Despite SlySoft announcing that
BD+ was compromised, and promising an update to its
AnyDVD HD software, -- which enables you to rip a Blu-ray discs -- here we are a few months later and the latest is that SlySoft recommends that you buy HD DVD. But with
Warner recently going blu, a question at the
Blu-ray press conference was "did BD+ have anything to do with their decision?" And while Warner's answer was "no", afterwards it was brought to our attention by a Fox employee that BD+ has not been compromised. But, if that's true, then where do these HD Fox titles distributed via illegal means come from? The situation is actually hilariously ironic, as i
n love with BD+ that Fox seems to be, high quality transfers of their movies still make it onto the internet because of the European releases of HD DVD -- not distributed by Fox and thus not Blu-ray exclusive -- are only protected with
AACS. So if you think about it, without
BD+, users would have to buy
Fox titles to get them on their computer for other uses, but as it stands, it makes more sense for them skip laying down any cash and download the movies instead, nice job guys.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jason @ Jan 9th 2008 4:19PM
Blu ray FTL.
Tell me something I don't know.
nerdtalker @ Jan 9th 2008 6:35PM
What, specifically is so "loss" about Bluray?
Is it the fact that BD+ might have been the factor which made these last few studios come over to the technically superior platform? Is it the fact that BD+ will be broken, probably in a few months at most? Or is it "fail" because you invested in an HD-DVD player and now harbor some lingering animosity for anything Bluray?
Either way, BD+ is irrelevant. I've looked at the implementation myself with a bunch of other Crypto and CS people. Just be patient and wait for it to stew around in the minds of enough people, and it's broken.
Barry @ Jan 9th 2008 4:29PM
"Daddy, tell me what it was like when you were young!"
"Well son, we used to keep all our movies and music on really fragile plastic discs."
"You didn't have stored on a 100PB solid state RAID-5 SAN?"
"No, it was illegal to back up the discs. The media cartels paid off the government to be sure they could keep robbing us with their obsolete distribution model."
"Wow, is that why the government was overthrown and the assholes were lined up and shot?"
"One of many reasons, son."
John @ Jan 9th 2008 6:03PM
Anyone who thinks that high-resolution video would go in ANY U.S. physical format without some kind of DRM is an absolute idiot.
Joey Geraci @ Jan 9th 2008 7:34PM
You are joking, right Eddie? Why in the fuck do you think that Obama has the superhuman powers to overcome the immense and overwhelming power of the media cartel lobby? The only person who could possibly do it would be Edwards. But the Cartel has already decided he is out of the race. Big Surprise.
Joey Geraci @ Jan 9th 2008 7:34PM
You are joking, right Eddie? Why in the fuck do you think that Obama has the superhuman powers to overcome the immense and overwhelming power of the media cartel lobby? The only person who could possibly do it would be Edwards. But the Cartel has already decided he is out of the race. Big Surprise.
Eddie @ Jan 9th 2008 7:46PM
Why don't you get mad about it, Joey? I'm sure that will make you and your point seem a lot more rational.
Eddie @ Jan 9th 2008 4:31PM
DRM sucks. Sony sucks for being DRM's little b**ch. I buy HD DVD and I'll buy it until they stop making it, at which point BD+ will be cracked and I'll D/L the titles and burn them to HD DVD. So suck it Sony, and Warner, and especially you, Fox. I'd rather use VHS than Blew Ray.
andy @ Jan 9th 2008 4:34PM
I'd rather use dvd, but whatever suits you.
Matt B @ Jan 9th 2008 4:47PM
Ray doesn't care.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 9th 2008 4:57PM
HD-DVD is DRMed too. Not sure how people keep picking on BluRay specifically. Toshiba (HD-DVD) sold you out too.
Erwos @ Jan 9th 2008 5:00PM
Yes, but HD-DVD uses AACS, where as BR-D uses AACS _and_ BD+. You want more DRM or less DRM?
John @ Jan 9th 2008 6:05PM
It's amazing that you've completely justified the reason why companies should use DRM right in your own anti-DRM post. Congratulations!
Eddie @ Jan 9th 2008 6:10PM
Chicken and the egg, baby, chicken and the egg.
Only in this case, I have for several years now given up downloading anything pirated, software or music or movies, and if this DRM ridden format wins out, I'll be forced to go Robin Hood. I'm not pretending to have the power to change anything, I just know it will make me feel better to know I'm sticking it to the man in my own little way. Have fun letting them rape your wallet and clean themselves off with your consumer rights.
r3loaded @ Jan 9th 2008 6:15PM
Vote with your wallet! I'm not spending a single bean on either disc format until they are sold free of restrictions, just like in the olden days. Unfortunately, the film industry has even bigger buffoons than the music industry, and *they've* only realized that people want digital downloads but don't want DRM....8 years later.
As I write this, I've just realized that this has been going on ever since I was 9 or 10, and how long ago that was. Back then, I distinctly remember downloading a full length 128kbps mp3 of Last Resort by Papa Roach...off MTV's website! Imagine that.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 9th 2008 6:34PM
r3loaded:
DVD has DRM too. CSS.
mikebridge @ Jan 9th 2008 6:52PM
HD-DVD has optional DRM (AACS on red is optional). Blu-ray has mandatory and optional DRM (AACS required. BD+ optional). think about how that factors into burning discs at home for playback (like... authoring HD content to DVD9's and playing them. works on red. doesn't work on blu)
farfisa @ Jan 9th 2008 4:39PM
I'm liking my PS3 for Blu-ray and everything else, but I gotta appreciate "Blew Ray" as the best pun on the name I've read yet!
