13 Years After DeCSS Case, Congressional IT Endorses VLC 106
New submitter robp writes "After a link to VLC showed up in one of HBO's DMCA takedown requests, I recalled how often I've linked to VLC in my own copy, and how often I've seen that app noted across traditional-media outlets — even though you could make the same arguments against linking to it that Judge Kaplan bought in 2000. Now, though, even the House's own IT department not only links to this CSS-circumventing app but endorses it. Question is, what led to this enlightenment?"
Re:Enlightenment? Try Unawareness. (Score:4, Interesting)
Lobbyists will take it down (Score:5, Interesting)
This and other factors leads me to believe that the thinking inside the movie industry that the whole internet (Netflix types included) is pure evil. This thinking seems to be religious in nature. So if you sell you wares on Netflix you have gone to the dark side.
An example of the venom that I once heard about Netflix was that they won't do things like feature one work over another based on kickbacks or politicing. Basically the traditional TV types are comfortable when they can use their political weight to push their show into the primetime slot on Thursday which guarantees an audience. Whereas Netflix is more of "If people want it they will click on it". This does not sit well with people who would rather use their sharp elbows to make their crap shows a success.
So these government IT people are showing a hint of reality by putting up the most used tool VLC. But the lobbyists will show their well financed Fantasy thinking by shutting this down before the end of the month. So in the long term they will run out of money to finance this stupid fantasy of theirs but they have a lot of money so it will take a long time.
Re:Enlightenment? Try Unawareness. (Score:5, Interesting)
That won't help. HDCP protects the output of the player on its way to the display - it has nothing to do with the encryption on the discs themselves. That is protected by AACS.
Fortunately, AACS has also been broken. Doing so just isn't the simple insert-and-play task of breaking CSS - it requires the presence of a valid processing or device key. Several processing keys have been discovered via reverse engineering (The first of them was the famous 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 that was plastered all over the internet for a week in protest of DMCA takedowns directed at Digg for linking to it), but they can also be revoked in new discs, requiring a constant effort to discover new processing keys or device keys (Which can also be revoked, but not without breaking some players).
The process of decrypting blu-ray is thus possible for those with a little skill, but cannot be easily automated and put into VLC.
Those who do have the skill to decrypt AAC are kind enough to upload the resulting movie to various torrent sites though, saving the rest of us from having to go to such lengths ourselves.
Re:Why the surprise? (Score:4, Interesting)
You are quite correct, Gangsters need good quality media players like VLC. In fact, to say they desire good media players like VLC would be correct also.
My granddad was part of "Organized Crime" and he liked good radios, good TVs, good cars, good air conditioners, good stores, good roads, good food and good people (they paid their debts without sending out the goons). While he didn't pay retail for everything, he did pay taxes of all sorts at least some of the time.
My granddad worked hard for his money earned through legal as well as illegal businesses. He raised eight children and paid for their educational pursuits (to Bachelor-level). He and his wife encourage their grandchildren to be good members of the community and citizens. When one of his sons died, he adopted his granddaughter, raised her and supported her through Master-level education.
Were he alive today, he would applaud the VLC developers and publisher for their independent nature, self-sufficiency and service to the communities that they serve.
VLC is also cross-platform--one thing that I greatly appreciate about VLC.
Re:They needed to use it. Duh. (Score:4, Interesting)
A more typical example would be the anti-gun politicians who really don't want any private ownership of firearms at all ... but their own guards are armed.
It's better than that. Dianne Feinstein, the poster child for taking guns away, actually has a concealed carry permit and does or did carry a concealed revolver, while at the same time preaching about how citizens don't need guns for self-defense, especially pistols or assault rifles. It's more personally hypocritical than even you have made it out to be. Causality, indeed.
What's the issue? (Score:4, Interesting)
What's the issue. VLC does not decrypt DVDs and plays a myriad of formats, all legally. If one takes the step to install libdvdcss, which does decrypt the DVD that is the individual doing that, not VLC. Saying that VLC is responsible for it is like saying Ford is responsible for people speeding.
Re:Fuck bluray (Score:4, Interesting)
Our cowardly hit and run commenter is, predictably, full of shit. I'm going to take a wild guess that he thinks 1960's movies are "old", even though I don't. The picture quality of the the Lawrence of Arabia Blu-ray is matchless. It makes the term "breathtaking" into an understatement. Anything in 70mm, properly processed and restored if necessary, is at least as good as 4k digital. Doctor Zhivago is very nearly as impressive. Julie Christie's face in candlelight will make your heart race faster than anything you can find on recent digital productions, as you will get more detail on your 1080p display than you did in 1965 on a wide movie screen, the projector a little out of focus, with smoke in the air, and more than likely a well-used print.