Gizmodo: copying

MPAA Want to Bung-Up "Analog Hole," Disable Piracy-Enabling Cable Box Outputs

Kit Eaton — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:15:00 EDT

Movies movies movies... we all love a good show, but the lovely MPAA is up to some pretty strange shenanigans to ensure that you get to see some shows just once—until they're out on DVD at least. The fab guys at the Motion Picture Association of America are petitioning the FCC on behalf of some major movie studios to close the "analog hole" that may allow people to record movies broadcast on cable before they hit DVD. "The Petitioners' theatrical movies are too valuable in this early distribution window to risk their exposure to unauthorized copying" runs the argument, and is why the MPAA wants "selectable output control" (SOC) enabled on some cable box outputs.

Essentially the MPAA wants to stop you from analog-copying stuff that is transmitted to your home, perhaps as pay-per-view, before it is released on (the proven as insecure) digital DVD format.

Some bodies argue that this is a fear that has no grounds in reality: "in the complete absence of evidence, there is no reason to believe that additional, costly, restrictive technologies are needed." TiVo and the Digital Transition Licensing Administrator also think SOC places too much control in the studio's hands, and messes with already in-place industry standards.

But the MPAA's position is clear, designed to protect revenue of the studios: "Distribution over insecure outputs would facilitate the illegal copying and redistribution of this high value content, causing untold damage to the DVD and other 'downstream' markets." The MPAA also makes an interesting twist in the argument, alleging that the fact that currently very few movies are released to broadcast before hitting DVD is "convincing evidence that the analog hole is an impediment to the early window release of high-value content."

So the people who are trying to protect the studios from piracy are saying the threat of analog copying is preventing movies getting to the TV fast... when as soon as a DVD is released, pirated copies hit the intertubes almost straight away. I am confused: does the movie exist for the audience, or the audience exist for the movie? The MPAA's not sure either, but seems to want even more control over the films we all watch. [Ars Technica via CrunchGear]

Move Over Meizu: China's Clone "Gods" do Nokia N95 Too

Kit Eaton — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:34:02 EDT

It's not just the iPhone that's being cloned: now this black 8GB Nokia N95 clone has joined the party. With dual slider keypads, a two megapixel camera with flash, another small camera, media player, Bluetooth and microSD card slot, it's actually not all that bad. It doesn't have the 8GB, of course. But you've got to admire the brazen advertising: "STRAIGHT FROM THE CLONING GODS OF CHINA! WE BRING YOU THE ALL NEW N95 DUAL SLIDE VERSION!" It gets worse.

"A CLONE THAT IS TRULY WORTHY TO BE CALLED AN EXACT REPLICA! SAME DIMENSION, MARKINGS, FEEL .... OVER ALL CLOSEST TO THE REAL N95 BLACK 8 GIG."

Looks like a very professional piece of tech-copying, doesn't it? Detailed right down to the Nokia logo splashed on the front. Those naughty Chinese cloner "gods" have even packaged the phone up with a "Nokia" charger, handsfree earpiece, a 256MB microSD card and a manual. An actual manual. Plus a one-year warranty! Talk about laugh-out-loud.

It's available in the Philippines, apparently, for just $161. [RedFerret]

AnyDVD HD Is Here, So Start the Blu-ray BD+ DRM Crackin'

Benny Goldman — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:35:00 EDT

Late last year, disc-copying software maker SlySoft claimed they cracked the BD+ DRM protection in Blu-ray discs. They weren't kidding. The newest version of AnyDVD HD strips Blu-ray discs of BD+, allowing you to copy even the most locked-up Blu-ray discs (*cough*Fox*cough*) to your heart's content—assuming the copies are for personal use, of course. On the DVD front, the updated software rips movies that can't be read by Windows, and can now get around most ARccOS protection. Sounds like a reasonable temptation to all you pirate types, so run along, have at it and report back to us. [SlySoft] Thanks, Mike!!

Blu-ray Copy Protection Cracked, Disk Copying Software Out by Year's End

Jason Chen — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:32:31 EDT

Slysoft, the makers of AnyDVD, CloneDVD, and many other disc-copying software apps, have just cracked the Blu-ray BD+ copy protection. This means, if Slysoft's predictions are correct, a commercially-purchasable suite to copy Blu-ray movies will be available by the end of the year. However, Blu-ray blanks—especially dual-layer ones—are still so costly right now ($40+ for a writable) that it's not financially feasible for people to be duping their own movies. You know, unless you really enjoy the blank disc look over the professionally done Blu-ray disc with the proper case and materials. Weirdo. [Golem via Inquirer]

It's Legal to Break DVD DRM in Finland

Jason Chen — Fri, 25 May 2007 14:20:28 EDT

Do you hear that sound? That's thousands of nerds cheering loudly, then coughing uncontrollably, then reaching for their inhalers thanks to a court ruling in Finland that rules CSS protection for DVDs ineffective. Why does this matter? Because under Finnish law, cracking DRM is only illegal when it's "effective," and CSS has become so ineffective that it's no longer illegal.

According to the court, CSS (the DRM on DVDs) no longer achieves its protection objective. The court relied on two expert witnesses and said that "since a Norwegian hacker succeeded in circumventing CSS protection used in DVDs in 1999, end-users have been able to get with ease tens of similar circumventing software from the Internet even free of charge. Some operating systems come with this kind of software pre-installed." Thus, the court concluded that "CSS protection can no longer be held 'effective' as defined in law."

How long before HD DVD and Blu-ray discs get to this point? A year? Two years? Maybe it won't even be necessary if this story is accurate. – Jason Chen

Finnish court rules CSS protection used in DVDs "ineffective" [Turre via Boing Boing]