Next-Gen Ultra HD Blu-Ray Discs Probably Won't Be Cracked For A While (arstechnica.co.uk) 244
DVDFab, a software tool for ripping and decrypting DVDs and Blu-ray discs, will not be upgraded to support newer Ultra HD (4K) Blu-ray discs. Fengtao Software, which makes DVDFab, said in a statement that it "will not decrypt or circumvent AACS 2.0 in the days to come. This is in accordance with AACS-LA, (which has not made public the specifications for AACS 2.0), the Blu-ray Disc Association and the movie studios." AACS-LA is the body that develops and licenses the Blu-ray DRM system. AACS 2.0 has a 'basic' version that sounds quite similar to existing AACS, but also an 'enhanced' version of DRM that requires the playback device to download the decryption key from the internet. There might still be a hole in the AACS 2.0 crypto scheme that allows for UHD discs to be ripped, but presumably it'll be a lot tougher that its predecessors.
We've heard this before... (Score:4, Funny)
You know...before the encryption was cracked by a 15 year-old using a Pentium III desktop.
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In their defense they did consider that scenario at the time... A proposal was made to offer the worlds 15 year olds accounts to all the major porn sites on the net but it was deemed not cost effective. Perhaps the numbers will tell a different story this time.
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That was with 40 bit encryption. The MPAA learned this lesson and BD+ is way more complicated.
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And our machines are way faster. This won't last. A short delay is all.
Re:We've heard this before... (Score:5, Insightful)
Our machines are faster but not 2^64 faster
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Moreover, if the disc requires a live network connection in order to play, it may have unique keys imprinted on it. In order to get a decryption of the movie data, you will have to send your unique key to the server in order to get a working decryption key. Even after decrypting the movie, your unique key is "watermarked" into the video, audio, and likely subtitle tracks too. Now, when this video gets posted to pirate bay, it can be traced back to the IP address that originally requested the decryption k
Re: We've heard this before... (Score:2)
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The patent licenses will likely cost more than the drive hardware itself. I'm not kidding.
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Moreover, if the disc requires a live network connection in order to play, it may have unique keys imprinted on it. In order to get a decryption of the movie data, you will have to send your unique key to the server in order to get a working decryption key. Even after decrypting the movie, your unique key is "watermarked" into the video, audio, and likely subtitle tracks too. Now, when this video gets posted to pirate bay, it can be traced back to the IP address that originally requested the decryption key.
Now, you can try to hook up to the server via TOR or similar, but they will block those kind of attempts... sooner or later they'll start requiring a valid CC number to enable playback - I suppose you can send them stolen ones, but that's going to get messy after awhile.
One person and the analog hole is all we need.
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So, what you're saying is that any successful attempt merely needs to be duplicated with at least another disk, another player, and/or IP address/account. Then the outputs can be compared and the watermarking obfuscated or removed. In addition, rips are seldom 1:1 copies and involve new compression which removes and alters data -- including potential watermarks.
The analog hole still exists for taking video and audio recordings with a camcorder in front of a screen, and with a bit of machine learning and m
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Analog hole is always there, and analog copy degradation was probably the basis for industry acceptance of fair use... Generational losses in copies no longer apply, but certainly using camcorders to copy a UHD source will result in noticeable losses...
Re: We've heard this before... (Score:2)
I'm happy to oblige.
Re:We've heard this before... (Score:5, Insightful)
You misspelled "" (the empty string). As in: printf("Additionally, movies ""just don't benefit from Ultra HD.");
Fewer and fewer people are buying physical media at this point, choosing to pay a small fee to Netflix et al for a continuous supply of new content. The few who still do buy physical media are mostly those behind the technology curve, which means they mostly don't own Ultra HD TVs or players. As a standard, Ultra HD is basically stillborn.
Sure, many people buy an Ultra HD TV if they're replacing hardware, simply because other aspects of the image quality make them a better purchase. (The resolution is irrelevant at normal viewing distances, and this is true regardless of the size of your TV, because your eye exhibits angular resolution.)
