CBC News
A group of U.S. media and electronics companies will soon start testing a system that will let you watch the movies you buy wherever you are, regardless of formats and other technical hurdles. Like a bank account accessible from all ATMs, your account would follow you, no matter what brand of machine you use. The group has also come up with a name for the open standard it is creating, which it was unveiling Tuesday: UltraViolet. Backers of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem hope to kick-start growth of digital movie purchases, now just four per cent of all sales, by freeing consumers of format concerns. The concept is to create a digital locker that stores tokens that are proofs of purchase of DVDs, Blu-ray discs and movie downloads. When a consumer buys a movie online or at a store, she can watch it anywhere else, including on any mobile device or TV set without the hassle of copying her personal files. Specifications for a proposed common file format will be released soon, and testing of the system with an unnamed retailer will begin by the end of the year.