Consumers who want to see a movie currently being shown at a movie theater but who are unable to see the movie at the theater for various reasons, such as a tight schedule, may have to wait until the movie is available on DVD discs, typically sometime after the movie has finished playing in local theaters. Likewise, parents are now unable to prescreen movies currently playing at movie theaters before permitting their children to see a movie in the theater without buying a ticket and actually attending a showing of the movies.
In order to view a movie that is currently being shown in theaters (a “first-run movie”), consumers may obtain unauthorized, illegal, bootleg copies of the movie. These bootleg copies typically have low picture clarity. Purchasing bootlegs also exposes consumers to fraud, as some alleged movie copies may simply be blank DVDs.