Similarly, many people will eventually buy an Ultra HD Blu-Ray player as they displace the standard models price-wise. Unfortunately for the studios, almost nobody will replace their existing players until the hardware breaks, which means that it will be a really, really long time before the studios can stop shipping new movies in normal Blu-Ray format, which will still be rippable. And most people will continue to buy their movies in that format, rather than have to deal with multiple copies of each movie for their various players.
This brings me to the main reason why these discs won't be cracked for a while: nobody actually cares. Everybody knows that there's little real-world benefit to the extra resolution, and the extra size of the underlying data can be considerable, depending. This means:
In short, these companies are engaging in an insane cat and mouse game to "protect" intellectual property in a format that is likely to be purchased by a fraction of a percent of movie viewers even in the best-case scenario, and that would still be watched by about that same fraction of a percent even if the movie studios made unencrypted Ultra HD ISOs available for free in torrent form. Nobody cares about Ultra HD.
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There's still a fair number of people without access to a good enough internet connection to make using Netflix etc possible and are stuck with physical media.
The wife is one that would love Netflix but instead buys DVDs and the odd Blu-ray, mostly used. She actually doesn't like Blu-ray as it shows too much detail and would never want HD.
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And our machines are way faster. This won't last. A short delay is all.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but so far there have been a total of zero successful attacks against AACS (the Blu-Ray encryption system). Everything so far has been built around using known decryption keys extracted from BluRay players and playback software. Those keys are regularly revoked, hence the need for software like AnyDVD to be updated on an ongoing basis (not to mention the convoluted mess of BD+ programming and title/chapter obfuscation the publishers use on discs).
AACS has been out for 10 years now
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but so far there have been a total of zero successful attacks against AACS (the Blu-Ray encryption system). Everything so far has been built around using known decryption keys extracted from BluRay players and playback software.
That's a successful attack.
Re:We've heard this before... (Score:5, Informative)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but so far there have been a total of zero successful attacks against AACS (the Blu-Ray encryption system). Everything so far has been built around using known decryption keys extracted from BluRay players and playback software.
Obviously, that doesn't stop your from emulating an LVDS flat panel and taking your output from after the stage where it has been decrypted and now thinks it's talking to a flat panel display, but is instead talking to your electronics instead.
It's unlikely that a television owner will accept the equivalent of an "error 53" on their very expensive display panel, so third party repairs will most likely remain possible. At which point we can know there is no security association between the flat panel itself and the separate decode hardware stage.
So basically: if people can see it at all, it's possible to get it in cleartext, even if you may eventually have to resort to tempest-level eavesdropping on the flat panel itself.
Now while it's true that these things might be watermarked in the decode process... it's possible to use sampling with multiple sets of hardware, and then use differential analysis on the images to remove, or at least obscure, andy electronic artifacts designed to identify the source of the video. Not that it's not actually going to be the same way most movies get released these days: someone gets a hold of an awards ceremony DVD by doing dumpster diving, or some member of the academy just releases it, or the pressing factory in China just runs a "third shift operation".
Frankly, however, I can't see them being successful in requiring going to the Internet; it's not like the Internet can tell if it's a legitimate disc in the first place, if it's a bit-identical disc that was run off by the factory that ran off the legitimate copies. It's basically a repeat of the DIVX (DIgital Video eXpress) fiasco if they go that route anyway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] -- nobody wants to rent the videos they buy, and potentially later lose access to them, when you replace a player, or a key that happens to be for your brand of player gets invalidated, or the studio goes out of business, or gets bought by a religious organization that thinks R-rated movies are somehow "Against God".
And if you think that can't happen: It's Chick-fil-A's nationwide policy to be closed on Sunday because of its managements religious beliefs.
Re:We've heard this before... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Even if the disc if impossible to rip, you can get HDMI capture cards that make a perfect digital copy of the source.
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Blueray (Score:4, Informative)
I still haven't left DVD, like I needy another type of crappy optical disc.
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Most streamed video and much torrented video is worse quality than DVD. And don't forget about the sound quality either.
Also, use some random Pentium 3 desktop to play that DVD (or a damn Bluray player). W00t, progressive scan! Upscaling to HD! omgbbq.
That said I hardly ever see DVDs but it's a fine format for legally acquired media.
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"requires the playback device to download the decryption key from the internet"
So... some sort of packet sniffer might be in order.
