A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
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A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
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Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#2In the article, Adam Laurie writes:
HDCP (the copyright protection mechanism in HDMI) is broken. I don't mean just a little bit broken, I mean thoroughly, comprehensively, irredeemably and very publicly broken. Broken in such a way that any possible recovery would mean layering it with so much additional new infrastructure as to render it entirely pointless. Broken. B-R-O-K-E-N. .... So why, then, is it still being shoved down my throat?
Easy. The licensing and "intellectual property" laws combine to allow some set of corporate entities to create at least a price-fixing cartel around HD Tee Vee. They probably got the idea from the success of the DVDCCA (http://www.dvdcca.org/). If you don't/can't pay the licensing fees for HDMI, you can't make products. HDMI probably keeps the riff-raff (rampant competition) out.
Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#3Because it's DRM. The intent is merely to enable prosecution under the DMCA, only a token effort at "security" is needed.
Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#4See also, "Warner Bros and Intel Sue Over HDCP Crack Piracy" from December:
http://torrentfreak.com/warner-bros-and-intel-sue-over-hdcp-...
"Freedom USA, which also operates under the names AVADirect and AntaresPro, makes several devices which allow consumers to convert HDCP-encrypted digital signals to analog signals. This means that users could potentially record pay-per-view broadcasts, including Hollywood movies."
"Aside from the 'piracy' element brought up in the complaint the devices sold by Freedom USA also have legitimate uses, such as connecting a new set-top box to an older TV or monitor."
Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#5DRM doesn't have to work technically. You can just make the whole thing ROT13 and then pass a law that its illegal to unscramble it.
The technical part isn't the part that matters.
Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#6Why HDCP is still used despite being utterly broken is simply the fact that it gives media corporations 'control'. You know those anti-circumvention laws for DRM? Yeah. Even DVDs still ship with CSS for this reason - when RealNetworks released RealDVD, their DVD ripping program (which wasn't even particularly good or useful, as it produced Real Media files with Real's own DRM included), they were sued by DVD Copy Control Association and lost.[1] So even if the DRM itself is utterly broken, when combined with anti-circumvention laws it allows the media industry to shut down any "rogue players" - in other words, it gives them control. And the gatekeepers, oh, they just love control.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RealNetworks,_Inc._v._DVD_Copy_....
Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#7DRM doesn't have to work technically. You can just make the whole thing ROT13 and then pass a law that its illegal to unscramble it. The technical part isn't the part that matters.
Definitely.
Makes me think of Dimitry Sklyarov and Adobe back in '01:
http://www.zdnet.com/news/dimitry-sklyarov-enemy-or-friend/1...
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/2001...
Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#8DRM doesn't have to work technically. You can just make the whole thing ROT13 and then pass a law that its illegal to unscramble it. The technical part isn't the part that matters.
Definitely. Makes me think of Dimitry Sklyarov and Adobe back in '01: http://www.zdnet.com/news/dimitry-sklyarov-enemy-or-friend/1... http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/2001...
It's ironic that a Russian had to come to the U.S. to be arrested for what are essentially thought-crimes
That was a pivotal article for me. That sentence more or less framed my understanding of DRM for the following decade.
Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#9DRM doesn't have to work technically. You can just make the whole thing ROT13 and then pass a law that its illegal to unscramble it. The technical part isn't the part that matters.
That's not the main reason. If it were, then Hollywood would have stuck with CSS for Bluray and HD-DVD instead of making AACS. They tried hard with AACS: unlike CSS, it uses a real, peer-reviewed encryption algorithm (AES) and has a very complex key management system. Hollywood was really hoping to get a technical solution to DRM and not a purely legal one. (Of course it failed in the end.)
The real reason why these broken DRM systems like HDCP and AACS are still around is because there are millions of players/TVs/discs in the field and you can't break all of them by introducing a new DRM system. I strongly suspect that Hollywood will attempt a new DRM system at the earliest opportunity (perhaps when there's a successor to HD?).
Re: A peek into the curious world of HDMI copy protection
#10DRM doesn't have to work technically. You can just make the whole thing ROT13 and then pass a law that its illegal to unscramble it. The technical part isn't the part that matters.
That's not the main reason. If it were, then Hollywood would have stuck with CSS for Bluray and HD-DVD instead of making AACS. They tried hard with AACS: unlike CSS, it uses a real, peer-reviewed encryption algorithm (AES) and has a very complex key management system. Hollywood was really hoping to get a technical solution to DRM and not a purely legal one. (Of course it failed in the end.) The real reason why these…
Yup. It already exists as HDCP v.2 (totally new system reenginered from scratch).
It'll likely start to be used together with the HDMI v.2 protocol eventually, most likely for UHD TVs as you said.
http://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2012/08/reposted-cry...