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Blu-ray adopts DRM

Written by Lasse Penttinen @ 09 Aug 2005 10:53 User comments (40)

Blu-ray adopts DRM

The Blu-ray Association has adopted a copy protection and content management scheme that it described to be "comprehensive". It is immediately speculated that this DRM scheme would provide security to prevent the piracy of the future PS3 console.
The Blu-ray content management system include three components: Advanced Access Content System (AACS), a Blu-ray specific enhancement for content protection renewability called BD+, and a ROM Mark unique to Blu-ray Disc to prevent mass production piracy and sale of unauthorized copies.
AACS will enable content providers to manage copies with network functionality and internet connectivity in a secure manner. The ROM Mark will be a unique and undetectable identifier embedded into movies, music, and games. BD+ will be a programmable enhancement that will let content providers respond to organized attacks and update compromised code.But will any protection be enough to prevent piracy? I personally doubt it. For decades more and more advanced protections have been developed, and later cracked. MOD chips circumvented PS1, PS2 and Xbox protections, so why couldn't they do it in the future as well? On the other hand the Blu-ray format itself may slow down piracy at first, until the recorders get more popular and cheaper.



Source: Punchjump

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40 user comments

19.8.2005 11:13
ssxm
Inactive

so correct me if im wrong but is this thing saying were eventually gona have to connect to the internet to pretty much verify we have a "legal" copy of the title ? thats gona blow *** ! at least for the first year or so then its gona be smooth sailing. i might just not buy a ps3 now that all this DRM crap is surfacing ...ill just wait it out and see . its still to premature to tell what the heck is going on exactly

29.8.2005 13:12

Lots of monitor manufacturers are starting to include DRM protection all the way to the monitor level too. Before you know it, they'll have mandatory optical implants installed in people's eyes if they want to watch movies.

39.8.2005 13:46

Sigh.... yet another bundle of wasted money on protection. Its another (along with the Music industry) never ending battle.

49.8.2005 15:45

Amen, Pop_S. When will industry learn that technological "solutions" only beg to be cracked. Hello, RIAA, MPAA, xxAA, et al, listen up: Give us decent product at a decent price and we will BUY it -- legally, really we will! $15, $20 per disk (and G-d only knows what they will charge for Blu-ray movies) is not acceptible. When blank media and broadband connectivity is so cheap, you're gonna have to be more competitive and make it not worth our time to copy "illegally."

59.8.2005 15:50

makes you wonder if there are people out there that enjoy beating their heads into brick walls...that's basically what's happening here, methinx.

69.8.2005 16:57

Yes Auslander, I agree with that statement fully :)

79.8.2005 17:05

Pessimist here. How many years passed after DVDs were introduced before the copy protection was compromised? And how much longer would it have taken if Realplayer hadn't left a key in the clear? It certainly would have been cracked by now regardless of that slip, but you can safely assume that whatever standard is adopted, things will never as "easy" as they are now. Appreciate the current situation while it lasts. DVDs will be around for the foreseeable future, but do not expect to rip a next-generation disc for at least several years after their introduction and only then after physically modding your reader to bypass the built-in DRM. Obtaining the chip will put you in jeopardy of prosecution (see, e.g., DirecTV).

89.8.2005 17:40

A thought occurred to me today about this whole copy-protection idiocy. The movie industry is really encouraging copyright infringement. If they put no copy-protection mechanisms on movies what-so-ever, people would happily backup their movies and that would be that. Now, you have to use special (though not rare or expensive) software to copy your disc onto your hard drive. You have to be at least a *little* (not much, but it does require more skill than opening a video file or watching a DVD) tech savvy to do this and hence, many people just don't want to go to the time and trouble to do it. But what if they still want backups? Well, they have to go to another source like... THE INTERNET! The movie industry has created a new 'demand' for copied movies. It's no wonder they're being shared on the internet. With newer and tougher-to-break copy-protection, the situation will only escalate, as even more people will need un-crippled copies of the stuff they've already paid for but can't fully utilize due to copy-protection.

99.8.2005 18:13

this is what happens when you get corporation execs that aren't willing to adapt to the changing times and let their business plans evolve. it's time for a new generation of company leaders, with internet-laden electronics wired on the brain and psychology degrees to give them an understanding of the sharing nature of societal mankind. this is not feudal America (funny term, no?) and this is no longer a hard-wired world. one cannot fight a winning battle against the air, nor what floats in it.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 09 Aug 2005 @ 6:15

109.8.2005 20:55

will the system be backwards compatible??? or, will every viewer on the planet be required to buy a new stand alone player to view these movies?? considering all the new viruses & such we have to deal with on a daily basis, they must be out of thier corporate minds to think that someone won't be able to provide us with the tools to make "back ups" of our legal property Give Me a break. TC

1110.8.2005 03:47

some devices may be able to handle old dvds as well, some won't. in order to be backwards comapatible, the players/burners would have to be equipped with two differenty types of lasers, red and blue. i'm not sure how cheap that would be, either.