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So... some sort of packet sniffer might be in order.
That assumes that the protocol doesn't use some sort of challenge/response or unique key mechanism for communicating the actual decryption key inside an encrypted envelope that prevents replay attacks.
Pointless (Score:5, Insightful)
As long as you can capture the raw video and audio output you can copy anything into your own format.
Re:Pointless (Score:5, Insightful)
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Not saying you should use this but I am sure you can
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms680553%28VS.85%29.aspx
Or just not read it as a file in Linux/osx
Also for the hardware hackers out there do not use the interrupt pin on the CPU to get at the memory space and just read the keys out of memory.
There that should clear up what NOT to do.
Re:Pointless (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Pointless (Score:5, Funny)
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It is true that if you can play it, you can copy it, but it is also possible to watermark the product with unique keys that can be traced to the original purchaser - and since they require server connection, the IP address of the person who made the first gen copy from the "locked" product.
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It is true that if you can play it, you can copy it, but it is also possible to watermark the product with unique keys that can be traced to the original purchaser - and since they require server connection, the IP address of the person who made the first gen copy from the "locked" product.
I've never seen a store record the serial number of a disk before I buy it, but if they start doing so, then just shoplift it before you rip it and post it online... or buy it used from eBay using a throwaway debit card, or one of the myriad of other ways to hide the purchaser's identity.
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It is true that if you can play it, you can copy it, but it is also possible to watermark the product with unique keys that can be traced to the original purchaser - and since they require server connection, the IP address of the person who made the first gen copy from the "locked" product.
I've never seen a store record the serial number of a disk before I buy it, but if they start doing so, then just shoplift it before you rip it and post it online... or buy it used from eBay using a throwaway debit card, or one of the myriad of other ways to hide the purchaser's identity.
You forgot using an open wifi link while traveling outside your hometown to make the initial connection to get the viewing key. It's always possible to be a criminal - but ripping, storing and viewing in your own home is actually fair use, protected and legal. The more crimes you commit prior to and in connection with ripping and sharing of the movie, the worse you'll look in court and the media when they make an example of you.
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It's always possible to be a criminal - but ripping, storing and viewing in your own home is actually fair use, protected and legal.
This may well be going away due to the trade agreements that the media companies have negotiated. Nothing in the American Constitution saying that fair use is protected and for most other countries, nothing in their Constitutions about copyright at all.
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Actually it is the publishers who have fought tooth and nail to ensure profits in perpetuity, usually in the name of the creators who they've just ripped off.
Whether there will be murderous rampages over IP is questionable as so many people actually believe it is property and usually murderous rampages happen when people are hungry..
Maybe not so pointless. (Score:2)
As long as you can capture the raw video and audio output you can copy anything into your own format.
Not a trivial problem.
Ultra HD Blu-ray will use primarily double-layer 66 GB discs (though 100 GB triple-layer discs are part of the spec) and will be capable of delivering up to 108 Mbps of data. To put this in perspective, consider that Netflix's 4K Ultra HD streams are delivered at about 16 Mbps and represent an average of 14 GB of total data for two hours of entertainment.
Ultra HD Blu-ray arrives March 2016; here's everything we know [digitaltrends.com]
And maybe not worth the trouble.
One interesting feature is the Digital Bridge, which makes it possible to make an exact bit for bit copy of an Ultra HD Blu-ray on an authorized media drive, or transfer files to an authorized mobile device. Though Victor Matsuda, Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association Global Promotions Committee, has explained that the extent of support for this feature will be down to the individual UHD Blu-ray manufacturers.
Ultra HD Blu-ray: All you need to know about 4K Blu-ray players, discs and the rest Read more at [trustedreviews.com] http://www.trustedreviews.com/... [trustedreviews.com]
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But is capturing the same quality as copying from the source directly?
Making Consumption Harder For Consumers... (Score:5, Insightful)
This is one more case of DRM making life harder for the consumer. I live in a country with spotty, slow internet access. If I can't watch my movies without getting online, then I won't buy them.
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How much bandwidth do you need to download a key since the content is already on the disc? I think a dial-up connection would be sufficient for decryption.
