Gizmodo: aacs

DRM Group to Kill Analog Blu-ray Output

Mark Wilson — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:40:00 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.The AACS Licensing Authority is most renowned as the group behind the DRM found in Blu-ray discs—the same DRM, mind you, that's already been cracked. And they're out to kill analog.

Ars Technica points out that in the recently released 118-page AACS Final Adopter Agreement, the AACSLA refers to the upcoming "analog sunset"—or the phasing out of AACS content playing back over analog connections.

What's this mean? By December 31, 2010, AACS licensed manufacturers are required to limit AACS-compatible analog signals to interlaced SD resolution. By 2013, no AACS-compliant device will be allowed to have an analog port.

So once again, what's this mean? It's about time to upgrade to HDMI. Oh, and stodgy DRM bureaucrats are still convinced that they can stop piracy in the digital age by censoring the technologies of yesteryear. That's all. [AACS Final Adopter Agreement PDF via ars technica and image]

Blu-ray Disc Ripper 1.4 First to Copy BD-Live Content

matt buchanan — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:45:00 EST

The latest version of the people's Blu-ray ripper, Blu-ray Disc Ripper 1.4, is the first to support BD-Live titles. BD Ripper 1.4 now grabs the AACS folder, which might be needed for BD-Live flicks to decrypt downloaded content. That means it in effect copies the BD-Live extended content, bringing us one step closer to running downloadable BD-Live goodies on a ripped disc. You still need an AACS key to make the magic happen, but those are easy enough to find. What was that about 10 years, blah blah Blu-ray blah blah unbeatable blah blah? [TG Daily]

AACS Copy Protection Scheme Looking Worse All the Time

Matt Buchanan — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:53:40 EDT

Ars Technica has a lengthy piece that re-sounds the battle cry against AACS, the copy protection scheme for Blu-Ray and HD DVD—specifically, the gimpage it's bringing to both PCs and Macs in order to sate Hollywood's fears of casual piracy.

The video path basically has to be locked down at every point, and both Microsoft and Apple's OSes are required to employ "techniques of obfuscation clearly designed to effectively disguise and hamper attempts to discover the approaches used" so it's harder to hack, among other great "features."

Because they want PCs and Macs to be able to play high-def content, neither Microsoft nor Apple are in a position to tell Hollywood to take a flying fuck, either—to wit, Vista's already loaded down with it, and Apple's on the Blu-Ray board, so expect them to saddle up soon enough.

The bottom line for end users is that they're stuck with a copy protection system that's a total pain in the ass, while it devours system resources to constantly monitor the stream's "integrity." Awesome. Thanks, Hollywood. [Ars Technica, Image via Flickr]

HD DVD and Blu-Ray Cracked (Again)

Mark Wilson — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:45:27 EST

The Doom 9 forum has posted yet another way one can break the AACS (encryption) on the new DVD formats. This time, software enthusiasts exploited WinDVD 8 to find its "sub device key" that allows for movie playback. Does this mean anything more to Bittorrent? Not really. This is just another way that's been to do what could already be done.

It's almost not even fun anymore...like we've all teamed up against some wheelchair-bound child in a high-fiving contest. – Mark Wilson

Doom 9 Forum [via slashdot]

HD DVD's AACS Protection Cracked?

Louis Ramirez — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:23:00 EST

They told us it was bullet-proof, unbreakable. Yet in a mere eight days, a hacker by the name of Muslix64 has managed to single-handedly break the Advanced Access Content System (AACS), the standard that Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Sony, and others developed to protect HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. Or has he? The BackupHDDVD software Muslix64 posted on a Doom 9 forum thread lets you decrypt Full Metal Jacket, Van Helsing, and a few other popular HD DVD titles, but there's still no way of telling how he managed to get a hold of the decryption keys. Only time will tell if Muslix64 is the DVD Jon of the next-gen optical discs. – Louis Ramirez

Doom 9 Forum

Next-Gen Media Screws Early HDTV Owners

Travis Hudson — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 07:08:56 EST

If you were one who bought an HDTV back when they first hit the streets, it appears your TV will be almost useless with the new HD DVD and/or Blu-ray players. The AACS copy-protection rules were released this week and those older HDTVs will be unable to display full resolution because their video connections have no copy protection. The signal older HDTV owners will receive is 960x540, almost half of what they should be getting.

We knew this was going to be the case with HDCP and AACS, but it's worth noting that the inevitable has come to pass.

Early HDTV adopters screwed by HD-disc rules [SciFi Tech]