HD-DVD Copy Protection Under Threat
The internet is alight with reports that one of the encryption methods used by HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - AACS - has been cracked.However, the reports seem likely to be exaggerated, with those delving more deeply into the reports suggesting that the ‘crack’ is actually just a method of obtaining the encryption key for a small number of pre-recorded discs.The hacker claiming the crack, muslix64, revealed that his application “BackupHDDVD” would strip encryption from HD-DVD discs. A video hosted on YouTube seems to suggest that he has obtained a small number of encryption keys for pre-recorded discs and can then use these keys to circumvent the copy-protection on HD-DVD.
As a result, the crack is extremely limited in its potential use and only discs for whom the key is known can be copied. However, some commentators are suggesting that the news will give HD-DVD a boost over Blu-Ray, as the latter uses an extra level of protection.
Add comment December 29th, 2006