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Blu-ray Protection Bypassed
ReluctantRefactorer writes with an article in the Register reporting that Blu-ray copy-protection technology has been sidestepped by muslix64, the same hacker who bypassed the DRM technology of rival HD DVD discs last month. From the article: "muslix64's work has effectively sparked off a [cat]-and-mouse game between hackers and the entertainment industry, where consumers are likely to face compatibility problems while footing the bill for the entertainment industry's insistence on pushing ultimately flawed DRM technology on an unwilling public." WesleyTech also covers the crack and links the doom9 forum page where BackupBluRayv021 was announced.
From the article "The early version of this utility only supports the decryption of Blu-ray discs whose CPS unit key is known." ... "A powerful crypto attack was used to analyze the memory dump obtained from a Blu-ray Disc software player (such as WinDVD or PowerDVD). The crypto attack helped to identify the encryption keys that are needed for decrypting the video files."
So it has not been cracked as the keys still need to be found. This just decodes the contents once the keys are found.
Actually both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray use the same DRM system, AACS, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AACS
What he did crack is one software based player. There's now a difference. Key holders will now revoke the keys for that particular player, so it won't play newer movies anymore. There's no crack yet that would defeat the entire protection scheme.
Satellite TV encryption is dynamic. Got the keys? They just got revoked. Worked out the encryption? A download just changed it.
A DVD is a static medium and the players aren't normally connected to a source of data, so they can't update them so fast, and they can't invalidate the encryption without making your existing disks unplayable (=class action lawsuit)... so it's considerably easier to break (and re-break as they issue new disks).
This hasn't been "cracked" in any meaningful sense of the word. All they've done is implement a decrypter working from the format specs, and worked out a way to hack decrypted keys out of a software player.
At any point, the player can have its keys revoked and code changed, and we'll be back to square one.
http://hdkeys.com/
Hardly. DVD had the fastest penetration of any consumer electronic device in history -- faster than cell phones, faster than VHS, faster than PCs. It had very little to do with DeCSS; it had to do with the three things.
(A) the players are much less complicated to produce than VCRs, so the retail price rapidly dropped to the point where you virtually got a DVD player with your happy meal.
(B) The retail price of DVDs started low and got lower. I bought my first DVD for $20, and nowadays you can find B-list titles, used DVDs, etc. for $5 or less. VHS, on the other hand, started really expensive -- most titles were $90 or up in the early years -- and only started getting cheap when DVD arrived on the scene.
(C) There was already an established model and infrastructure for rental. It didn't take too long when VHS started, but it did take several years before 'renting a video' became a universal experience. With DVD, that happened pretty much from day one. People didn't hesitate to adopt a format when they could get content on it quickly and cheaply from the start. And Netflix has done more for the adoption of DVD than DeCSS.
Not to say that DeCSS hasn't been a boon, but even now most consumers don't have the expertise/wherewhithal/inclination to copy DVDs. Most of the pirated discs on the subway were initially mass-produced copies, not home pirated versions.
What about
(D) It had features that made it significantly better than VHS
(i) The seperation of a film into chapters coupled with the ability to the jump to said chapters.
(ii) Able to store multiple sound tracks and/or cuts of the film.
(iii) No rewinding.
I find being offended by me offensive.
Not that you can't buy a Blu-ray drive for your PC already, but you're looking at spending the best part of a grand to do so.
You can get Blu-ray *burners* for your PC for under $500.
Dude, Sattelite TV has been cracked for decades.... DECADES!...
You can buy on ebay a china Mpeg2 reciever with a firmware on it that receives all Dish network programming without paying. and every time it stops working you get the new key on your PC via one of the rss feeds out there. IT is brain dead easy and dirt cheap.
Sattelite Tv has been broken hard for a really long time, longer than DVD... I remember helping a friend pull the epoxy off a VideoCipherII board in college to mod the prom so it would descramble everything (Playboy channel is what we were after)
The sattelite TV hack stuff is so pervasive it makes guys like me that are into FTA mpeg2 TV fight to find real info for our hobby. Every search turns up 60% hack and crack and 40% real FTA info.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Blu-Ray actually uses BD+ as well.