1210.8.2005 09:47

The industry may appear daft, and in some ways (like suing their customers...) they are. They know a certain level of unauthorized copying (STOP USING THE WORDS PIRATE & PIRACY! IT MAKES US SOUND LIKE CRIMINALS. WE ARE NOT.) will always happen. Their aim is to make copying difficult and inconvenient enough to limit activities they don't like to "acceptable" levels. Sure this flavor of DRM will be cracked. How many are able to do so is the question. Once this one is cracked wide enough to cost them they will throw money at the next. I like Klezmorim's idea of making good product at acceptable prices without DRM to limit unauthorized copying. Unfortunatly as long as greed is at the wheel in the media industry that will never happen... Just my opinion. If paperback books were priced at $25 a piece copy machines would be restricted technology.

1310.8.2005 10:40

If it takes a team of humans to make a protection scheme, it can take a team of pirates to crack it ;-)

1410.8.2005 12:23
westbrom
Inactive

dont worry.... when the hardware and firmware comes available and the money is rolling in, there will be ways to bypass the protection because its the likes of sony what makes the burners and discs to use.. boing boing baggies baggies

1510.8.2005 14:06

i dont think it will take "years" to crack as previously mentioned. the difference is when dvds first came out the tech and piracy demand was small. with todays pirates and the constant races to be first and get their name in pirate history forever....you cant seriously think its going to take very long

1610.8.2005 17:30

I agree, Deep0r - when DVDs came out, who even had a CD burner, let alone DVD? I also have a bigger question -- with all this focus on DRM (Digital RIGHTS Mgmt.) who is looking out for OUR rights? Namely, the Right to Privacy -- esp. in the post-9/11 US, with things like the Patriot Act in play, I don't think I care to have anyone having information such as what DVDs I view, music I listen to, etc. being broadcast to someplace every time I pop in a disc. Not that I'm the Unabomber or something, but records that are stored become records that can be subpoenaed (sp?) and used against you! With ID theft on the rise, and as we become more wired in our daily lives, mistakes are bound to be made with all of this info floating around on everyone! Maybe I'm paranoid, but I would like to keep SOME appliances in my house not attached to the internet!!

1710.8.2005 18:25

Might be time to dust off the abucus, the M-1 Garand and the loin cloth.

1810.8.2005 19:44

Quote:
If it takes a team of humans to make a protection scheme, it can take a team of pirates to crack it ;-)
I agree 100% with that statement!

1910.8.2005 20:17

Heh, anyone know where someone with programming as a hobby and some free time can find info about DRM...? >8-)

2011.8.2005 01:11

No company is going to put any disc drives into their system if it requires a contact to the net. I am ofcourse talking about disc drives for computers. I bet that DRM-legality check will be hacked and used in some attempt to steal info from companies.

2111.8.2005 10:43

"If it takes a team of humans to make a protection scheme, it can take a team of pirates to crack it ;-) " I also agree 100% with the statement

2211.8.2005 10:55

Why all the bi!ching. If something is too expensive, just dont buy it. Most of the people posting seem to be saying -- "man! games and movies are just getting too expensive, hence I am justfied in pirating."

2311.8.2005 11:17

ritam2001: If we were only speaking of a few malcontents, you might have a point, but when *millions* of people are doing this, it is a legitimate form of protest. The leaders of the recording and motion picture industries need to listen up. 'We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!' Here in the US we're having an increasing problem with "gas-pump drive-offs" because of the rising cost of fuel. When it's a handful of people doing it, they're rightly considered criminals. If *millions* of drivers were to do this, I'd say we'd have a powerful tool for economic reform in the petroleum industry!

2411.8.2005 12:25
runner121
Inactive

AHOY MATEYS! They're own remarks should be ringing some bells already :)

2511.8.2005 12:47
runner121
Inactive

Quote on quote "BD+ will be a programmable enhancement that will let content providers respond to organized attacks and update compromised code".Need anything else be said?

2611.8.2005 12:49
runner121
Inactive

It is as if a compromise is a pre-requisite to the new protection model.

