Blu-ray advocate says that AACS has failed
After yesterday's Digg incident in which the keys used to unlock HD DVD and current Blu-ray copy protection were posted ad infinitum on the Internet, a leading advocate of Sony's Blu-ray technology has said that AACS has failed.
Josh, from the Blu-ray.com web site (which isn't officially affiliated to any Blu-ray organisation) said that the decision of the AACS Licensing Authority to send multiple Cease and Desist notices to Digg and other web sites was counter-productive, causing a proliferation of the key.
"The key was posted, and then numerous hacker sites posted the key to spread the word. While it was available, it was contained to that relatively small group of individuals. Then AACS started issuing cease and desist orders, and that is when mainstream media caught on. Now, the code is everywhere - even on t-shirts - and it has become impossible to stop the virus. How one organisation can be so sloppy is beyond me, but one thing is sure: AACS has failed," he wrote.
He does, however, hold a little more hope for Blu-ray's extended copy protection. BD-Plus is due to be introduced on new discs from June.
Even so, no copy protection system is ever going to entirely prevent digital media being copied.
Here's my prediction for the Blu-Ray Vs HD-DVD winner:
The one that causes least hassle to consumers... ie. the one which is fully cracked first, region codes cracked as DVD was early on and no content protection hassles.
If Sony want to win the format war, then by incorporating all this souped up content protection rubbish is a good example of a company shooting itself in the foot.
Instead of sucking up to the film studios, they should remember that they need us consumers to buy it. You can have all the content you like, but if it doesn't shift, it doesn't shift. Treating ALL consumers as potential criminals is one good way of really p***ing them off.
The best content protection is to sell a quality product at a REASONABLE price and FREELY AVAILABLE... then there is no point in piracy in the first place.
Posted by: Kirsty | May 3, 2007 9:17 PM