AfterDawn: News

New stronger DVD copy protection introduced

Macrovision has developed a new, stronger DVD copy protection that it says will make it more difficult to rip protected DVDs. RipGuard will thwart most of the DVD ripping software currently on the market.

According to Macrovision RipGuard protected DVDs will play in "nearly all" current DVD players. The company, however, failed to be more specific about the number of players the discs do not work with.



"RipGuard is designed to... reduce DVD ripping and the resulting supply of illegal peer to peer," said the firm.

Recently the movie industry has followed the path taken earlier by the music industry -- "stronger" copy protection and lawsuits agaisnt alleged pirates.

Both the music and movie industry fail to realize that the only ones affected by the new copy protections, which are little more than non-standard discs, are the legitimate customers. Pirates and hackers will always find a way around the protections. And the copies spread in P2P networks do not originate from private individuals. They always originate from (semi) professional pirate groups.

It's been fun buying 10-15 movies per month. I guess it'll come to an end once the movies stop working with my players.

Source: BBC News

Written by: Jari Ketola @ 17 Feb 2005 13:42

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• 45 comments

• nanu-nanu

  Anyone willing to start a collection fund for who ever crack Ripgaurd? But 3% of the known rippers get past ripgaurd. SO guess it wont be too long before its figured out

  17.2.2005 13:52 #1

• nonoitall

  That thought about the copy protection only affecting legitimate customers hits the nail right on the head. All they're doing with these new protection methods is driving their customers away and turning them to doing exactly what they're trying to stop - P2P distribution of movies.

  17.2.2005 14:25 #2

• Cman

  Looks like the game is afoot once again. It won't be long before they'll have a copyguard that will crash your machine outright when you play a DVD on it.

  17.2.2005 14:49 #3

• zombieman

  are they going to be offering refunds to those people who owns the dvd players that dont play the new dvds? I wonder how your local retailers will handle these returns. As far a that goes it kinda opening a loophole for us once we can crack this copy protection. I'll simply go out and buy it, copy it, and return it, with the excuss of it not playing on my player. I mean really, how can they legitmatley turn you away when you have purchased a dvd that you cannot watch?

  17.2.2005 15:21 #4

• daemonzx6

  That's an interesting thought.
  This kind of thing just promotes the crackers to try harder, and also provokes me to further copying and giving away of DVDs and CDs.
  These companies waste millions of dollars developing encryption and "fair use" schemes that just make it harder for the average consumer to ever get any use out of what he/she buys. Maybe these industries should spend more money trying to make a quality film once in a while...

  17.2.2005 15:26 #5

• Balaam

  Quote:RipGuard will thwart most of the DVD ripping software currently on the marketLOL
  
  By the time ripguard becomes widely used, numerous progies will be able to handle it. :worthy: LightningUK! (the genius behind DVD Decrypter) will be able to handle this laugher in his sleep.
  
  But hey, is the movie industry wants to alienate their customers by making disc that can't be played in soe players, and waste money to keep running this endless race against copiers, let em.

  17.2.2005 16:58 #6

• Hrdrk20

  Does anyone know what movie title will have this Ripguard? I'm looking foward to attempting to rip these titles. lol

  17.2.2005 17:05 #7

• nrk4594

  Quote:RipGuard is expected to be rolled out on DVDs from the middle of 2005, the company said. Is this the protection found on movies like The Grudge and Little Black Book, or is this a new protection not yet used on discs?

  17.2.2005 17:22 #8

• climbhigh

  >>>Is this the protection found on movies like The Grudge and Little Black Book, or is this a new protection not yet used on discs? <<<
  
  No, that was Arccos puppetlock, which by the way, is not even a new encyrption. All that does is through in dummy (corrupt sectors) right before the movie so most progs will get a read error, or will just not work.
  
  As for RIPGUARD. Fear not.. as other posters have said. It's really too early to start crying foul and howl at the moon just yet. There is no doubt in my mind that RIPGUARD will be defeated. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it..
  
  Baby steps, man.

  17.2.2005 17:38 #9

• skopas

  Man, I just love you guys being so confident that ripguard will undertaken...lol.....cool. All the posters make sense on how these corps are driving on blind roads with the copyprotection situations. It's makes these communities stronger, and the sharing bcomes more broader , in the ultimate sense it's like the samson and goliath story.

  17.2.2005 18:59 #10

• Pop_Smith

  it will be something to the effect of DVD Jon's experence. If the current tools won't crack the software, then the decryption method will be "leaked" and the ripping will start all over again.
  
  I predict that something similar to this will happen:
  
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/5966.cfm

  17.2.2005 19:30 #11

• ogryzek

  There is a simple solution to all this nonsense - DVD movie pricing that reflects the reality that at some point it doesn't make any sense to make an illegal copy of a movie.
  