Auger282 @ Jan 9th 2008 4:45PM
where there's a will... there's a way...
CosterMonger @ Jan 9th 2008 4:55PM
I'm just going to stick with DVD and skip the force feed of gruel
$30 a movie is just to much
Kyran @ Jan 9th 2008 4:58PM
With the advent of digital media players, you'd think the best format that would attract the masses would be one that would let you rip the movie discs iTunes style.
While the technology industries try to make everything easier to use, the entertainment industry tries to make everything more complicated. Yet they are hopelessly dependent on each other.
Like Yin and Yang.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 9th 2008 4:58PM
SlySoft cracked some BD+ discs I thought. But since BD+ is a very flexible system, I'm certain it'll be a while before it is completely broken.
However, it will be completely broken. If it plays on the screen, it can be ripped.
reallynotnick @ Jan 9th 2008 5:20PM
We can just cam it and upload it to the internet!
*shudder*
ethana2 @ Jan 9th 2008 8:52PM
HDCP is flawed. The guy who found out how had to shut up to cover his butt. But it is possible to crack that too. As for blu-ray and hd-dvd, much will be disc-by-disc.
Go medibuntu! Fighting for our fair use tooth and nail. Can't forget those fine folks at doom9 either. I thought the whole 09F9 ordeal was hilarious. If they anger us just right, the whole internet rebels on a massive level ;)
...and that is why the Chinese government still does what it does...
rxse7en @ Jan 9th 2008 5:19PM
Why can't BD just be played to a recorder like the old VHS tapes? Seems that developing some sort of recording interface would be easier than cracking the DRM? Like instead of duplicating the BD disk, you play the disk to a HD. Just curious.
B
Nathan @ Jan 9th 2008 5:36PM
Because of the nature of man, people want to hack it, not get around it.
And ripping would be easier and take less time.
Geir E @ Jan 10th 2008 6:54AM
The old VHS tapes could that until macrovision. with macrovision copying to a recorder gave a very low quality backup.
LiqwidZero @ Jan 9th 2008 5:35PM
And yet one can go onto a torrent site and download a full 720p(downscaled) or 1080p video stream of a BD+ protected video. Go and look for Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer Blu-ray, or any variation of the title.
EdZ @ Jan 9th 2008 5:45PM
Or you could visit [redacted]*, and download full bit-for-bit rips of BD or HD-DVD discs. Either BD+ is cracked, or it's been negated/bypassed.
*First rule of [redacted], don't talk about [redacted].
Mark @ Jan 9th 2008 5:38PM
BD+ will be cracked one day...
But with media prices at 20-30 bucks a piece...burning a backup is not much more cost effective then buying one...
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 9th 2008 6:37PM
25GB (single layer) 4X BD-R blanks are $9.99 a piece at Fry's right now, not $20-$30.
http://shop2.outpost.com/product/5445769
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 9th 2008 6:43PM
4X BD-Rs are $9.99 at Fry's, not $20-$30.
http://shop2.outpost.com/product/5445769
The future is closer than you think.
mikebridge @ Jan 9th 2008 6:52PM
or just recompress to a DVD-9 using your favorite software suite... like http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/dvdstudiopro/ (check out the middle video clip. how to convert for HD-DVD)
Mark @ Jan 9th 2008 7:22PM
Too bad Final Cut Pro isn't available for Windows...
Jughead @ Jan 9th 2008 9:49PM
$8 for single layer HD-DVD and Blu-ray @ monoprice
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10836&cs_id=1083605&p_id=3883&seq=1&format=2
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10836&cs_id=1083606&p_id=3884&seq=1&format=2
KC @ Jan 10th 2008 4:10AM
I think Mark meant that a BD movie costs about $30 to buy.
If you factor in:
* X hours to download a BD movie,
* Y hours to transcode it to a lower (video/audio) quality
* Z hours (optional) to further compress/squeeze down the size of the video
Then factor in the cost of the BD/HD burner, and blank media for about $10 each.
For $20 more, to purchase the movie, you get to keep the extras, the bonus tracks, etc. Granted some movies suck and the extras suck too. That when a rental like netflix would be good enough.
Tom Gallen @ Jan 9th 2008 5:58PM
I don't understand engadget's comments regarding:
"So if you think about it, without BD+, users would have to buy Fox titles to get them on their computer for other uses, but as it stands, it makes more sense for them skip laying down any cash and download the movies instead, nice job guys."
It seems like if you can rip HD-DVD then it doesn't matter whether Fox is uses BD+ or HD-DVD...? Maybe someone can it explain it in a way that I can understand...
Reader @ Jan 9th 2008 6:21PM
Too bad.
ethana2 @ Jan 9th 2008 9:01PM
I'll hold out until peach. They might release on HD-DVD and Blu-ray, but with no DRM. More accurately, unencrypted streaming dirac on HD-DVD/BR-R media.... or just stick to torrents, whatever. Not like it matters that much for most of us.
The age of us relying on big companies for everything is over. If copyrighted material must surround itself with DRM to be secure, then we'll just have to replace all of it. A whole lot of culture to waste, but hey, that's their problem.
The next bout of litigation will be celebrity makehuman scripts and likeness rights :)
Aaron @ Jan 10th 2008 8:29AM
BD+ has been broken...sort of. It required ripping to another, uncompressed format, with Slysoft running in the background and playback with a certain version of the crappy software that we all use to playback HD content.
BD+ will break for good. Slysoft for president!