There are plenty of ways. Limit playback only to official DRM-locked devices and have those devices film the user. The moment a camera makes it into the picture you block their account for life. That's not even new tech, 3D face detection is standard part of many smartphones and laptops. And companies like Facebook have no problem locking you out forever from their services, for much milder infractions.
Or more practically, just look at cinemas. They already film the audience to prevent filming and with great success. While you still get illegal copies of a movie easily, it's only extremely low quality smartphone rubbish. The high quality piracy videos only shows up months later once the films hit streaming services or Bluray.
And all of that is just current tech, lets assume VR will become a success in the future. Now you have a device on your head that tracks every little one of your moves, including things like heart rate and eye-tracking. Furthermore, what streams to you isn't an easily ripable 2D copy of the movie, but the 3D view of sitting in a cinema. Good luck trying to rip that. And of course tamper proof hardware is a thing as well, so any attempt at opening it up will automatically self destruct it and phone home that you tampered with it.
You're in their building, so I imagine your consent is stated as part of the ticket verbiage or in small print when you buy it. Regardless, closed-circuit cameras are pretty ubiquitous in private businesses, and have been for decades.
The idea of the poster was that customers are recorded during projection and that there is active real-time monitoring of said reception, e.g. to detect abuse.
So, "you are being watched as you watch". Not by an uncaring attendant, but by some actively processing automation.
>There are plenty of ways. ... have those devices film the user.
I think you've identified pretty much the only way (that I can think of, anyway). If you surveil all consumers and instantly arrest them the moment they make a copy, mission accomplished.
Short of that, though, as long as the data is being presented out in the open (light waves, sound waves, text), it's going to be possible to "rip" it.
Or more practically, just look at cinemas. They already film the audience to prevent filming and with great success. While you still get illegal copies of a movie easily, it's only extremely low quality smartphone rubbish. The high quality piracy videos only shows up months later once the films hit streaming services or Bluray.
And all of that is just current tech, lets assume VR will become a success in the future. Now you have a device on your head that tracks every little one of your moves, including things like heart rate and eye-tracking. Furthermore, what streams to you isn't an easily ripable 2D copy of the movie, but the 3D view of sitting in a cinema. Good luck trying to rip that. And of course tamper proof hardware is a thing as well, so any attempt at opening it up will automatically self destruct it and phone home that you tampered with it.