Security flaw allows HD flicks to be copied with screencaps

With all of the time and money that Hollywood and the consumer electronics industry have poured into copy-protecting high definition content, we were amused to learn that both formats can already be duplicated by the simplest of means: the trusty Print Screen button on your keyboard. UK-based Heise Security is reporting that the special OEM version of Intervideo's WinDVD software bundled with both Sony's first Blu-ray Vaio and Toshiba's first HD DVD Qosmio contains a security hole that allows users to capture video frames at their full resolution by simply triggering that Print Screen option -- which in and of itself is little more than a curiosity, but opens up the possibility of running a script that advances a given film one frame at a time and automates the whole screencap process, which would allow pirates to create high def copies by compiling the pictures and dubbing in the audio. Toshiba is already aware of the "problem" and claims that an impending software update will provide the fix, but as one HDBeat commenter astutely pointed out, as long as you can see a picture on your monitor or hear sound through your speakers, there will always be a way to capture that data.

[Via HDBeat]

[Beni @ Jul 7th 2006 3:19PM]

D'OH!

Good job, guys.

[Darren @ Jul 7th 2006 3:21PM]

Haha...awesome stuff!

[Ben @ Jul 7th 2006 3:22PM]

I never got why they try so hard to protect this. If its software it will be cracked. Regardless how smart the person is encrypting it.

People will figure a way to rip hd and blue ray dvds.

[Jonathan Minnick @ Jul 7th 2006 3:28PM]

that's brilliant...power to the hackerz

[fanguad @ Jul 7th 2006 3:31PM]

"as one HDBeat commenter astutely pointed out, as long as you can see a picture on your monitor or hear sound through your speakers, there will always be a way to capture that data."

Hmmm... I've suddenly come up with a *flawless* copy protection scheme - all I have to do is create a method where the picture doesn't appear on your monitor, nor is the sound piped through your speakers. Magic Marker + blank DVDs - let's see the pirates try to copy data that isn't even there!

*runs to patent office*

[rich @ Jul 7th 2006 3:39PM]

fanguad - I believe Real already has a patent on that, something about "BUFFERING..."

[MuDoggy @ Jul 7th 2006 3:59PM]

This is stupid because the really GOOD dvd playing softwares also allow you to take screenshots, there are even screenshot programs that will take screenshots of the impossible. This isn't anything new.

[ziper @ Jul 7th 2006 4:08PM]

Will take ages to capture screen for screen in 1080p :) But it will be done on every movie anyway.

BUFFERING :D

[Sean @ Jul 7th 2006 4:20PM]

When will they learn that if you can play the movie, you can copy the movie? All copy protection does is make it harder to watch it for legitimate owners.

[Jeeyoung Kim @ Jul 7th 2006 4:22PM]

THIS IS WHAT I WONDERED ABOUT FOR ETERNITY!!!!

As far as I know, the DVI port in the graphics card is not incripted ... or VGA cable port, or wut so ever. Why can't you just encode the video out of these ports, or capture screen by using these ports neway???

[shon @ Jul 7th 2006 4:36PM]

STOP SPENDING MONEY ON COPY PROTECTION.
its a total waste. pirates and hackers will be pirates and hackers forever, youre just giving them a new challenge, which is what they live for. stop spending money, and jsut freakin get over it. greedy b*stards.

[Jerry @ Jul 7th 2006 4:38PM]

THIS IS WHAT I WONDERED ABOUT FOR ETERNITY!!!!

As far as I know, the DVI port in the graphics card is not incripted ... or VGA cable port, or wut so ever. Why can't you just encode the video out of these ports, or capture screen by using these ports neway???

Sadly it is thinking like that which has resulted in HDCP. When ICT is enabled on future disks (once # of HDCP compliant monitors, displays, and TV increase) your DVI & HDMI outputs will be encrypted by HDCP. When the player detects that you have non-compliant hardware it will downrezz the output or not display output at all.

Every HDTV sold today is now HDCP compliant. All HD devices (STB, HD-DVD, BlueRay, recorders, etc) sold today or in future are HDCP compliant. Even high end monitors are now being equipment with HDCP on DVI or HDMI.

It is only a matter of time before the only authorized output is a digital encrypted signal. If you were an early adopter and bought an HDTV with analog inputs or DVI w/o HDCP weil is sucks to be you. (Not my belief but that is how the content industry sees it).

[daschupa @ Jul 7th 2006 4:49PM]

It'd probably be easier to just rip the from a dvd I mean you would have to resize or compress the blueray movie down to a reasonable size anyway. Still funny though.

[Refirdgeron @ Jul 7th 2006 4:53PM]

HACK THE PLANET!

[falcom @ Jul 7th 2006 4:55PM]

***runs to the store to buy up all the keyboards with print screen keys before they are illegal***

[StreetStealth @ Jul 7th 2006 5:13PM]

For now, this is just a lame stopgap in the battle for fair use.