But isn't there a privacy/tracking issue here? Every time you play that blu-ray, some marketeer or someone else is tracking what you are watching. Nobody consulted the public before making decisions for them?
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How much bandwidth do you need
Bandwidth isn't the only measure for internet access. Availability is one too. You know like all those people who buy games on launch day only to find they can't play them because the activation server shat itself under the load of a few people trying to play the game at the same time.
I have a somewhat novel view that if I buy something I should be able to play it without asking some 3rd party for permission.
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The more fundamental problem is that the sole advantage of physical media is not having to use a network connection. That means it works everywhere, whether you have Internet access or not. If you have to have a network connection to watch movies, you might as well watch the movie on Netflix (assuming you aren't on a metered-by-the-byte Internet service, anyway). It might be slightly lower quality right now, but only because people aren't demanding the higher quality. When that changes, that will chang
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How much bandwidth do you need to download a key since the content is already on the disc? I think a dial-up connection would be sufficient for decryption.
That's assuming it has a serial port or at least a USB port to plug a modem into, a terminal program or at least a basic PPP with a user who can setup chat or whatever to get PPP to authenticate using PAP or CHAP, the user has a spare modem and spare phone line.
Even in cases like mine where I use an old enough OS to allow dial-in to simply work and can do NAT to serve the rest of the household, the phone line needs to be open and as it seems to often take upwards of 10 minutes to actually connect, the drive
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Harder? You pay for a movie with the guarantee you cannot view it some time a few years from now.
That means the disc is essentially a worthless possession as physical object, why buy it?
Nobody wants a drawer stacked with expensive plastic junk.
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How would a portable blu-ray player work with one of those?
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This is one more case of DRM making life harder for the consumer. I live in a country with spotty, slow internet access. If I can't watch my movies without getting online, then I won't buy them.
You buy the UHD Blu-ray because you want the ultimate in video and sound for your home theater system. That pretty much Implies a first world income and access to services.
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First world country here, the eastern plains of Colorado and trust me the DSL can be very spotty. Rarely have more than an hour or two of downtime a week but if that downtime is in the evening when I want to watch my movie on my 4k UHD, I will be very pissed.
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First world country here, about 40 miles outside a very expensive city to live in with some very expensive neighbouring houses. The lucky ones might be able to see a satellite, otherwise it's dial-up over barbed wire. Yesterday the best connection I got was 19,200 though the usual after 10 minutes of trying to dial in is 26,400. No DSL, no cable and no cell service.
When the copper thieves strike, it's usually 8-16 hours for service to be restored and when the power is out, there's 8 hours of battery backup
Because now no one even cares about ripping DVDs? (Score:2)
Because now no one even cares about ripping DVDs? When was the last time you bought or rented a DVD of anything? No one wants some dumb physical medium that's just gong to get scratched up anyway. I have a bunch of CD's in my closet, but I don't even bother ripping them, because if I want the album I'll just download it. It's easier.
Re:Because now no one even cares about ripping DVD (Score:4, Insightful)
I still get discs from Netflix, especially for big-budget special effects movies where I'd prefer to have a high bit-rate/high fidelity rip rather than a 2GB file from YIFY or the like.
There are also parts of the USA where high bandwidth internet connections are simply not available. My cousins, who live in central Illinois, visit their local video store probably three or four times a week and can only dream of having a 3Mbit DSL connection that would allow them to watch a 480p Youtube video in real time.
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When was the last time you bought or rented a DVD of anything?
Last week.
No one wants some dumb physical medium that's just gong to get scratched up anyway.
Better that than letting yet another series of gatekeepers determine what's available to me, and when, and for how long.
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When was the last time you bought or rented a DVD of anything?
Recently. I tend to buy them from the local CEX shop, which hsa them super cheap since they're second hand. I thin kthe best value/entertainment one I got was Crank, for the princley sum of 10p.
I also bought Mad Max: Fury Road on DVD for a present.
I have a bunch of CD's in my closet, but I don't even bother ripping them, because if I want the album I'll just download it. It's easier.
Somehow the music industry got with the program and figured t
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Oh, just great.... (Score:5, Insightful)
So now my DVD player has to be connected to the Internet? Now we have new and exciting routes for evildoers and opportunities for adverts and other junk to be inserted into our media. Then you have the joy that if the DVD manufacturer goes broke - or just decides not to keep supporting the format some years from now - then all of your DVD's would just stop playing?
