AfterDawn: News

Company uses BackupHDDVD to emphasize Blu-ray security

While both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc have a layer of copy protection known as Advanced Access Content System (AACS), one company is emphasizing how Blu-ray is safe from BackupHDDVD due to it's extra included Digital Rights Management (DRM). Bit-tech.net has an article up about another layer of protection for Blu-ray, known as BD+.

The article publishes quotes from an email apparently received from Cryptography Research Inc. (CRI), the company responsible for BD+. The company seems to be taking advantage of the reported failure of AACS on HD DVD discs, to emphasize the extra security measures that BD+ offers to those content companies in the Blu-ray camp.



"BD+ is a ground-breaking security technology which is designed to enable HD optical formats to recover from major piracy attacks without revoking players or affecting legitimate users. It is a safe-guard that is only available for studios releasing titles in the Blu-ray disc format. BD+ does not exist for the HD DVD format, and was not compromised in the Muslix64 hack." the email reads.

"A report released by Independent Security Evaluators affirmed that CRI's Self-Protecting Digital Content, the principal architecture behind BD+, significantly enhances the anti-piracy measures in AACS by providing critical format security needs not addressed by AACS alone." it continues.

BackupHDDVD recently got an upgrade to v1.00, adding support for Volume keys to be used.

Source:
bit-tech.net

Written by: James Delahunty @ 6 Jan 2007 5:26

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• 28 comments

• hughjars

  Blu-ray, making your property unrelaible, clunky and far less convenient.
  
  Thanks guys, what an endorsement.

  6.1.2007 05:43 #1

• tabletpc

  big deal but they tried to use a hddvd backup tool to backup a blu ray disk any one see a issue here
  
  and also i hate to bring the bad news forward but blu ray has also been hacked so blu ray being secure is bull
  
  

  6.1.2007 06:03 #2

• tleewade

  all this protection is not for the people but for the movie companys . why should we have to pay for thier greed . the more protection they put on thier dvds we end up paying for.they just charge us more ,and we get less for what we pay for.and dvd players that dont work well, because all the extra mine fields on the dvd.the piartes will copy all the movies they want. but they should not treat us all like we are all pirates.i just want a movie i can watch with out all the extra protection garbage on it .

  6.1.2007 06:20 #3

• Ankoku

  Actually, In response to the 3 of you, Backing up dvds was never meant to be convenient, because well, you have to think that around 95% of all dvd burns are pirated...But the extra security angle isn't meant for your everyday movies, its meant for the big guns in data management, think how much information you can store on a 25GB disc that can last for a reported 100 years
  
  @ tabletpc Blu-ray hasn't really been hacked, someone realized you can take screen image stills and put them together and get a copy of a DVD...seems cumbersome and definitely not a hack, more like a novelty...although I must admit, hacking will occur in the future.
  
  @tleewade, The sad thing is, most people are pirates, for better or worse, I would argue you are because extra protection doesnt really make a difference if you just go out and buy the dvd in the store.

  6.1.2007 08:31 #4

• erjl

  When I buy something whether it be a truck a pizza or a movie I want to be able to use it any way I see fit for my own personal use. Tell me again how this enhances that so I want to buy it.

  6.1.2007 09:01 #5

• westbrom

  WONT BE LONG AND IT WILL BE HACKED ALSO BLURAY AS EXTRA GB FOR THEIR PROTECTION AND NOT OUR ENJOYMENT

  6.1.2007 10:27 #6

• tleewade

  OR YOUR DVD MIGHT NOT PLAY THE EXTRA JUNK.READ THE DVD SAYS ALL PLAYERS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO USE ALL OF THE STUFF ON DVD.

  6.1.2007 10:28 #7

• scorpNZ

  @erjl
  When you buy a dvd or whatever you own the disk you do not own the movie that's on it, and why should you think you own the movie you never made it,you have purchased a liscence to view it (or use it if it's hardware) another example take a look at xp's EULA you DO NOT own the software , all you've done is purchased the right to use it, any modification to that software is illeagal (the core OS not skinning etc), if microsoft wanted too they could cancel that liscence and make you pay a yearly subscription to continue using it,and i'd assume apple and linux distro's could do the same

  6.1.2007 11:16 #8

• domie

  well using the same facts...the movie is permanently burned in the form of video and audio into the disc that you own so... ????
  i think we are getting into a chicken/egg argument here

  6.1.2007 11:25 #9

• scorpNZ

  What sux is having a dvd and then it gets damaged and then having to pay full price
  
  had to post twice since edit button is not there

  6.1.2007 11:28 #10

• scorpNZ

  @domie
  So when you bought that game or movie did you also purchase the patent,nough said

  6.1.2007 11:40 #11

• Ankoku

  @scorpNZ, I completely agree with you that it really sucks when the disc gets damaged and although I've backed up a few dvds I didn't own, I also back up all the dvds I do buy as insurance

  6.1.2007 12:13 #12

• dude845

  I don't see why the bother with this copy right protection, someone will crack it. They should use their money for something better imo.

