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Blu-ray BD+ Cracked

An anonymous reader writes "In July 2007, Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group (BD+ Standards Board) declared: 'BD+, unlike AACS which suffered a partial hack last year, won't likely be breached for 10 years.' Only eight months have passed since that bold statement, and Slysoft has done it again. According to the press release, the latest version of their flagship product AnyDVD HD can automatically remove BD+ protection and allows you to back-up any Blu-ray title on the market."

20 of 521 comments (clear)

  1. Re: BD+ Cracked by Panaqqa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm beginning to increasingly believe the old cliche, "Information wants to be free".

  2. pwned by JeepFanatic · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When will people learn that making bold statements about their technology's security will only make them look like a fool when it is finally broken?

    1. Re:pwned by rubycodez · · Score: 4, Insightful

      why call it disaster? it's GOOD when any and all copy protection schemes are broken so I can get fair use out of my purchases. Those who are creating DRM are trying to take away my rights. When will they learn they may as well just abandon their wasted efforts and instead get smarter about how content is priced, sold and distributed.

    2. Re:pwned by PJ1216 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      this whole "blu-ray monopoly" thing is getting old. prices went up because they don't have to undercut their costs anymore. now, prices will eventually go down when the technology is actually cheaper. DVDs were expensive at one point too, but had no competition at the time (if you really want to count VHS, thats up to you). They started high (in some categories, higher than hi-def dvds), but due to never having to undercut their costs, they started as high as they could and then went down. Blu-ray didn't start as high as it could. It noticed it had to cut profits to try to win first. Now, they don't have to. Prices are now controlled by the actual cost of the equipment. Competing formats is *NOT* good for the consumer unless all content is available on all formats. The fact that one of the hi-def formats died is *GOOD* for the consumer. Competition isn't automatically good for the consumer and a so-called 'monopoly' (which is most definitely isn't) isn't automatically bad. When HD was around, it was a terrible situation. People were torn between choosing various studios. What if I liked movies from two studios that weren't on the same format? I'd have to buy a dual-player or even just two players. How can you justify saying its a good thing for consumers that they'd have to pay twice as much money on equipment?

      Anyhow, on the topic at hand, is anyone really surprised it got cracked? DRM will eventually die at some point. Right now its just something that we gotta continue fighting until companies realize they lose more money by utilizing it. Music has begun dropping DRM. Some book companies have started releasing straight pdf's of books without any DRM. Video will eventually follow.

  3. Barrier to Ownership by tompatman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Now that that's been handled, looks like it's time to start shopping for a BD player.

    1. Re:Barrier to Ownership by chasingporsches · · Score: 4, Insightful

      i completely agree... and i think that's the message that movie studios should be taking from this -- now that it's possible to create backups, more people are wanting to buy BD players when they wouldn't have otherwise -- not that the pirates have won again.

    2. Re:Barrier to Ownership by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is a 3rd option: being able to view the High Definition movie you paid for on a non-certified HDCP screen, without quality "downgrading".

    3. Re:Barrier to Ownership by rmach · · Score: 5, Insightful

      #3 Backing up movies to give to the kids to use because they will scratch them up where they won't work anymore. After that happens, make a new copy from the original.

      I own a large collection of DVDs and this is a use I do for some of them that watch. I also do this for CDs as well.

  4. Re: BD+ Cracked by TheLinuxSRC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The whole problem with encrypted media is that in order for the customer to want to purchase it, they will need to access the media they have purchased. In order to access that media, they will at some point need the key(s) that unlock it. Simply put, the purchaser of the media has the locked media, but they will also have the key. If you give people the key to the lock along with the lock, it is only a matter of time before someone figures out how to get the key.

  5. Re:why? by lilmunkysguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am beginning to ask myself: why are we always happy because of such news? I mean yes, we are all little pirates at the bottom of our hearts and we all liked Robin Hood, but shouldn't we start thinking more responsible towards how technology advancement can occur? We are happy because if we purchase a product, we feel we should be able to use it however we want to. DRM puts restrictions on how we can use the product we own. Removing those restrictions and allowing more freedom makes us happy.
  6. Re:unimportant by the_other_chewey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The vast majority of customers for blu-ray technology won't give a rats arse about this. I certainly don't

    Well, I do. Let me tell you why:
    I don't own a TV. I *do* however own a computer with a WUXGA display. In its current
    config, my computer would not be "MAFIAA certified" to play BD discs, even if I hab a BD drive.

    I want to be able to play the content on my computer.

    With the OS of my choice. With a display of my choice. Without this HDCP crap.
    I own a bunch of DVDs because deCSS has become ubiquitous today, and nearly every
    computer with a DVD drive can play them, without any platform or software dependencies.

    I'm waiting for the same to happen for BD - until then, no money from me.
    Please make it happen soon, HD video looks great.

  7. Re:unimportant by molarmass192 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I own and rip my DVDs to put them on my media server. I pay, and I "crack", so I can watch DVDs on demand without hunting them down, sitting through ads, and even on the road on my iPhone. So where do I fit into your argument? I'll concede that some people will borrow / rent DVDs to rip them, but honestly, it's much easier to torrent the movie you want than to rip / encode for 99% of the people out there. I'd say at least 50% of rippers do so legitimately, DMCA not withstanding.

