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Anatomy of Cactus Data Shield

Posted by michael on from the prickly-on-the-outside-squishy-on-the-inside dept.

meehawl writes: "This is a good analysis by CDRInfo on the current version of Midbar's Cactus Data Shield. This is the format Universal will use to protect its new audio CDs. It's been reported here already that some DVDs effectively bypass this protection, but this article addresses the specific concerns of how best to backup these protected CDs, and how to extract the music data at high quality for download to a personal MP3 listening device."

4 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. thinking ahead by athagon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One would wonder if the record industries/other persons responsible for greater "security" on CDs/DVDs had thought of this:

    With the current system, the following can be done:

    Person A buys CD1. Person A rips CD1 to disk, and distributes MP3s to Person B. Person B likes said MP3s, and buys CD1 for his/herself.

    With "rip proof" technology (at least, until its cracked), however:

    Person A buys CD1. Person A tries to rip CD1, and fails. Person A tells Person B that CD1 sucks because you can't rip it. OR: Person B can't hear MP3s from CD1, so Person B doesn't know whether or not (s)he should buy it, and possibly decides not to.

    With the current system, yes, the industries stand a greater chance of losing money: but they also stand a greater chance (and, as some statistics have shown, this is the case) of gaining more money; given that the majority of Napster users (apparently, and as I did) used Napster to download a few random MP3s to decide whether (s)he should/should not buy CD1. With rip-proof CDs, however, Person A, B, C... won't be able to listen to MP3s from CD1, and thusly won't know whether or not they want to buy it.

    Synopsis:

    It would not seem wise, at least to me, for the industries to err on the side of greater control, and away from the potential for greater sales. Penny wise and dollar foolish, they say...

    --
    I think, therefore, I'm smarter than our president.
    1. Re:thinking ahead by swb · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It would not seem wise, at least to me, for the industries to err on the side of greater control, and away from the potential for greater sales. Penny wise and dollar foolish, they say...

      You're right in suggesting that they want enhanced control. But remember, when you listen to your friend's MP3, decide you like and go out and buy it you're making a purchasing decision about whether or not you like the music based upon your friend's opinion and your personal preferences.

      You're not making it based upon the music industry's marketing campaign. The industry pushes select artists that they have an investment in and want to succeed, and they would rather that you made your decisions on what to buy based upon they're selling, not upon what your friends like or what you find appealing.

      The record companies, as subsidieries of media conglomerates, already have influence over TV, magazines, record stores, and radio stations (through direct ownership or payola). What they don't control is whether your friend tells you about a new disc he got and the music on it.

      I'd agree that it may hurt sales, since a lot of records that have become popular have become popular because of word-of-mouth but I think more and more people are such slaves of the media anyway (radio in shower, in the car, in the office, MTV at home, etc) that many people by and large have lost their ability to generate an opinion of their own anyway.

  2. Jargon to English Translation by Skirwan · · Score: 5, Funny
    How does the Cactus Data Shield work?
    Translation: How can I circumvent it?
    As Midbar explains "...The Cactus Data Shield proprietary technology was developed in-house by a multidisciplinary team of experts in the fields of information security, physics, mathematics, electronics, cryptography and algorithms.
    Translation:We got a whole room of smart people who worked on it. Sometimes we race them.
    The technology includes proprietary electronic circuits and software algorithms.
    Translation:It uses computers and stuff. It's like the Jetsons.
    The Cactus Data Shield processor is the engine behind the protection and serves as a platform for encoding original content through robust, multi-layer protection schemes.
    Translation: I wanted to just call it Bob, but the head of marketing has a cactus fetish.
    An engineering solution, the protection schemes are adaptive, easily updated and significantly more robust than software solutions.
    Translation: Even though it's basically done in software we can't say that, 'cause it confuses the VPs.
    The Cactus Data Shield copy protection slightly alters the information on the CD in several ways while maintaining perfect audio quality.
    Translation: We only fucked it up a little.

    --
    Damn the Emperor!
  3. Proper terminology by thumbtack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The proper term is CORRUPTED, not copy protected.They do not conform to Red Book Standards.

    Congressman Rick Boucher of VA has written a letter to the IFPI and the RIAA suggesting that under the AHRA this may illegal and asking for explanations of the methods used. Under the AHRA there is a 2% surcharge on every CD recorder sold in the US at the wholesale level (See section 1004), that goes to the RIAA, just as there is a 2% surcharge on "Music" designated CDR media.

    In addition Philips refers to these corrupted discs as "silver disks with music on them, but which do not resemble CD's" See this article

    Boycott-riaa and Fat Chucks are maintaining a list of the corrupted CDs. Also, Check out the Home Recording Rights Coalition