  6.1.2007 12:40 #13

• tleewade

  what is not right is a person sings a song or make a movie today they get paid for the next 95 years do you?

  6.1.2007 12:45 #14

• animefan

  My take on things: people buy DVD players, game systems, FTA boxes, etc. BECAUSE they can be hacked. Look at the Nintendo GameCube, part of the reason why it wasn't very successful was that the games were impossible to easily copy.
  
  Why buy a Blu Ray machine if the disks can't be copied, I've gone to the video store many times and rented dvd's that I burn, millions of other consumers do the same thing. Hardware will sell in greater numbers if the software can be copied and used in other related products.

  6.1.2007 12:51 #15

• Ankoku

  @tleewade...Is that a serious question? Of course artists, actors or what have you should be paid for the rest of their lives, they obviously are the only ones that can do what they do, they deserve that...its the same with books and inventions
  
  @animefan c'mon man at least try to understand that what you are doing is wrong, Im not tearing you down because I've admitted I've done the same, but you know that doing this stuff is all illegal and wrong and the Gamecube wasn't successful because it just didnt get any kind of support from third party developers...this companies will continue to try to add more protections because once one does perplex hackers for a while, then that means ppl will have to start buying again

  6.1.2007 14:41 #16

• iboomalot

  If they don't want anyone to copy the movie why have blank media ??
  
  Why make the gun hard to fire just stop making bullets.
  
  I pay the companies to rent the movies and they make money. I Burn a copy and when it gets scratched and unplayable I rent another copy and the movie company makes more money.
  
  The laser on a CD is narrow thus scratches effect the play ,,, DVD has even tighter laser so SMALLER scratches effect them,, HD discs will use an even tighter laser thus the smallest scratches will be a problem. I really would rather spend 2.50 on replacing my scratched DVD vs 15.00 for a new one.
  
  I live in the USA I don't mind people making $$$$ but the BOX OFFICE makes the companies a profit then the Rentals are gravy. I just don't like being overcharged for my gravy.

  6.1.2007 15:37 #17

• Jugdish

  This is just another attempt by BR to try and dig themselves out of the hole they are in. HD-DVD is taking over and Sony is in DS thanks to PS3 flopping.

  6.1.2007 16:20 #18

• Andrew691

  Quote:This is just another attempt by BR to try and dig themselves out of the hole they are in. HD-DVD is taking over and Sony is in DS thanks to PS3 flopping.I seriously have no idea why there is always at least one person who turns every article into an anti Sony or anti BD thing. This had nothing at all to do with Sony or BD, Bluray hasnt only just added this protection its been there since the start. This article has nothing to do with Sony it was an article independently written by bit-tech.net. What whole is Blu-ray in? And when did the PS3 flop? you really need to think before you post.

  6.1.2007 22:08 #19

• Andrew691

  And to the whole piracy thing, even if the Copy Protection cant hold hackers off for long it can slow them down making it harder for the technology to get into the hands of the everyday consumer pirate. Movie studios are more inclined to make movies on a format that is still not cracked even if it inevitably will be.
  Quote:The laser on a CD is narrow thus scratches effect the play ,,, DVD has even tighter laser so SMALLER scratches effect them,, HD discs will use an even tighter laser thus the smallest scratches will be a problem. I really would rather spend 2.50 on replacing my scratched DVD vs 15.00 for a new one. Both the new formats have some kind of new scratch resistant coating that is proving to be really good for protecting them.

  6.1.2007 22:14 #20

• hughjars

  Sony deserve the, er, 'special attention' they always get these days because they are currently the worst offenders & Blu-ray is the current worst example.
  
  They invented this new idiotic system to extend the controls and so-called security to add to the already huge control of the industry and to take power away from the consumer.
  
  It's as simple as that.
  
  It's just so nice to see them reaping what they sowed.

  7.1.2007 07:07 #21

• westbrom

  I HATE IT WHEN PPL STICK BY THE COMPANYS AND SAY,, U BOUGHT THE MOVIE BUT YOU DONT OWN IT... GET A LIFE .. WE ARE GETTIN RIPPED OFF IF YOU CANT SEE THAT AND PICK UP YOUR HALO

  7.1.2007 08:42 #22

• magus7091

  People, there has to be a middle ground somewhere. Now I understand both points, my biggest complaint is that if they decide to make a new protection that people with existing players can't play (which they COULD, not to say they HAVE) then we have to upgrade. If they decide that the existing format has been hacked, then instead of removing the old one when they get the new one and charging the same price, then it goes up and they stack protections. I fully understand them trying to protect their product because when it comes down to it, they're in the business of making money, and we want to watch their films. Don't like it? Don't buy it. It's really all that simple. I can sit here and complain all day, but I'm not going to because it's not going to do me any good. I don't necessarily agree with their tactics, but I will buy their products, once I figure out who the winner of the format war is, and once the technology becomes affordable. But I'm not going to condemn them for doing what every company is doing nowadays although I do think that DMCA is the worst thing to ever happen to consumers.

