lizard

"BD+" keeps getting mentioned. Does anyone know what it is and why it is supposed to be so great for content protection?

digitalfreaknyc

Because it will take hackers an extra month to crack.

awmurray

After it is completed. I seem to remember a BD insider saying that it was going to be more than a year before it is rolled out. Digi, do you know?

digitalfreaknyc

Absolutely no idea. With the typical BD delays, I tend to have a "wait and see" approach as opposed to listening to what mouthpieces say.

pabster

No one really knows about it because not a single Blu Ray disc (to date) uses BD+ protection.

My guess is that it will be cracked very quickly, much like Sony's pathetic ARCCOS crap they use on standard DVD discs.

nazz

I just wish someone would create a hack for my A1 so I can upconvert the SD DVDs that I own or rent to 1080i over component. I still cannot comprehend why they care if I do or not.

mbs

It is part of the DVD's Macrovision protection. Unless the manufacturer's wish to circumvent the Macrovision protection, their hands are tied.

Basically, with DVDs the studios wanted to prevent copying of upconverted streams. Digitally this is handled through HDCP, while analog signals cannot be handled in the same way, Macrovision has features to prevent it from even being upconverted.

nazz

It feels to me that it just ends up encouraging people to rip and burn a rental to be able to watch it upconverted as opposed to just playing it or even buying it. This same person would have had no interest in grabbing an upconverted analog stream. Creating new 'pirates' seems to be counter productive.

mbs

Oh, I totally agree. I think it is quite stupid. When you could watch a ripped copy at 1080i over component, but cannot with an original disk, there is a big problem. Copies shouldn't have more functionality than originals...

At least ICT won't be enabled for the near term (until at least 2010). So for now we can still enjoy HD over component. It's probably a good thing component capture cards cost in excess of $1,500... otherwise I'm sure the studios would love to have a reason for ICT.

Pistol Pete

Just thought I'd point out that the AACS "processing key" has been snarfed as well. This means that all HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray discs released up until now can be decrypted at will. Individual volume keys are not required.

From Engadget

The original message.

The Bus

Thankfully the new unified HD movie format is consumer-friendly and is widely affordable. With all the new extras on these movies, it's obvious there's a great added value proposition for buying the disc.


...

Oh, wait.

Pistol Pete

And less than 2 weeks later, the WinDVD8 device key has been snatched. Now everything is available for an open source HD-DVD ripper to be made. I assume that the AACS-LA will revoke the key on future releases, but all HD-DVDs pressed to date are vulnerable.

digitalfreaknyc

Both formats are. You can find rips of them on the internet already.

Pistol Pete

Maybe it is semantics but the device key will be good for existing and future releases until the AACS-LA takes action against the compromised player. The volume keys were specific to individual discs so you required a different key for each one. The compromised processing key is one of many that may be derived from a player's device key. A future disc could revoke a processing key without breaking any existing players. Now that the device key has been compromised, the AACS-LA will disable the compromised player if they revoke the key. Device keys are supposed to be tied to a specific instance of a device but some manufacturers consider them a model key and use the same one for all players of a specific model.

All three keys enabled people to decrypt BluRay and HD-DVD so of course there are rips available. I'm more interested in a tool that allows me to make copies for my own use, shift content to new playback devices, and be able to play back on older equipment that is not HDCP compliant if the ICT is ever used.

sarah99

I'm not sure why people think AACS/HDCP will stop casual piracy.
The cheapest way to play HD-DVD is with an Xbox drive and a PC.
To copy the disk you just click the "rip HD-DVD to disk" button in AnyDVD HD.
Slysoft say the BluRay update will be released this month and I believe them.
I don't see how a key held in a software player can be revoked?

Minimal cost or knowledge needed.

sarah99

Oops, I was wrong, Slysoft AnyDVD HD (HD-DVD and BluRay) beta now out.

Drexl

It probably is done through something hidden in the registry or somewhere else on the hard drive, but you're right about it not really being able to be revoked. All they should have to do is reinstall the operating system and player application, maybe wiping the drive first for good measure. Of course, once someone in the "community" finds a disc that revokes the player, the word will get out, so not too many people will have to reinstall.