disc, be it a VHS tape or a peer-to-peer file, still carries the watermark allowing the origin of illegal copies to be traced.

With RepliTrack, replicators can create large volumes of uniquely watermarked and labelled copies of a DVD disc at the click of a mouse. The underlying watermark technology is an enhanced version of the same technology that was deployed with great success last year when it resulted in the discovery of the origin of illegally copied and distributed versions of major motion pictures prior to their official release (see http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/spragueArrest.htm).

The product is a direct response to the demand for convenience from content owners and service providers. The software installs itself automatically to work in conjunction with the replication equipment. A graphical user interface provides control of the watermarking and replication process. The results of the replication process are uniquely marked and labelled copies of the input DVD.

"We are very pleased to be able to offer a one-click solution to our customers", says Erik de Ruijter, General Manager of the Content Identification Business Unit of Philips Research. "We have stepped up to the challenge, fueled by last year's experience, to make watermark embedding simple for large studios, independents and replicators alike. We now take a major step forward, as we are dedicated to further contribute to the controlled distribution of valuable content."

RepliTrack is directly interfacing with all Rimage Producer II duplication equipment. Rimage Corporation (NASDAQ: RIMG) is the world's largest and most experienced full-line manufacturer of CD/DVD publishing, duplication and printing systems.

DVD video content watermarked using RepliTrack is cross-compatible with other watermarking hardware and software components which are available from Philips Research, such as the hardware embedder for baseband material, and an MPEG software development kit.