    --

    Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws-Plato
  8. Re:Well.... by PJ1216 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    not every movie copied has to be stolen. and i doubt he was planning on stealing. especially since he said he also wants to wait for the prices of the movies to come down. which he has a point with. i mean, i've seen some movies go for $35.

  9. Re:why? by tolan-b · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1. This won't affect piracy, the places where you can get pirated movies are already full of BD releases so obviously those creating the pirated releases were already able to get the data (probably by ripping it out of the decoded video stream at some point).

    2. Software patents or no, I believe that I should be able to do what I want with something I purchase as long as it's not harming others. Moving my movies from physical disks to my media server is not harming anybody.

    3. As others have already said, DRM is fundamentally broken. To view DRM encrypted content you have to have the keys. If you have the keys then the encryption can't be secure. The sooner people (the content industries) realise this the sooner they can stop pissing off their legitimate consumers without actually denting piracy. This is a win for all. EMI have realised this, and I think a couple of other music studios, now it's just a waiting game until the rest of them get it.

  10. The power of abstraction by JSBiff · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ok, yes, books are more than *just* dead trees with ink squirted on them. But guess what, they also *are* dead trees. . . with ink squirted on them. Meaning they share at least some of the properties dead trees. For example, if you needed to, you could burn them in a fire place for warmth, if it came down to it. They have a high quantity of cellulose, so if you needed a source of cellulose for some sort of chemical reaction, you could possibly use books (or other paper - magazines, newspapers, etc) if you had to.

    I think the GP's point was, he should be able to backup his movies to his computer, because at a low level, Blue Ray movies are just data on the disc. He should be able to backup *any* data on a BD to his computer. Yes, movies are more than data, but they also *are* data too. The power of abstraction is that I can usually treat any two *similar* things similarly, even when they aren't identical.

    So that I can drive a Chevy Corvette or a Cavalier, a Ford F-150 pickup truck, or a Toyota Camry all on the same road, because they are all automobiles. Yes, a pickup truck is *more than* a set of wheels, a frame, and a motor, which collectively fit within a certain standardized set of dimensions and under a certain maximum weight, but it *is* also a set of wheels, a frame, and a motor which collectively fit within a certain standardized set of dimensions and under a certain maximum weight, which is why it can drive on the same road as the other vehicles.

    I think one of the distinguishing features of most geeks, that sets them apart from the general populace, is the fact that they have the ability to see, when it's useful, that "a book is just a dead tree", and to be able to figure out when that fact is useful. It is the foundational principle of much of engineering and computer science. Most people see the forest, or maybe the trees. A good hacker sees the forest *and* the trees.

    Your response to the GP just shows that you just don't get it. It doesn't mean he's any less correct. I hope this post helps you to see that.

    1. Re:The power of abstraction by chill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, 464 U.S. 417, 455
          (1984) (holding that "time-shifting" of copyrighted television shows with VCR's constitutes fair use under the Copyright Act, and thus is not an infringement).

      Space shifting, or copying a legally purchased copyright material like a DVD, to a computer hard drive for convenience is still being debated in the courts. It should be noted that no case has been decided regarding personal space shifting. Only cases by commercial entities like Diamond Multimedia, MP3.com, Napster, etc.

      Why? Because the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 set nice precedents covering this sort of behavior. Yes, it is specific to audio, but it explicitly gives people the right to make private, non-commercial copies of their stuff. The Senate report defines noncommercial as "not for direct or indirect commercial advantage", offering examples such as making copies for a family member, or copies for use in a car or portable tape player.

      That is a very big precedent and the video industry does not want to try and overcome that. This is why they went after DeCSS with vigor and the DMCA was enacted. Their "loophole" is to attack people for decrypting, not for copying.

      Uploading, sharing with friends and the like are different stories. But I believe you are firmly within your rights to make personal copies (for you and your household) copy copyright materials that you legally own.

      IANAL, but I challenge you to find one U.S. court case concluded after 1992 that says otherwise.

      --
      Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  11. Re: BD+ Cracked by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm beginning to increasingly believe the old cliche, "Information wants to be free".

    I am also beginning to increasingly believe that if you create a good enough dare, people will take you up on it, just to prove you wrong.

    Mother nature likes to join in too sometimes, as one ship has shown us.

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.
  12. Re: BD+ Cracked by geekoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    HAHAHAHAHahhahaha, oh man, that was funny.

    "...just sufficiently hard that the cat and mouse game is too much effort for the pirates."

    Except the pirate have the time, and the skills, and the same computer power as the companies. Add to that they don't have an arbitrary budget and they get an Ego boost from doing it? do you really think these snake oil salesmen have a chance?

    What next, a scheme for hiding porn magazines in your house from teenagers?

    At least more and more media companies are beginning to realize the futility of these scheme, hopefully they will go away. Really, I want to buy by disk, put it on my computer and call it up when ever I want. That's the future, that is what consumers want and expect.

    "You can't hide secrets from the future with math." - MS Frontalot.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  13. We made a boat load of money by geekoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and you should read mine over and over again.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  14. Re: BD+ Cracked by LunaticTippy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The same thing happened with cd and dvd. At first blanks were expensive (and generally half the capacity) but once it became the dominant media the economies of scale kicked in.

    I'd say if Bluray becomes the dominant media (which isn't certain, I happen to think discs are doomed) we'll see spools of blanks for $20, just like the last two times.

    --
    Man, you really need that seminar!