Chris Lanier's Blog : Rights Management

Microsoft Patches Restricted Content Errors on MCE 2005

chrisl — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:05:00 GMT

Microsoft patched the Restricted Content errors in Windows Vista a few months back, and today lonely old Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is getting its fix. The patch (KB956148) is used to resolve “an issue in which a Windows Media Center configuration that uses an analog TV broadcast without a set-top box, displays a protected content message when recording television shows.”

You should be able to grab the patch from Windows Update, or if you want it directly go here.

Microsoft Launches New Worldwide Platform for Broadcast TV on the PC

chrisl — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:31:00 GMT

Leading tuner and chipset providers announce support for new Microsoft platform.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Sept. 12, 2008 — Today at IBC2008, Microsoft Corp. announced it has delivered in the marketplace Protected Broadcast Driver Architecture (PBDA), Microsoft’s new worldwide platform for broadcast TV on the PC. Made possible by the recent release of Windows Media Center TV Pack, the platform for the first time enables the PC-TV hardware ecosystem to integrate virtually any free or premium TV service into Windows Media Center, while satisfying the TV industry’s requirements for strong content protection in the case of pay TV. Among the leading companies rallying behind PBDA at the show are AVerMedia Inc., Buffalo, Hauppauge Computer Works Inc., I-O Data Device Inc., NEC Electronics Corp., NXP Semiconductors and ViXS Systems Inc. — all playing a critical role in driving the forward momentum for PBDA adoption.

The PBDA platform enhances and supersedes the existing Broadcast Driver Architecture (BDA), which has been Microsoft’s standard for digital video capture on Windows operating systems for many years. Now, PC OEMs and tuner-makers no longer need to rely heavily on Microsoft to specifically enable and support the ability to output broadcast services on a one-off basis; they can develop and ship TV tuners for Windows Media Center to target a broader set of TV standards and markets. For broadcast service providers, the flexibility of one consistent platform that supports multiple TV standards specifically for protected content opens the door for more consumer options to be made available.

“For the first time, we’re enabling those in the PC-TV community to build tuners and integrate almost any broadcast service into Windows Media Center themselves regardless of geographic location or television standard — we’ve removed a major roadblock by delivering one consistent platform for the industry,” said Geoff Robertson, general manager for Windows Media Center at Microsoft. “The tremendous response we’re already seeing for the platform means PC OEMs, broadcast service providers and tuner-makers can now collaborate and embrace the PC as a first-class citizen for delivering more high-quality free or pay content to consumers in their local markets. This is a major milestone for us and our partners as we continue our efforts to deliver the highest-quality, personalized TV-watching experiences available to people everywhere.”

The momentum behind this new platform from Microsoft is already being evidenced by the launch of PBDA-based tuner solutions in Japan, Germany and the U.K., including Hauppauge’s first-ever Freeview-certified PC-TV tuner solution and AVerMedia’s tuner solution for protected digital terrestrial television in Japan.

In addition, leading chipset providers NEC Electronics, NXP and ViXS Systems are announcing that they have all completed their implementations of PBDA and are now ready to support their PC-TV tuner partners in taking PBDA-based solutions to multiple markets around the world.

“We are excited to be a launch partner for Microsoft’s PBDA platform,” said Allan Yang, Ph.D., president of AVerMedia. “PBDA has enabled us to quickly and cost-effectively bring to market A320, a PC-TV tuner solution for Windows Media Center that meets the Japanese broadcasting industry’s requirements for strong content protection. The resulting system performance delivers a surprisingly responsive user experience, and the response from our customers, who are some of the most demanding PC OEMs in Japan, has been phenomenal. We are looking forward to building on the very successful launch of our PBDA-based solution beyond Japan.”

“Microsoft’s new digital TV software architecture, PBDA, enabled Hauppauge to deliver the first-ever Freeview-certified TV tuner for PCs,” said Ken Potkin, CEO of Hauppauge. “We look forward to 2009, when PBDA will allow us to deliver advanced digital PC-TV tuner products, including PC solutions for pay TV.”

“The extended capabilities, which Microsoft’s worldwide PBDA platform for pay TV and free-to-air TV brings to Windows Media Center, mirror NXP’s commitment to power the TV-viewing experience by enabling access to more content with ever better picture quality anytime, anywhere, in the home and on the go,” said Bert van de Wakker, general manager, PC Systems, NXP Semiconductors. “Specifically, PBDA support combined with our new-generation three-in-one PCTV SOC SAA7231 product line, enables PC OEMs to offer 30 million European households the ability to record and view hundreds of free-to-air digital satellite channels on their PC, complementing SAA7231DE’s established DVB-T, analog terrestrial and cable support. In addition, PBDA has enabled us to provide a highly integrated, secure and cost-effective solution for protected digital terrestrial television in Japan using our secure Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB)-analog reception, SAA7164E SOC.”

