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DRM Group Set To Phase Out "Analog Hole"
eldavojohn writes "In yet another bid to make your life a little more annoying, our DRM overlords at the AACS Licensing Authority have released a new AACS Adopter Agreement. The riveting, 188-page PDF will inform you that — in the name of Digital Rights Management — there will be new limitations set on devices that decrypt Blu-Ray discs. HDMI already has the awesome encryption of HDCP between the device and the display unit. But Blu-Ray still has the Achilles heel of analog players that allow someone to merely re-encode the analog signal back to an unencrypted digital format. So if you have an analog HDTV, hang on to those analog decoders and hope they never break; by 2013 you won't be able to buy a new one. Ars points out the inherent stupidity in this charade: 'Particularly puzzling is the fact that plugging the so-called "analog hole" won't stop direct digital ripping, enabled by software such as AnyDVD HD. And even the MPAA itself recommends using a camcorder pointed at a TV as a way to make fair use copies, creating another analog hole.' And so the cat and mouse game continues. On that subject, DVD Jon's legit company just brought out a billboard ad for his product doubleTwist next to Apple's San Fransisco store. It reads, 'The Cure for iPhone Envy. Your iTunes library on any device. In seconds.' So while he's busy taunting Apple, I'm certain there are others who might have some free time to look at Blu-Ray and the 'uncrackable' AACS."
HDMI already has the awesome encryption of HDCP between the device and the display unit
As usual, an encryption system that (likely) cost millions to develop, can be defeated with a simple device.
http://www.hdfury.com/
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this company in any way; this is not an endorsement, only a link to a potentially useful resource.
Umm, that ad for DoubleTwist was pulled down a week ago:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/06/vdouble_twists_ad_ripped_down_by_bart_before_wwdc_too_dark_really.html
Seriously, Slashdot is becoming great lately for re-reading old news that I read on other tech sites days earlier.
Yeah, I realize this but if you read the Wired article that I linked:
Johansen wanted the ad displayed Monday, the first day of the Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. That's when the Cupertino, California-based company unveiled a host of new products and prices. But it was taken down, Johansen said, because he was told the ad did not allow enough light through the subway station window.
The entrepreneur said he submitted the same ad to Titan Worldwide with a white background instead of a black one. He said Titan rejected that one, too.
Finally, the ad with a transparent background was approved and displayed Wednesday afternoon, Johansen said. Pending another brouhaha, the ad will remain there for months, he said.
I may have been this-side-up blitzed last night when I submitted this and I may have no recollection of submitting it but that ad is still on display!
... Sweet Spaghetti Monster my head hurts.
Funny how it is you who are the one that is out of date
My work here is dung.
"When they wise up and replace LCD/plasma with viable technology,"
The screen technology isn't the issue - its all the digital decoding that goes in inside the TV. The days of LCD screens having noticable lag are long gone though I'll admit they're still not as good as the best CRT. However , LED screens will be along in (hopefully) 5 or so years and it will leave LCD and plasma as a footnote in the techno history books as its way better than either picture wise plus it uses less power.
DVD player brand new.
DVD disk set brand new.
DVD disk set #1 returned with nic's.
DVD disk set #2 couldn't be returned cause I waited too long.
Error with nicking only happens on DVD disk #1.
You could watch a beer box full of stargate, atlantis, pirates of the caribean, deadwood v1,2,3, Miami Vice many volumes, 300, Highlander, basically about 4 boxes of shit work just fine, then put that disk #1 from Hamlet in and click click click, nick nick nick. On load...
And you blame this on a brand new DVD player?
It's not the hardware, It's the software on DISK #1 Hamlet. (Which cost over $20 at the time)
I know the difference between a hardware and a software problem.
It's the disk, not the hardware.
LOL, no LEGAL alternatives.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Blu-ray has a 2-3 year head start on marketplace penetration, and Apple hasn't even managed to match the most basic of features (video resolution & # of sound channels), much less matching video/sound quality or allowing any bonus features. Overtaking Blu-ray with downloads at this point will require divine intervention.
Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
I think you mean "downgrade". But don't worry, if you get the pirated version, it won't have this restriction (and you will be able to start the feature immediately, without all the unskippable warnings, advertisements, and menu animations).
Why is HD TV being foisted on us?
HDTV and digital broadcasting are unrelated.
I've heard similar horror stories about other stand-alone BluRay players.
If you're interested in playing back BluRay content, get a Sony PlayStation 3. It's one of the very best players around, and since it has a full blown network enabled OS on it, it can get updates as easily as any other operating system.
