VideoLAN Announces libaacs

supersloshy writes "VideoLAN, makers of the well-known media player VLC, have just announced a new project called libaacs. The libaacs library's intention is to provide a free software library to implement the AACS specification, the copy-protection found on things such as Blu-ray discs. Note that this isn't meant to actually be a decoding library. It includes no AACS keys and is solely developed for research purposes."

Comments

One small error

[supersloshy]

Sorry guys. I submitted this article before I realized this. libaacs has been around for a while and was a project started at Doom9. It was just adopted by VideoLAN. My bad!

Sounds legit

[anarkhos]

"Note that this isn't meant to actually be a decoding library. It includes no AACS keys and is solely developed for research purposes."

Riiiiight

Re:Cease and Desist in

[Kjella]

If they had the power to take down BluRay decrypters, they'd be going after the commercial tools that actually work. This is roughly the umpteenth open source library announced and what they all have in common is that they don't work on any of the newer movies with MKBv11 or higher and/or anything more than the simplest forms of BD+ protection. It's unlikely open source will catch up until the MPAA gives up the DRM fight, you may not see it but there's still a constant war of updates to make the decrypters work on new discs.

Re:Without the keys, it's 1201(g)

[CarpetShark]

I'd like to see how such a cease-and-desist notice might be worded.

Fuck you, pipsqueak? ;)

Re:Which "intellectual property"?

[PopeRatzo]

This is the sort of thing that EFF jumps all over.

And the EFF has some bad-ass lawyers. I know one EFF lawyer, who spoke to a local group here in Chicago back in the Spring, who's been offered jobs by two industry groups. I guess they figured they'd rather be paying him a salary than facing him in court. He was an interesting guy. He'd made some dough doing mergers or something before joining the EFF and didn't seem to be phased by the dangling carrot. He was also an extremely persuasive speaker. I could understand why someone like the RIAA wouldn't want to meet him in front of a judge.

Re:"legally play a Bluray"

[TheGratefulNet]

no, you miss the point.

players are LICENSED. money.

freeware players skip this. that annoys those who, uhh, like money.

get it?

its JUST that simple.

(then again, you can't GET a license just by asking for it. you have to bend over and kiss corporate ass and promise never to allow users to do what they wish with the media they bought)

back in the early days of linux/dvd, authors DID try to buy 'proper' licenses. they were refused. at that point, we all turned 'rogue' in the industries' eyes.

well, so be it. don't want our 'player fees'? then you get NOTHING.

but we still will be able to play our media. you have done nothing but stopped revenue to your own self, you silly mpaa morons.