Copy protection firm Macrovision Corp. unveiled the third version of its SafeAudio CD Copy Protection solution for worldwide implementation. SafeAudio Version 3, which was showcased at MIDEM 2002 in Cannes, France on Jan. 20-24, is a 100 percent software-based, audio copy protection solution for music CDs, jointly developed by Macrovision and TTR Technologies. In a press release that used language seemingly to differentiate itself from technology of a competing copy protection firm, Midbar (see article at right), Macrovision said SafeAudio “ensures excellent playability across all playback platforms and causes unauthorized copies to lose their entertainment value.”

Version 3 offers the following new features:

New patent-pending AudioLok technologies offer increased protection and finely tunable multi-level security options

Support for multi-session CDs with third-party Digital Rights Management (DRM) options, allowing fair use by consumers on PCs and digital audio players

Enhanced mastering, verification and testing tools requiring no change or addition to existing production lines

Brian McPhail, vice president and general manager of Macrovision’s Consumer Software Division, said the breakthrough with SafeAudio V3 is the ability to selectively implement different levels of security using the company’s AudioLok technologies, by track if needed.

Macrovision’s SafeAudio Reseller Program enables CD replicators to provide the SafeAudio V3 copy protection solution to their music customers who want to purchase replication services and audio CD copy protection from a single source.

Macrovision’s SafeDisc CD-ROM copy protection solution has been licensed to over 100 mastering and replication facilities worldwide and has been used on over 100 million discs by major software publishers. Macrovision said it is developing a SafeAuthenticate version of SafeDisc that will provide music labels with a local rights authentication option for compressed audio files on CD.