2711.8.2005 17:45
seleena
Inactive

These are the guys that are working for our rights BTW. Check out our current alerts and take action today! http://action.eff.org/ This is the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They have a news letter. When something big is going down that will limit our Electronic freedoms. They let us know, and make it easy for us to complain to the pertinant parties. We all have the responsibility to stand up and be heard. Otherwise as Plato said: "Apathy towards public affairs, leads to rule by evil men." I won't buy DVD's since Jack Valenti's comment " You have a copy, if you need another one go out and buy another disk" That is PURE GREED. I will however buy CD's that aren't copy protected. I bought something from over seas because it wasn't released here and I felt bad owning it. I also don't use p2p software. I don't steal anything any more than I would if I was using my VCR. According to the sony / betamax decision copying stuff with my VCR wasn't stealing. So am I a pirate or not? I don't sell or even loan out my DVD's. They stay in my home. I have no intention of being on the bleeding edge of technology. LOL specially since they can't agree on a format.

2811.8.2005 18:43
runner121
Inactive

These companys are filthy rich.They are content that these new implementations will be thier gravy makers again.Maybe they will, maybe they won't.You can be sure a lot of dough went into this.All we can do is sit back and watch.

2911.8.2005 18:48
runner121
Inactive

I dont think you are thier vision of the common pirate.They seem to have a liking for people running servers with massive amounts of this and that for the downloading.

3011.8.2005 23:24

Don't forget, DVD Jon was only 15yo when he cracked the original, and that was by himself. Now is the time where more and more people are on the ball. The necessity will come about with the rising popularity of the blu-ray burners.

3112.8.2005 09:02

Buik, quote: Might be time to dust off the abucus, the M-1 Garand and the loin cloth. LOL, ha,ha,ha... Former technologist turns Luddite

3212.8.2005 10:46
runner121
Inactive

The people who are investing in the technology will more than likely be the ones walking the plank.

3312.8.2005 21:53

Well, now I just wish I hadn't gone and traded in that M1...anyways, what I wanted to comment on was how people seem to think that GREED is the motivator of the companies. It's not. Companies, corporations, businesses, these are made to make money, and this is what they do. It is their responsibility to their shareholders to turn a profit, and if these companies were as keen to share with you all their money, well then they wouldn't be in business for very long. You have to keep in mind that the industry is just that, an industry. It provides jobs for millions of people. If you think that a company is going to Welsh on it's investors and employees to give you what you want for cheap or free, than you're dreaming. Yes, the industry might be overcharging, but that is a problem for the invisible hand to solve. And remember, hands can give a pat on the back, and just as easily turn it into a slap. Piracy is not going to get their attention, what is going to do so is sudden drops in their profits. Corporations aren't greedy, evil entities out to take your soul, they were founded by people who wanted to make it in the world. They did, and if you complain, that's just you complaining your neighbour worked harder than you and got something to show for it.

3413.8.2005 00:42

The purpose of a business is to make money. The first priority of a business should be to help the consumer get what they want. That's the way it used to be anyway. Now, their only priority is money, money, and as much money as they can't get.

3513.8.2005 00:47

And the movie industry is by no means just people who "want to make it in the world." Many jobs in the movie industry are easier to do than taking orders at a fast food restaurant, but they pay about 100 times more. There's greed there.

3613.8.2005 19:25

I'd actually like to apologize for my previous comment, as it does not reflect my opinion. It was typed after a hard session of reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Almost through the damned book, but you just know it's gonna affect my mental state until I do....

3716.8.2005 13:03

"Piracy is not going to get their attention, what is going to do so is sudden drops in their profits." well if im not mistaken the two go hand in hand dont they? thats the point of all this "protection" as they call it. its not protecting their media...they are protecting their jags, mansions, and fancy suits! the point of piracy isnt to rip off the industry, its to prove that as long as they have personal jets and were being raped of our hard work we (as a GROWING! conglomerate of our own) wont bow to their alligator shoes!

3816.8.2005 13:13

id also like to say that i laugh at the term "PIRATE". pi·rate n. 1. 1. One who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without commission from a sovereign nation. 2. A ship used for this purpose. 2. One who preys on others; a plunderer. 3. One who makes use of or reproduces the work of another without authorization. 4. One that operates an unlicensed, illegal television or radio station. Now i find 2 and 3 the most interesting. so by making a copy (not for profit just to "reproduce" period) is considered a pirate. yet "one who preys on others: a plunderer." seems more like what the industry is trying to do to the publics pockets! so i say lets change the term from "pirates" to "ROBIN" F'n "HOOD". they steal from the rich and give to the poor! am i wrong here? give me the ability to AFFORDABLY watch FIRST RUN movies online, ill pay for it. give me music at an AFFORDABLY rate (both off and online), ill pay for it. give me an economy/company that gives raises to their employees as quickly as they raise the price of their merchandise and WE WILL BUY IT! however you keep taking and taking and taking and give nothing in return, you better believe someone or something will eventually start taking back!

395.9.2005 01:06

Quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If it takes a team of humans to make a protection scheme, it can take a team of pirates to crack it ;-) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I agree 100% with that statement! Amen to that hahahah.

4011.10.2005 16:04

Deep0r: Word.

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