Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Licenses Analog Anti-rip Technology
photojournaliste writes "CD copy-protection specialist Macrovision is to work with Microsoft to ensure their respective DRM and anti-rip technologies are interoperable, the two companies said this week. Sounds straightforward enough, but the deal runs deeper. Microsoft agreed to license a number of Macrovision's patents, in particular those relating to analogue copy protection technology and more recent extensions to that system that cover video-on-demand, pay-per-view content and support for the US 'broadcast flag', which determines whether consumers will be able to record digital TV broadcasts."
http://msl1.mit.edu/ESD10/docs/darknet5.pdf
A Microsoft Research document that explains why it does matter even if only a few people can hack it.
Would be nice if people read information on it before bitching about it. All it says is you can't record digital signal in the highest quality, you have to let it convert to a lower quality signal. For me personally I don't care because I'm not planning on getting hi-def until it's the only option left.
Macrovision video "protection" is so easy to defeat, it's laughable. Go to Ebay, buy a time-base corrector, and--presto--no more Macrovision. Does anyone think that this stuff _really_ works?
Some people in this subject are talking about how the cirrent distribution methods are quickly becoming obsolite. I say they have been obsolite for a good 10 years now. I myself have not owned a TV set sence sometime around 1988 or 1999 prefering to just use a PC with a capture card becose of the freedom it provided me.
I much prefer to watch TV on my time rather then there time and I think just about everyone but the media industry feels this way. The idea of a 500 channel universe is totaly obsolite and a single channel universe with on demand content (for a fair monthly fee of course) is the way things want to go. But again the media industry is afraid of chaing. therew afraid of loosing there power over us so they refuse to allow it to happen.
Why is the RIAA so pissed about P2P networks and cd recording technology? It's not becose there loosing money to piracy of there current artists but rather cuz they see the threat it has on them gaining future artists. Today any gaurage band can have a CD totaly bypasing the large record lables that would just fuck them in the ass on a reguler basis.
Here are 2 good examples of the binifits of watching TV on ones own pace rather then a set schedual. Fox had 2 shows (Family Guy and Futurama) and these shows did extreamly poor on there network run. Mostly becose of missmanagemt and other typical TV poltics. Now these shows get released in whole on DVD for a fair price and all of a sudden 2 bombs become 2 of the best selling DVDs ever. One would expect fox and the rest of the industry to notice this fact but they dont. They continue with there old ways of fucking people in the ass. Fox could totaly release straight to DVD seasions of futurama (12 episodes ever 8 months or so) and people would eat it up. I know I would. But ofcourse they dont...
Anyway lets get back to being more on topic. PVR flags and analog protections. My current HTPC setup is only analog as I havent yet seen the need to upgrade it to HDTV but yes I have macrovision disabled on all analog inputs and outputs (though I havent used the TV_Out in a long time). My DVD drive is RPC and region free as well with a firmware hack and I use AnyDVD to remove CSS protection just becose I want to even tohugh I dont acctualy bother to rip my DVDs. I just feel it shoudlent be there in the first place.
I bet there loosing far more money to develope futile protection schemes then they are to the acctual piracy itself. The quest to stop piracy is just a waste of time and money and in the long run i think the general public will wise up to what there doing and just stop buying DVD and music and do something other then watch TV. The media industry would rather shoot themsewlves in the foot then change with the rest of the world and give the public what they ask for.
All you need do is buy a cheap Time Base Corrector, and it strips all that crap out.
So you have your player (to) your TBC (to) your recorder, and YOU'RE DONE.
Sure - you lose a generation through analogue distortion, but we're talking analogue striaght from the gate here anyway!
Here's a question, though: does anyone know what HDTV TBC units go for lately? The last time I looked, it was WAY expensive. I can usually find NTSC units of very decent quality (component in and out) for less than $400, crappy units (composite in and out) for around $200 and change.
What MS and the MPAA and RIAA don't realise is that we professionals in the field- the people who MAKE the crap these weasels sell - Don't Do DRM. WE REQUIRE clean, clear, free signal, unencumbered by mythical notions of Intellectual Property extending beyond point of sale and NOWHERE to be found in a professional studio (except in the narrow case of certain software packages that require dongles and whatnot). And by extension, SO DO THE WEASELS - this whole RIAA/MPAA nonsense is such utter hypocrisy, it's painful to watch. It's like watching a belligerent retard beating up his pets...
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
that are some interesting thoughts, I would like to add mine. I'm non-US, and I think the development you mentioned isn't limited to US only and the revolution (or at least the 'little revolution') would be a global one. I live in germany, and in germany noone ever has been sued (Disclaimer: I don't know everything, and maybe I fail to express me properly in english) due to a law similar to the DMCA (that's afaik the law in the US that is about that subject). If you do filesharing (of musik/video files and in germany) for a commercial reason, the law states somewhat clearly that you get yourself imprisoned (or a tough finanzial punishment). If you do filesharing for private reasons (which is f.e. if you 'only' have a few hundred mp3s) the law is quite unclear - to my knowledge noone has ever been sued, but they had to pay to avoid a accusation. Maybe that's intended by the Industry since the anti-pirate-ads (in germany) are pretty much FUD. They are somehow quite effizient, since there is hardly anyone who knows what real-life punishment they REALLY have to expect (since the industry is spreading their fear-uncertainity-doubt-punishment 'theory'). That's a try to compare the US with the rest of the world. I hope I didn't fail totally. greetings Barkpingu