  7.1.2007 14:14 #23

• survey77

  and what exactly is affordable? You can purchase Toshiba HDA1 for less than 400usd. Better yet ...if you have xbox 360 you can purchase HDDVD player for 200usd.
  
  Everyone knocking BD is correct. Toshiba is incurring some of the pricing damage in their pricing ... accepting some of the brunt of the initial cost because they understand the consumer is king. They could also put some greater protection on their technology ... but they dont because they obviously understand what others have said here ... people want to copy or backup their stuff ..and they have a right to be able to afford it and would rather sell soemthing to the masses ... where almost everyone can afford and do it ... instead of Sony's theory of putting the best stuff in the most affluent of our society which already have so much money they can afford the green cars and buy 1400usd drives.
  
  BD might be better in some aspects... storage capacity mainly ...but now the triple layer HD DVD is within 10gb of the Blue Ray ..and half the price.
  
  Sony has hung theirselves with this one. If they had been intelligent ... they would have accepted Toshibas offer of combing the best of both technologies (HD-DVD price and Blue Ray copy protection). Oddly they didn't, but Toshibas aim at consumer friendliness is definitely driving me to their product.

  7.1.2007 20:18 #24

• A_Klingon

  Maybe what we need in the not-too-distant future, is a bit of software that will back-up a commercial movie Blu-ray disc in it's entirety - DRM and all. I know life is not always that simple, but consider:
  
  Anyone today can back up a standard DVD with all of the (current) DRM measures intact and still have it play back perfectly on a standalone dvd player. Even if your backup still has the CSS, macrovision, user-restrictions, region coding and whatever-else on it, it should still play back perfectly on your set top just as the original, retail disc did, right?
  
  (I don't know about "Watermarked" discs - I doubt that 'watermarking' could be easily duplicated by backup software), but as the Blu-ray adventure continues to unfold, perhaps some of the established, rock-solid software companies that we have already come to trust (Clone-DVD for example), might take a look at duplicating a Blu-ray movie disc in it's entirety - lock-stock-and-barrel, DRM-warts and all.
  
  (Of course, life is never really that simple, eh?) :/

  8.1.2007 01:41 #25

• idef

  If I did really buy a license to view a movie, and not the movie itself, then, every single time a new format comes, or if I scratch my own copy I should not have to buy the license again ! But that's what I'm doing ! That's what the majors wants us to do !
  So we don't really own the license to view a movie but rather the movie itself on a burned in a given format. Since I cannot make any reclaims to the editor to have a new hardware copy or an upgraded copy of a license I own at low cost, I have to be able to do it myself without any illegaly-legalized limitations.
  
  The majors have to accept the fact that either they make it possible for users to exchange/upgrade their licenses at the hardware price (2-3$) or else they allow the users to pass the movie themselves to whatever format they wishes for personal use without imposing limitations that we pay for.
  
  The first option could actually limit movies being 'illegaly' copied and allow new incomes for majors through new services.
  As the first option is not available to us : paying users, then all is left is the second, and so far HDDVD is the best format for us, Blu-ray limits us more.

  8.1.2007 07:10 #26

• DVDdoug

  Quote:take a look at xp's EULA you DO NOT own the software , all you've done is purchased the right to use it, any modification to that software is illeagal (the core OS not skinning etc), if microsoft wanted too they could cancel that liscence and make you pay a yearly subscription to continue using it,and i'd assume apple and linux distro's could do the same. If Microsoft tried that, they'd find themselves back in court and they'd loose. There are yearly software subscriptions, but consumers don't have these kinds of contracts. We bought the software. We are not renting it. Microsoft can't suddenly "change the deal". Even if it says so in the EULA, it would be legally unenforcable. Parts of contracts get "thrown-out" all the time... I could sell you a car and write something in the contract that says you can't re-paint it a different color. If you vilolated that agreement, there's nothing I could do.
  
  If I own a copyrighted book, I own it. I can read it 1000 times. I can loan it to all of my friends. I can sell it or give it away. I can write notes in it. I can burn it. I can white-out all of the dirty words, and rip-out the last page and insert my own ending. The author might not like it, and he could sue me if I re-sold it without disclosing that it was altered. But, as long as I don't re-publish it I can do anything I want with it. Anyone who's bought a used text-book has probably bought an altered copy.

  8.1.2007 13:32 #27

• borhan9

  It's all a question of how much time will it take someone to break the protection and we have a level we have with the normal DVD's.

  8.1.2007 22:51 #28