The entire POINT of physical media is that I can play it anywhere - and that I own the content forever. If you break either one of those (and they just broke both of them) - then I might as well stream content online and save the need for a rack with 200 disks in it cluttering up my media room.
Forget it. If I have to put up with all of those things, I might as well use Amazon/Netflix/whatever to get my content.
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Welcome to "progress"!
Re:Oh, just great.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Remember DIVX [wikipedia.org] (no, not the codec), the failed attempt at rented content on physical media that required a physical connection to the internet to play? Welcome to DivX 2.0, still Hollywood's wet dream of never letting you actually own any of your own content.
Well, physical media is going to eventually die out anyhow, and increasingly stringent DRM is going go help the process along. Honestly, I don't think Hollywood will mourn its death that much, as streaming video falls right in line with its "perpetual rental" model.
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Given how often I watch a film (once, normally), the DIVX format was a very good price compared with DVD. I've never understood the point of buying a massive collection of DVDs and BDs (and VHS before that) because most people I've know who did this just have them sitting on the shelf without watching them enough to break even compared to rental. Parents with very young children seem to be the exception.
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So now my DVD player has to be connected to the Internet? Now we have new and exciting routes for evildoers and opportunities for adverts and other junk to be inserted into our media. Then you have the joy that if the DVD manufacturer goes broke - or just decides not to keep supporting the format some years from now - then all of your DVD's would just stop playing?
The entire POINT of physical media is that I can play it anywhere - and that I own the content forever. If you break either one of those (and they just broke both of them) - then I might as well stream content online and save the need for a rack with 200 disks in it cluttering up my media room.
Forget it. If I have to put up with all of those things, I might as well use Amazon/Netflix/whatever to get my content.
So what? Next-Gen Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs probably won't be cracked for a while and the security mechanism makes them annoying to use, why is this even news? Next-Gen Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs were rendered obsolete by streaming services long before Next-Gen Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs even hit the market. Eventually the media industry will register this but until then, if the media industry wants to pour resources into an obsolete content delivery mechanism, I applaud that because those resources would otherwise be
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The entire POINT of physical media is that I can play it anywhere - and that I own the content forever. If you break either one of those (and they just broke both of them) - then I might as well stream content online and save the need for a rack with 200 disks in it cluttering up my media room.
I mostly agree, but those aren't the only points.
There is the matter of storage and bandwidth. Lots of people can not even stream 480p content, or 720p, let alone 1080p, and even then, it's often compressed far more than it would be on the disk.
One hour of 1080p DV footage is roughly 12.7GB.
One hour of UHD is roughly 110GB**.
Blu Ray disks are 50GB.
Compression makes all these highly variable, but in the end, you won't be able to store many movies even on TB's of space, and streaming will suck.
Your alternativ
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Blu-Rays are a bloated format, especially with H.265 on the scene now.
UHD Blu-ray uses H.265 for video...
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So now my DVD player has to be connected to the Internet? isnt that what killed DiVX?
Yep. TFA doesn't give a lot of detail about how the download is supposed to work, but if it's necessary each time, you can't play your ultra high DVDs anywhere you don't happen to have an internet connection -- traveling, for instance, and there's always the issue of losing your investment in media if the service providing the keys goes out of business.
In other words, all the reasons for not buying DiVX also apply. I wouldn't touch this with the proverbial ten foot pole.
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Didn't you know, entertainment media is not your property - you didn't purchase it, you rented the rights to view it under very limited circumstances. They have changed the terms of the deal, pray they do not change them further.
"download the decryption key from the internet" (Score:2, Interesting)
Requiring the playback device to have an internet connection to use the content defeats my reason for buying physical copies in the first place.
I don't want to lose access to the content I payed for because someone else's servers are down, nor because I don't have an internet connection at that moment. Once again, the "pirates" offer a better product: no restrictions on players, no internet connection at use, re-encode to view on other devices if I want to.
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And don't forget that they'll still make you sit through the FBI warning and previews that you can't forward through despite the fact that you bought the movie.