I hate DRM, I love Linux, I've developed open source software. BluRay definitely has some problems. However, it is the single best quality format for consumer video playback to date. I have a Samsung 46" 1080p HDTV, and I can tell you that BluRay playback looks noticeably better than any DVD or satellite broadcast.
Seriously, why are you assuming that it has to be Apple of all companies to make digitial HD a reality? In case you haven't noticed, Netflix and Amazon have been offering very solid HD solutions on a plethora of players that hook directly to your tv. Apple TV has been nothing short of an epic failure! I'm assuming, due to your sig, that being a Mac fanboy has blinded you from any alternative.
An inventor is a man who asks 'Why?' of the universe and lets nothing stand between the answer and his mind.
Mine screen is 1080.
Don't forget, While Dvds will look ok at 720 vs 1080, Dvds themselves are 480, while bluray is 1080. Even on a 720, a bluray should be considerably better than a dvd.
Belief? Hope? Preference?The Existential Vortex
Please stop spewing this blatant misinformation. Those TVs are LED backlit LCDs. The pixels don't generate any light, they only block light. Samsung does *not* make any LED TVs as far as I know, it's all marketing lies. They should get sued for it.
I've had a better experience. I bought a PS3, which is the best Blu-Ray player out there. It plays perfectly with none of the glitches you described, and if there are any future firmware updates needed, it will be the first to get them. I also play games, so I get a lot of value from it.
I don't buy movies anymore, since I realized how rarely I re-watch movies. I also don't get cable. I have a Netflix subscription with Blu-Ray, which provides me with all the movies I could want. I really prefer watching TV shows on disc, where I don't have to worry about commercials and scheduling.
I can watch anything in hi def, I'm paying a low amount per month, and if I want to switch to a different technology in the future, it won't be painful. It's hard to beat that.
The only feature I miss in the Bay is an option to directly send money to the artist(s).
Yeah, that would be nice. However, because you don't have that option, you /are/ paying for the original product before downloading in this super-convenient format, right? Because you think that you should be paying for products and services you enjoy? I'm sure that's what that vast majority of bay users do, wouldn't you say?
Um, guys? Where'd you go? Guys?
Seriously. If the answer to that question is no, convenience of format is just as much an excuse to take what you want as "information wants to be free".
Cue flamebait mods. I can take it.
Most of the movies in my collection were never filmed in high definition, so the quality improvements in switching to Blu-ray would be minimal.
They were filmed in.... film, typically 35mm. 35mm is generally considered to be equivalent to 10-20MP depending on quality and age, with an upper limit somewhere around 25MP. Even after being clipped, cropped, spliced, edited, and composited with multiple layers and digital effects, a proper remaster should still be able to achieve at least 1920x800 (~1.5MP).
The only reason your collection wouldn't be able to be brought up to spec is because its full of low budget B movies, or you have a bunch of old movies that have degraded or been lost.
"Now available on DVD and blu-ray disc. Digital copy included"
This means there's a second disc containing an AVI, yes.
That AVI is DRM-protected, such that you need special plugins for WMP or iTunes (or a handful of other media applications) to be able to open them, which needs to be authenticated against an internet server every time you want to watch or transfer the copy.
My guess is so that they can say "Look, we gave you the video in a digital format, and still you download it for your iPod, all your claims are now null, and we own your soul"
I like to think of them as incentives. That's all they are, really. Copyright law when originated actually was based on the understanding that information, once made public, naturally becomes public domain... that this is GOOD, and to be encouraged... and they encouraged it by a temporary artificial monopoly with the end goal being MORE PUBLIC DOMAIN WORKS.
The propaganda by the beneficiaries of this public largess has been so successful that most people now actually think that copyright violation is stealing, actually think that information in MY head can be someone else's property... actually think that this is natural and proper. Insane.
Copyright was an incentive. Like a government small business loan, enterprise zones, tax breaks, cheap hydro power for industry, taxpayer subsidized NFL stadiums, whatever.
This space available.
Maybe it is different in the US than here, but I'm not sure why you expect rights like format-shifting and time-shifting - who granted those rights to you?
I'm in the US and I can tell you EXACTLY who recognized the existence of those rights: The Supreme Court of the United States
Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. 464 U.S. 417 (1984)
If you cannot keep politics out of your moderation remove yourself from the Mod Lottery.. NOW!
A note to people considering this route:
As far as I have seen, the media cartel pulled a fast one with upscaled DVD. While a good idea in theory, all the DVD players except for the boutique stuff requires using HDMI for HD resolutions (even though the component connection is capable of 720p/1080i), and will not work without an HDCP-compliant display.
There are players out there that will send the upscaled signal down DVI (unHDCP'd) and component, but everything I have seen at big box retailers just forces HDCP on people. Caveat emptor.