  It seems to me that if movies were priced somewhere in the $5.99 to $7.99 range, I would be willing to purchase pretty much everything that was produced in last 20 years (Ok... maybe not every single one). At the same time I would be willing to drop special features (as those are pretty lame in 9 out of 10 cases), fancy packaging (simple cardboard envelope would do) and silkscreened disk artwork.
  
  Now, places like Walmart already sell discounted DVDs (including a few 'decent' movie titles) priced at $5.50. Way to go...

  17.2.2005 19:37 #12

• ogryzek

  There is a simple solution to all this nonsense - DVD movie pricing that reflects the reality that at some point it doesn't make any sense to make an illegal copy of a movie.
  
  It seems to me that if movies were priced somewhere in the $5.99 to $7.99 range, I would be willing to purchase pretty much everything that was produced in last 20 years (Ok... maybe not every single one). At the same time I would be willing to drop special features (as those are pretty lame in 9 out of 10 cases), fancy packaging (simple cardboard envelope would do) and silkscreened disk artwork.
  
  Now, places like Walmart already sell discounted DVDs (including a few 'decent' movie titles) priced at $5.50. Way to go...

  17.2.2005 19:38 #13

• tmkansell

  The Walmart here in MN has some DVD in half thick DVD cases for only $0.88! The movies are all pretty lame, but some of the poorly made Westerns they have are hella funny :P

  17.2.2005 20:58 #14

• SkyDomain

  I am not worried Slysoft AnyDVD will soon have a update that covers this protection.
  
  Plus I don't rip movies I just copy them with CloneDVD.
  These protections are useless!

  18.2.2005 02:32 #15

• Mik3h

  Yup..
  
  Another Waste Of Research and Money.. Someone will eventually find a way past it..

  18.2.2005 11:51 #16

• frankosee

  DVD Region+CSS Free never let me down. It already supports new Sony ARccOS protection. No doubt they will support RipGuild too.
  
  BTW, DVDFab Platinum is another great product by Fengtao Software. It lets me copy any protected DVD perfectly without help of DVD Region+CSS Free.

  18.2.2005 15:42 #17

• bobiroc

  Not that I condone illegally copying anything, but it is my feeling that the harder they try to prevent someone from copying their products the more it makes people want to copy them. Sony has their ARccOS copy protection which uses the fake bad sector method and that had been broken every time Sony releases an update. Ripguard will be no different. The fact that this new "prtection" will cause some DVD players not to play the movies is ridiculus. That is not fair to the consumer that has a perfectly good DVD player and the fact that it is a few years old should not prevent them from playing a movie.

  18.2.2005 18:11 #18

• gsuscrazy

  skopas: it was david and goliath...
  
  samson was the one who grew long hair the was blessed with superhuman strength as long as his hair was long...
  
  as for this protection...
  
  rent the movie, borrow the movie..watch it one time... odds are it aint worth the 45 cents for the dvd, and the 30 minutes of your time.
  
  really.

  18.2.2005 21:36 #19

• zeppelin

  Id just like to comment that there is also "hacks" for you home dvd players.I have a sony, model number dvpns315.I found a Region code and Macrovision hack for my model.check out this site for more info http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks

  19.2.2005 03:32 #20

• daemonzx6

  yeah, videohelp.com is one of the best sites out there for, well, video help. lots of codec testing and results are on that website, as well as a DVD player media compatibility database.

  19.2.2005 13:22 #21

• cmmnsense

  DVD Decrypter can do it... just kidding, I got your hopes up didn't I? Anyhow, I'll be watching for afterdawns free download of the new decrypting software. I really hope they just update DVD Shrink because I like just taking the movie and burning it uncompressed to a $0.80 Verbatim DVD-R.

  24.2.2005 14:42 #22

• fancymojo

  dvd decpryter will be able to do it LIGHTNING_UK! is the man/woman. he/she did it with re2 and little black book in no time! ripguard doesnt stand a chance in hell! go ahead waste money and time and also alienate the consumers. this is what i think we should boycott whatever company uses ripguard go to our local rental store and rip the movie and pass it out to our friends for free
  
  LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!!!

  25.2.2005 01:42 #23

• a254535

  I travel a lot. I copy my movies to take them with me. I do this so if they get lost/stolen or broken I still have my movie at home. If they make them so that when I rent or buy them and they don't work on any of my players, they are forcing me to go to P2P to get them so that they will play on my players. They are hurting their own market. What they need to understand is there is always going to be someone to break the coding. They need to find another way of dealing with this. One way is pricing.They need to keep thinking.