The PBDA platform is a key component of the Windows Media Center TV Pack, an update released to OEMs worldwide on July 16, 2008, with targeted optimizations for Europe in particular. Some of the other features of this update include native Windows Media Center experiences for digital terrestrial television in Japan (based on the Integrated Services Digital Television-Terrestrial standard), free-to-air satellites services in Europe (based on the Digital Video Broadcasting-Satellite standard), improved guide and playback experience, great personal video recorder auto-extend support, and the flexibility of support for multiple TV standards.

Windows Media Center TV Pack will be demonstrated at IBC2008 at the Microsoft stand in the Topaz Lounge. Visitors to the stand will have the opportunity to experience the latest Windows Media Center functionality delivered in combination with some of the latest PBDA-based tuner products from partners.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Microsoft Patches “Broadcast Flag”/CGMS-A Issues

chrisl — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:16:00 GMT

Today Microsoft is will a patch to correct the issues seen in last month’s reported “Broadcast Flag” issues. In reality, the fix is for CGMS-A and the official word is still that Media Center doesn’t support the Broadcast Flag. Last month’s issue propagated from CGMS-A being on the analog source data that was broadcast by NBC.

The patch changes functionality in Media Center for CGMS-A on antenna and non-STB configurations where CGMS-A CopyNever (1:1) will be recorded as CopyOnce (1:0) effectively ending the “Recording Prohibited” messages seen last month. This means if CGMS-A finds its way onto an OTA broadcast it will always be recorded, but if CGMS-A is set it will be protected once recorded. If you are using analog cable (no STB) the same takes places.

For configurations using STBs, this patch doesn’t fix any of the existing CGMS-A issues which include incorrect and otherwise excessive CopyNever flags (Sorry Canadians). I’ve made sure this issue is still on the table at Microsoft, but currently there is no official fix (other than unplugging your STB). Personally I’d like to see the issue fixed in the same manor, but that does present issues with content that is supposed to be CopyNever on an STB. The other option would be to just disable CGMS-A when Media Center is setup using a Canadian postal code.

The patch should be up on Windows Update now (KB950126 - June Cumulative Update) and related download link is posted below.

Update: As noted on the CE Installer blog this doesn’t cover CableCARD which comes with CableLabs regulations. With that said, the majority of the issues with CableCARD could be software conflicts rather than content flags. If you are having major issues with CableCARD and Restricted Content messages, please leave a comment here and/or post it to this thread on The Green Button.

Short Bits: Digital Copy, tru2way, Big Media

chrisl — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:52:00 GMT

Remember just last month when I said “I’d like to see companies embrace the fact that DVD is still the mainstream format?” Based on a story in CED from this past week studios are starting to realize that’s the key, with one Warner exec saying “….64 percent of consumers said having a digital file gives better value.” This story was about including protected digital copies of films on DVDs (Example) which I think is a great idea and needs to happen much more often (on all DVDs). Now let’s also see it work the opposite way too, if I buy a digital download allow me to get the physical DVD at a discounted price (or free? Yeah right)

I know I haven’t covered tru2way much yet, but that’s because there isn’t much to say. Quickly, tru2way is CableLabs basically renaming the CableCARD 2.0/OCAP platform. Of course a large majority of the media doesn’t understand any part of it; CNET even asked if tru2way can succeed where CableCARD failed. Just so we are clear, tru2way is a platform for CableCARDs. It’s now a two-way platform instead of one-way like all previous devices. It will require use of the exact same CableCARDs (which are all two-way). MegaZone did a good job explaining it, yet CNET didn’t retract the article or edit it despite the fact it is 100% incorrect. Two-way CableCARD for Media Center isn’t likely to appear until Windows 7.

Speaking of CNET (now owned by CBS), anyone else find it ironic that big media conglomerates have purchased these smaller outlets which still post on things like breaking copy protection on DVDs? Hey CBS, if your new media outlets are going to report on breaking copy protection, let’s just skip the formalities and disable things like CGMS-A on Showtime, AACS on CBS Blu-ray Discs, CSS on DVDs, etc.

Short Bits: Media Center University, Broadcast Flag

chrisl — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:04:00 GMT

Microsoft’s CE Installer blog posted today about the Broadcast Flag issue that I previously talked about proclaiming that “Windows Media Center does not enable or utilize the Broadcast Flag.” They clearly want to make sure that the CE installers and integrators using Media Center know this isn’t an issue, or is it….

Just hours later the CE Installer blog posted a link to part one of the Media Center University that Microsoft and Life|ware did a few months ago at EHX. In the presentation (A must watch for technical types, CE installers, etc), Mike Seamons (ex-Life|ware, current Microsoft) went over content protection types associated with Media Center. When he got to ATSC he had this to say about the Broadcast Flag; "It [ATSC] has a Broadcast Flag...so the broadcasters can put a flag with that MPEG-2 stream that makes it so that signal is actually protected when it gets to your Media Center...and Media Center obeys the flag.”

