WIRED: Blu-Ray DRM Cracked

[Jeremy Charette]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/01/bluray_drm_crac.html' target='_blank'>http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/01/bluray_drm_crac.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The plaintext exploit used to partially crack HD-DVD a couple of weeks ago was brought to bear on Blu-Ray by the same gents this weekend—and it worked a treat. "We need to kick DRM in the butt!" declares the sigfile of Doom9 forum poster Janvitos, launching his inspection of the format. And that they do, with muslix64 delivering the killing blow: "Oups, I did it again! ... In less that 24 hours, without any Blu-Ray equipment, but with the help of Janvitos, I managed to decrypt and play a Blu-Ray media file using my known-plaintext attack ... I will keep you informed If I found anything new...""</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/pirate.jpg" /> <br /><br />Bill Gates is right: optical media is dead. The future is all about streaming or downloadable content, largely due to security and intellectual property issues. I suspect we'll see more and more proprietary devices to access that content (such as the Xbox 360), and the days of optical discs are numbered.

[Philip Colmer]

For as long as consumers want to buy something tangible, optical media will not be dead.

Why do consumers prefer to rip CDs rather than buy the tracks? It isn't just about DRM, it is also because if your harddisc trashes, you've lost all of that bought content.

If I make a wedding video for a couple, how do I give that to them? Do I stream it from a server? That just isn't practical.

Optical media has a long and healthy lifespan still. It is DRM that faces the problem. If the powers-that-be weren't so restrictive with what we could do with the stuff we buy, people wouldn't be so hell-bent on trying to break those restrictions.

--Philip

[jeffd]

optical, well, physical media will never die...ever. Consumers will always prefer to have a source in there hands to work with. Also online is in NO shape, now or in the foreseeable future, to achieve the reliably connection or speed of even a dvd player let alone hd player. Also more people own dvd players then highbandwidth connections.

I have seen some impressive hd streaming (vividas wich has been doing movie trailers for some new movies like http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/ghostrider/vividas/highdef/index.html has been the best I have seen so far, offering hd resolution and above dvd quality using fast realtime streamed data) but they don't really hold a candel to the quality and bitrate of a hd disc using h264 at 4+mbits a second.

[Jason Dunn]

Um, is it me or does Jeremy's text (about Bill Gates saying optical media is dead) have nothing to do with the Wired article? 8O

Regarding the cracking of HD-DVD &amp; Blu-ray, I'm thrilled to hear it - I own five HD-DVD discs so far, and I want to have the same ability to rip them as I do with all my other DVDs.

[Philip Colmer]

Regarding the cracking of HD-DVD &amp; Blu-ray, I'm thrilled to hear it - I own five HD-DVD discs so far, and I want to have the same ability to rip them as I do with all my other DVDs.
I've been following the threads on doom9 (and there are plenty of subjects under discussion) and it makes interesting reading.

As I don't own either an HD DVD or Blu-Ray drive, I can't tell how easy or difficult it is to extract the volume keys, but there is an impressive library of keys building up, meaning that if someone else has found the key for your disc(s), you are good to go with the backup process.

It is going to be very interesting to see how the industry responds to this. Clearly, it is a dent in their system. There are mechanisms to deal with that dent, but there is a significant impact associated with those mechanisms.

For example, if the software player that is exposing the volume keys is patched to make it harder, all new discs must be configured to block playback on the old version of the player. That still means, though, that all of the discs in existence right now will play on it. Also, since there is now a big library of keys, they can be used as a means of trying to figure out how a future version of the player is obscuring the keys.

Another potential issue is whether or not all existing discs are recalled in order to then reissue them with new keys so that future purchasers cannot back them up using the keys that are out there.

Interesting times!

--Philip

[Felix Torres]

Best not to laugh too loud at this; what is being cracked is AACS, the more "user-friendly" DRM on blue laser systems, not the user-hostile Java-based add-on promoted by Sony, Fox, and Disney because they considered AACS too lenient. This validates their stance that customers are thieves and must not be allowed to stream anything and should be forced to buy multiple copies of everything.

This likely will end up killing managed copy and it just might kill HD-DVD, delivering unto the BD trio the monopoly they want. And those three are not companies I want controlling HD video
distribution tech.

The collateral damage in this fight is us.

[Jeremy Charette]

Um, is it me or does Jeremy's text (about Bill Gates saying optical media is dead) have nothing to do with the Wired article? 8O

Regarding the cracking of HD-DVD &amp; Blu-ray, I'm thrilled to hear it - I own five HD-DVD discs so far, and I want to have the same ability to rip them as I do with all my other DVDs.

My comments have everything to do with the text from the article. This example just demonstrates why the industry is moving to DRM encrypted downloadable content, proprietary STB devices, and streaming media (i.e. IPTV). Is it going to take time, as in years? Yes. But it's happening already, and there isn't much consumers can do to stop it.

As for wanting something "tangible", well, frankly most of these content providers don't care what consumers want. Distribution of physical media is time consuming, complex, and expensive. They'd rather send you the bits over fiber or satellite. The notion of "owninig" a piece of media is antiquated at best. Content providers would rather charge you for every time you access that media (i.e. watch a movie, listen to a song, etc.), or have you pay a flat rate unlimited access fee (monthly IPTV bill, all you can eat Napster plan, etc.).

The hassle of securing content on physical media is pushing the industry in this direction. Every time hackers break down the walls that content distributors put up (such as Blu-Ray and HD DVD), it sends the message that consumers don't respect intellectual property rights. Optical media isn't dying because people don't want it, but because content providers don't trust it.

[Philip Colmer]

As for wanting something "tangible", well, frankly most of these content providers don't care what consumers want. Distribution of physical media is time consuming, complex, and expensive. They'd rather send you the bits over fiber or satellite. The notion of "owninig" a piece of media is antiquated at best. Content providers would rather charge you for every time you access that media (i.e. watch a movie, listen to a song, etc.), or have you pay a flat rate unlimited access fee (monthly IPTV bill, all you can eat Napster plan, etc.).

For it to work, though, the price structure has to be acceptable.

I for one won't choose a charging structure that means I pay every time I access the media. On the flip-side, though, the flat rate fee has got to be reasonable. My satellite supplier, for example, makes movies available over the Internet free to anyone with a movie subscription. I like that. They've also started offering TV shows ... but you have to pay for those. I don't like that. The distinction isn't that it isn't free - the distinction is that I consider that I'm already paying for the shows through my satellite subscription so I don't see why I should pay twice.

What about in-car audio and video, though? Systems like that aren't going to accept streaming media, so I still don't see optical storage dying out.

True, the amount of digital media may increase, but not to the effect of killing off physical media.

[Jason Dunn]

As for wanting something "tangible", well, frankly most of these content providers don't care what consumers want. Distribution of physical media is time consuming, complex, and expensive.

Quite true, but the first movie studio that does a "stream/download only" release of a movie instead of putting it on DVD is going to be in for a brutal surprise. We're at least a decade away from even being able to THINK about moving to streaming video services.

[Jeremy Charette]

A decade? No way. I say 2010. Witness the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, which has seen huge downloads of relatively mediocre films, because they were easy to access, and in HD. Poseidon shocked even the movie execs when it shot to the top of the "Most Downloaded" list on XBLVM, despite a lackluster showing in theaters. Time Warner and Comcast may not be quaking in their boots, but believe me, they're taking notice.

[jeffd]

The industry prefers to stream movies online rather then sell it at bestbuy? Wow.. I think someone needs to tell them that! Cause they sure seem to be dragging their feet.

Btw as jason said, if a company tried something like an xbox live only release, sales would be super low in comparison.