Hopefully, by the time it's practical to back up your HD media (and a blank HDDVD-R doesn't cost half the price of your movie), software like Handbrake will have figured out how to work around AACS.

[GhostDoggy @ Jul 7th 2006 5:43PM]

I am still not seeing how one is able to read an HD-DVD disk on a computer. Who is selling these drives for their computers?

[n00bmaster @ Jul 7th 2006 5:46PM]

and how long till vlc is released with HD-DVD and bluray support?

[OMAC @ Jul 7th 2006 6:22PM]

"I never got why they try so hard to protect this. If its software it will be cracked. Regardless how smart the person is encrypting it.

People will figure a way to rip hd and blue ray dvds."

The MPAA/Studios don't give a rats ass about consumers having the ability to copy a movie, HD or not, it is just a smoke screen. The encryption is there to ensure that every time you fire up a DVD you have to sit there and watch that stupid commercial before the actual movie. Did you ever wonder why you couldn't skip that comemrcial? It's because of the encryption.

[Tim Germany @ Jul 7th 2006 6:36PM]

Heise Security is not UK based it is an Webservice of an Book and Magazine Publisher in Germany. The Magazine C't which is published by the Heise Verlag has discovered this Security Flaw. The Original Post on HDBeat has allready been changed.

Greetings from Germany ;)

[dpk @ Jul 7th 2006 6:50PM]

"Did you ever wonder why you couldn't skip that comemrcial? It's because of the encryption."

No.

[Laptop Freak @ Jul 7th 2006 8:21PM]

...but as one HDBeat commenter astutely pointed out, as long as you can see a picture on your monitor or hear sound through your speakers, there will always be a way to capture that data.
Totally agree! I’m not sure if they can protect it. Totally agree! I’m not sure if they can protect it. There always would be a way to work around any protection.

[Scott @ Jul 7th 2006 8:22PM]

@daschupa

You can't rip an HD-DVD or Blu Ray yet, seeing as AACS isn't cracked. Yet.

[Ian @ Jul 7th 2006 10:22PM]

Is this what passes for a hack now days? Pathetic. You could even automate it and in a few days have a great HD copy with no audio. Brilliant.

[Kevin @ Jul 7th 2006 11:27PM]

OMG!!!! Th3y Haz0red teh GiBsoN!!!!

[Harry @ Jul 8th 2006 12:35AM]

Yay! three cheers for hacker patience.

[ML @ Jul 8th 2006 1:48AM]

I Agree, If an Image is encrypted so a imaging device cannot see it, then a human eye cannot see it... All of this encryption is pointless, it will be cracked, and just irritates legal customers that did not buy an HDCP TV.

[Keith @ Jul 8th 2006 4:36AM]

Hello,

I personally think they are going the wrong way about copy protection. They should take advantage of the fact it will take a long period of time to copy a new generation movie disc, if a movie only fills a small part of the disc they should somehow increase the size, also they should limit the read speed for films 1x (I think this is possible). If it takes too much time and computer resources to copy a film, people will either just go out and buy the film, not watch it, or download a copy somebody already made from the internet.

The final point above is the most harmful thing, as there will be legal paid for downloads. I'm assuming it won't take too much time for people to hack these, thereby removing the whole ripping process.

[a1210 @ Jul 8th 2006 6:31AM]

blank media?

I've got a BETTER idea!!
Why not just poke everyone's eyes out and blow up everyone's ear drums? Oh don't forget to lobotomize everyone. This will mean that not even the human brain will be able to remember the content! ah ha!

[slyecho @ Jul 8th 2006 7:40AM]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_overlay

This is what they forgot.

[drmike @ Jul 8th 2006 11:35AM]

Um, why is this news? We've been making screen captures for years off of DVDs with copy protection.

[Jesse @ Jul 8th 2006 8:08PM]

Hahhahahhahahahh

Have they not heard of Screencapture programs???

Hmm

[Matt @ Jul 8th 2006 10:40PM]

PowerDVD includes an option to capture the current frame. Please don't call it a security hole and make them remove it.

[Caz @ Jul 9th 2006 8:46AM]

"I've got a BETTER idea!!
Why not just poke everyone's eyes out and blow up everyone's ear drums? Oh don't forget to lobotomize everyone. This will mean that not even the human brain will be able to remember the content! ah ha!"

Clever indeed... i was thinking of something similar and came up with this : why not make it illegal to actually *Watch* the movies in the first place?
This way, nobody could ever remember anything.
Just go to the theater, pay for a seat an go back home. What's the point, you'd say? Well just because it could also be made illegal not to go the movies and buy a couple of (blank) DVDs at least once a month.

This way, majors will safely continue producing new movies, and as nobody will ever see them, it won't even be necessary to shoot them! Win-win situation : no more loss on the consumer's side income, no more heavy production costs.

Financing the majors for not producing any more movies should actually be made a mandatory tax.