  25.2.2005 05:37 #24

• daemonzx6

  hah, maybe one day they'll get it through their thick skulls that copy protection is pointless.
  i, too, copy cds and dvds to use or take with me and keep my originals in their cases, so if it gets scratched i'll still have the original.

  25.2.2005 19:38 #25

• compgran

  I have an older GE DVD player that plays both DVD +R's and DVD -Rs. I got it second hand, but it works fine except I've been having trouble playing "store bought" DVD's just lately. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was the first, but it's been happening more and more lately. It's mostly the new movies. Old cheapies from Walmart work just fine, and if I make a copy, that plays just fine. I was thinking the DVD player was dying, but maybe it has something to do with all this protection stuff? Any ideas?

  26.2.2005 16:19 #26

• fogducker

  I found "I_heart_Huckabees" had the new protection. Managed to decrypt with the new Jan. version of decrypter and then shrink as usual.....but no burning software I have DVD Clone2, Alcohol,Roxio or Nero could open the files to back up on burnable media. aarrg!

  27.2.2005 09:11 #27

• fancymojo

  i did huckabees w/no problems

  27.2.2005 11:18 #28

• fogducker

  fancymojo, did the copy you had have a copy protection logo on the box? the one I had had a logo i had never seen before.

  27.2.2005 13:56 #29

• fogducker

  the dvd i tried to back up wouldn't play in my stand alone player, so i tried to back it up to see if i could play the back up.....couldn't back it up so i ended up returning the original to the retailer. is that what the movie industry really wants?

  27.2.2005 14:27 #30

• nanu-nanu

  why not post more on this "logo"
  
  We're like Captain Planet here "with our powers combined"
  
  can you take a pic. of the logo

  27.2.2005 15:00 #31

• nachoguy

  Quote:Man, I just love you guys being so confident that ripguard will undertaken...lol.....cool.have they ever implemented anything that hasnt been cracked or overcome yet?

  5.3.2005 12:37 #32

• artg2

  The trouble I've been having lately is with looping. Is this one of the new schemes??

  8.3.2005 07:17 #33

• fancymojo

  LOOPING??? ON WHAT DVDS

  8.3.2005 10:52 #34

• 1sunshine

  I've tried everything together seperate nothing will work for me.
  I have css free and DVD Decrypter dvdfab decrypter dvd fab gold and platium any dvd 1 clickdvd please help me I m trying to burn bewitched it has sony Arccos ccs

  18.11.2005 18:48 #35

• xhardc0re

  Is this for real?! I have seen no proof of the logo, a screenshot, nothing at all. Come on, somebody should take a camera phone or a small digital camera into best buy & take a screenshot of the bewitched box or sumthing. It only takes a few mins, somebody needs to prove this is A SPOOF. Or forreal, let's get started on a fix.

  21.11.2005 06:18 #36

• garmoon

  "Bewitched" burned with no problems with AnyDVD running, DVD Decrypter and burned with Nero Recode 2.

  21.11.2005 13:14 #37

• PrpleHaze

  I had trouble with Bewitched as well... DVD Decryter and Smart Ripper both failed. I used DVDFab Decryter without any problem, but did some "Googling" to see if I could find out why this DVD wasn't being cooperative. Excellent post here:
  
  http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?p=311001
  
  "If it's newly released by Columbia Pictures and/or Sony Pictures and you're having trouble with it - there is a good chance that it is an ARccOS™ protected DVD"

  29.11.2005 22:00 #38

• xhardc0re

  Excellent work PrpleHaze, thanks!

  30.11.2005 08:19 #39

• amerigril

  dvd region css+free is not availabe on its website any more i tried to purchase it i had a trial verison .

  10.2.2007 15:53 #40

• dokstrang

  I found a way to hack the copy protection. I can't believe they did not think of this. I used SPAM converter ultimate. (which you can download free as a demo then go to a local butcher to get the free registration code to make it the full version) choose the video profile as dvd then go to file and add the video files from the Dark Knight DVD.
  
  render it to an iso file then burn it....So *bleep* simple...They wasted their money and time with this copy protection measure....good luck to them next time..

  13.12.2008 11:52 #41

• dokstran

  spam removed

  14.12.2008 12:28 #42

• kudro

  Anyone know where I can get the crack for nothing or a crack for nothing? please and much thanks

  19.12.2009 16:33 #43

• garmoon

  @kudro
  
  You'll not be here long asking for cracks. Strictly against forum rules. You might want to edit your post.

  19.12.2009 17:19 #44

• Oner

  Too late. He should have read and abided by the rules. And actually he got off light with only a 2 day ban from me...
  

  
  
  Search > http://forums.afterdawn.com/search
  Rules > http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
  Important Rule > http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/380660

  19.12.2009 22:35 #45