Never bought a blu-ray (Score:2)
I've personally never bought a Blu-ray disc, and very few DVD's.
Not that I am bragging, I've just never had the that much desire to re-watch a show or movie. I have purchased some DVD's, e.g. the original Star Wars trilogy, Python's Flying Circus, the Black Adder, the Lord of the Rings, Blade Runner, and a few others, but other wise I've only streamed newer stuff.
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I remember when Hollywood wanted roughly $100 (or so) for Star Wars on VHS tape, or +$6 theater tickets, in early 1980s money. Many of us couldn't afford their product. Only competition from rentals of VHS tapes made them reduce their prices. They believe theirs is a premium product, sometimes even fine art, maybe where sometimes you only need to sell one. Once they eliminate, or make difficult, physical media, there is no problematic First Sale doctrine. I'm afraid for "as much as the market will bear" pri
It'll be done by the end of summer (Score:3)
Blu-ray was cracked about 6 months after it hit the streets and much of the delay was caused by the fact that the guy who cracked it didn't have a blu-ray player or disc.
Wait what? (Score:2)
The DVD play has to have a connection to the internet in order to decrypt and play the disc? Wow, that sounds awfully familiar. Where have I heard that before?
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You can play Steam games offline.
4K (Score:2)
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I have very little interest in 4K quite frankly. I feel I need it about as much as a five blade razor.
I agree completely. Of course I have a beard, so I'll grant there may be other individuals who do want a five blade razor.
If I can't rip it, I won't be buying it. On those rare occasions I purchase movies or TV shows, the first thing I do is rip them and load them onto our streaming "server" (a repurposed MacBook Pro from 2007 or thereabouts). Afterward, the disc never sees the light of day again.
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People say the same thing every resolution bump and maybe 720 to 1080 was kinda true, but 1920 to 3840 is a very respectable jump and they seem to getting good reviews so there is little reason to think we won't all want them soon enough.
I have my doubts. Most older people won't replace their TVs every two or three years... they'll keep using the same one until it dies, just like they always have. And, at the other end of the age spectrum, from what I can see kids care very little about "television sets". They're watching everything on their phone or their laptop.
I'm betting 4K is just a repeat of 3-D television - basically another DOA fad being pushed by a desperate industry.
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Oh, it's gorgeous, if you only look at 20% of the screen at a time you can really see all the detail it provides.
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DVD is mostly better than VHS used to be, and I seemed to enjoy a good story on VHS just fine when that's all there was.
When I want a "IMAX EXPERIENCE" I'll go to a theater and get that, having such a system (that competes with IMAX screen size, resolution, sound quality, etc.) in my home feels like overkill in the extreme - there are many other things I'd rather do with my money first.
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I have very little interest in 4K quite frankly. I feel I need it about as much as a five blade razor.
the upgrade to bt.2020 HDR color space is actually a bigger gain than the resolution bump. I recall reading that SDR displays can show about 25% of the visible color spectrum, but these discs on an HDR display can show up to 75%. Of course everything from the camera filming the movie to the TV displaying the content needs to be able to handle that along the way...
Physical will be around for a while. (Score:2)
Physical disc still has advantages, especially when you want to dedicate two hours to a "blockbuster" movie. (I would say my time is more important, but I'm posting here, so that cannot be too serious). There is still visual and sound quality differences, and if you're not in a hurry, they go on sale often, $10, and $7 movies (during black friday season) are common.
And ripping becomes important as well. More so for TV shows. (For movies, having the disc play though ads, warnings, etc sometimes "bearable", s
Isn't this missing the point? (Score:2)
The summary and discussion is all about the technical problem of cracking UHD BD, but surely the interesting question is why Fengtao is making this announcement now. Are they being held at legal/political gunpoint? Is it a complete coincidence that Slysoft, maker of AnyDVD, has shut up shop this week with a similarly cryptic statement about 'recent regulatory requirements'?
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Is it a complete coincidence that Slysoft, maker of AnyDVD, has shut up shop this week with a similarly cryptic statement about 'recent regulatory requirements'?
That was my first thought, this seems like an orchestrated media campaign.
