Wonder How Much Sony Spent on Copy Protection for Blu-Ray?

[Tuckerfan]

Well, it looks like Blu-Ray may have been cracked as well.

It’s still early on to tell whether this is actually true, but HD DVD cracker muslix64 is back, and with the help of another anti-DRM cracker, Janvitos, claims to have also broken the Blu-ray’s implementation of AACS.

Sony once spent something like a billion dollars to develop a copy protection scheme that it turned out could be beaten by nothing more sophisticated than a Sharpie marker.

[Santo_Rugger]

@Tuckerfan

Sony once spent something like a billion dollars to develop a copy protection scheme that it turned out could be beaten by nothing more sophisticated than a Sharpie marker.

Wow, I’ve never heard this. Has it been long enough ago/common enough info that you can elaborate or link to it on the board?

[asterion]

@Pygmy Rugger

Wow, I’ve never heard this. Has it been long enough ago/common enough info that you can elaborate or link to it on the board?

Basically, there was a ring of DRM data on the CD seperate from the actual data. (I think it was on the outside of the disc.) Anyway, by physically making that section of the disc unreadable, the DRM was busted.

It’s similar in stupidity to those DRM schemes that can be stopped just by turning off Autorun or holding down the shift key while inserting the CD.

[DocCathode]

@Pygmy Rugger

Wow, I’ve never heard this. Has it been long enough ago/common enough info that you can elaborate or link to it on the board?

I don’t know if we can go into detail here. To be clear, we aren’t talking about the myth that markers enhance CDs. I remember hearing just how the copy protection could be cracked on CNBC (or was it MSNBC? whichever the business channel is). All it took was a marker. I tried to start a thread on it, but was afraid to supply details on cracking protection on this board.

[Tuckerfan]

@asterion

Basically, there was a ring of DRM data on the CD seperate from the actual data. (I think it was on the outside of the disc.) Anyway, by physically making that section of the disc unreadable, the DRM was busted.

Exactly. Here’s an NPR story on it. Basically, it was a random attempt by some guy that just happened to work.

[Santo_Rugger]

Thanks for the replies, that’s some pretty interesting info.

As for the OP, I’m not surprised. It takes much less energy and effort to reverse-engineer something than it does to design-build it in the first place. What would be more surprising is if a technology was developed that couldn’t be cracked.

[Tuckerfan]

@Pygmy Rugger

Thanks for the replies, that’s some pretty interesting info.

As for the OP, I’m not surprised. It takes much less energy and effort to reverse-engineer something than it does to design-build it in the first place. What would be more surprising is if a technology was developed that couldn’t be cracked.

The only way that can happen is if the technology used to produce the media is more advanced than what the consumer can buy. That won’t happen any time soon, though. Nor will the measures they’re undertaking stop the guys who sell bootleg copies of movies. Those guys often have pro gear that they use to do the pirating with, and that gear simply copies everything on the disc, without bothering to read it first. Nor is that gear all that expensive, either. A couple of grand for the PC and a couple more for the hardware and you’re in business.