Download keys from Internet (Score:2)
So, an Internet connection will be required? And once I have that, explain to me why I would ever buy a Blu-Ray (or any other) disc when I can stream content.
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So, an Internet connection will be required? And once I have that, explain to me why I would ever buy a Blu-Ray (or any other) disc when I can stream content.
Because streaming 4K content (or at least 4K content that isn't compressed so much it negates any benefit from the higher resolution) is likely to require a significant amount of bandwidth that not everyone will have, and many of those that do will still have bandwidth caps they won't appreciate being rapidly eaten away by it.
That said, it doesn't change the fact that requiring a connection for the keys at all is still crap and cancels out much of the benefit of "owing" the content in the first place. Cou
Assumptions make for dull stories (Score:2)
Concise metrics such as "a while" in combination with "probably" and "presumably" do not make a very informative article.
Oh this will be fun to watch (Score:3)
Step 2: Put a required component to play legitimate discs on a single point of failure on the Internet.
Step 3: Watch the masses buy the movies on disc.
Or at least that's what Hollywood thinks step 3 is. What's really gonna happen is
Step 3: Watch every script kiddie in the world DDoS the encryption key servers, causing legitimate discs to become impossible to watch and UHD-BD players to become useless at viewing protected discs. Then watch the masses who own the movie on disc go to pirate sites to download the movie, and do so guilt-free because they already paid for it when they bought it on disc.
Seriously, I cannot think of a better way to turn all the honest movie buyers out there into pirate downloaders, and simultaneously make them feel they're justified in pirating.
Not yet used and additional notes (Score:5, Informative)
Some notes from someone in the industry...
The 'enhanced' version is not yet used, everything out so far is using the basic AACS2, it is unknown exactly when the enhanced will be available for use. Knowing how past AACS requirements have never materialized, I actually wouldn't be surprised if this never really takes off. Also Fox is really the only studio I know of that is interested in this. They are also the only one I can think of that uses BD+ regularly, and are more technically minded than other studios.
Streaming is no where near the quality of these discs. Someone posted that Netflix streams 4k at about 16Mbps, while the video on these discs will be over 100. Also the bigger aspect of video on the UHD discs is bt.2020 HDR color space, which I don't think Netflix does yet. M-go is the only place I know of that has similar quality video, Fox tries to use the same encode on the UHD BD as they do for their "Vidity" downloads on there. Also if sound is important to you, I don't think anyone streams Dolby Atmos or DTS:X audios.
Count me out (Score:2)
I'm not "buying" a movie that requires me to ask permission every time I want to play it, and presumably will not work after the key server goes offline.
If your internet goes down, you won't be able to watch a dvd instead.
TPB offers a much better user experience.
4K is useless anyway, so who cares? (Score:2)
Yeah. You heard me.
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But if you've bought the bluray, the work is already distributed. If the work is then inaccessible for copying after the copyright expired because the encryption key is no longer available, then we have an issue.
You have no right to a bit for bit copy of a work after the copyright expires. You can make a copy and redistribute it at that point, but that technical feat is left as an exercise for you to work out.
Consider books for a moment. You do not get access to the original printing press / litho work / digital files / etc. After the copyright expires, what you can do is manually re-type the book and create a new work to distribute. If you can automate that process, great, but the author is not required to make th
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Uh, yeah. I kinda said the same thing. What's your point?
After copyright expires, you can also "photocopy" the movie - just play it and record it. That's the analog to photocopying a book, and the encryption deployed does not prevent that.
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No, you said this:
You have no right to a bit for bit copy of a work after the copyright expires
Your statement is false. Digital works that are no longer covered by copyright can be copied bit-for-bit.
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People as a rule do not care about DRMs.
People as a rule either buy discs in shops, in which case they don't know it exists.
Or... they download stuff on the Internet, in which case they don't know it exists.
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You don't even need your FIOS. I'm on a 100mbit cable connection in a major city and I can still have a movie in my hands quickly, in part because I use a seedbox in Europe to do the actual torrenting. That thing grabs pretty much any movie in under five minutes, usually less than two. Quite fast and keeps me from getting DMCA notices.
And then it's a simple matter to download the movie to my home PC. FTP over TLS over a VPN. Total time needed is less than 15 min.
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