Mike is a very knowledgeable person on Media Center and clearly understood the difference between CGMS-A (covered just before) and the Broadcast Flag so something still isn’t right (Mike also seemed to think he has had Broadcast Flag issues in Media Center before). Todd Rutherford, a Program Manager at Microsoft was sitting in the front row, so I assume something this big would of warranted a correction.

Bottom line, I don’t trust Microsoft to tell me if Media Center “truly” supports or respects the Broadcast Flag, but they do need to ensure the same story is getting out via high level people like Mike. I might believe that the issue last month was a complete and total fluke, but consistent information on any DRM related subject is required for the Media Center platform to succeed in any market.

Broadcast Flag Follow-up

chrisl — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:43:00 GMT

I’ve been attempting to learn about the Broadcast Flag over the past few days, and instead of focusing on what it can/can’t do I decided to look at a few other things.

First of all, I want to say that I believe the issue early this month with NBC was a total fluke. I think a lot of people are getting bent out of shape considering this has been and continues to be a onetime bug not reproducible by anyone at Microsoft, NBC, EFF, etc. This is compounded with the lack of understanding between different technologies, mainly Copy Generation Management System - Analog (CGMS-A) and the Broadcast Flag. The Broadcast Flag only applies to Over the Air (ATSC) broadcasts. It doesn’t and can’t apply to NTSC, CableCARD, etc. It is understandable that people are upset when something like this happens (especially with the longstanding CGMS-A issues, and CableCARD issues that mostly appear to be software conflicts), but everything needs to be kept in check.

With all of that said, this whole situation doesn’t match up. On Microsoft’s side first, they said "Microsoft included technologies in Windows based on rules set forth by the (Federal Communications Commission).” CNET published the story under the title “Microsoft confirms Windows adheres to broadcast flag” despite the fact nothing they published from Microsoft said “Broadcast Flag.” It is also worth noting that the FCC doesn’t have any rules on the Broadcast Flag. Ten days later CNET published a follow-up story refuting parts of their previous story quoting Microsoft as saying “Please note that Windows Media Center does not support Broadcast Flag.”

Cut to NBC’s side of things, CNET reported that NBC “made an inadvertent mistake” and “incorrectly flagged” the shows in question and they later reported that “It was a CGMS-A flag, not a broadcast flag.”

Where does this leave us? With a seemingly rare occurrence that can’t be reproduced. Microsoft says the Broadcast Flag isn’t supported, NBC says they didn’t put the Broadcast Flag on and instead they magically enabled CGMS-A(nalog) on a pure digital ATSC broadcast. These two bits of information are where things actually get interesting.

NBC first, they are saying they enabled CGMS-A, an analog (NTSC) copy protection technology on a non-analog (ATSC) broadcast. In NTSC, the CGMS-A bits are broadcast in Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) which also carries closed captions, V-chip data, and other digital data. However, best I can find there is no standard for CGMS-A in ATSC broadcasts. There is a VBI extension for ATSC, but based on the specs it doesn’t support CGMS-A. Can CGMS-A even be put on ATSC? Based on what I’ve seen the answer would be no. If this is the case, it leaves NBC with no idea what really happened on the broadcast end. If it was somehow CGMS-A on ATSC it would also seem to be a onetime occurrence that has ever been reported before.

On Microsoft’s side, the question is does Windows support the Broadcast Flag? Microsoft says “Windows Media Center does not support Broadcast Flag,” but there is more to the story then that. Who knows what the software truly supports, but Microsoft has developed for the Broadcast Flag in the past. Most notability while developing for Vista which would be prior to the time it was officially stuck down.

Microsoft’s position on the Broadcast Flag is simple and is even semi-outlined in a 2003 document. Basically it boils down to we will support the Broadcast Flag if it is created with us in mind. This is exactly how I would expect Microsoft to deal with it in a world of digital video on the Internet and Microsoft wanting to push their Windows Media technologies. It is no secret, Microsoft supported CGMS-A in Windows Media Center way back in 2002 and now they are the only PC-based platform with CableCARD and pending DIRECTV support. It is a game that Microsoft knows how to play, and it pays in the end (it also helps grow their digital download aspirations, Microsoft TV division, etc).

Other interesting bits are the ASF specs which reference and start to define how to deal with the “Broadcast Flag” (I’m assuming that’s proper Broadcast Flag and not general flag in a broadcast). And then there are the PBDA PowerPoint’s from Vista, which show a nice block diagram of 8VSB demodulation (which is ATSC) with the Broadcast Flag clearly being detected with dealt with.

Since Microsoft really never published any of the in-depth specs for PBDA type stuff we don’t know for sure if Windows does “support” it, or rather if Broadcast Flag support is in the live implementation. I’m not trying to scare anyone or suggest Microsoft wants to kill access to all of your media (they want the opposite), but I think it is important for everyone to understand what can be done.

While I haven’t had the time to do in-depth research on the Broadcast Flag in general, I do see that the issue between NBC and Microsoft from a few weeks ago is appearing to be nothing but a fluke. I’m interested to see if anything like this (copy protection on ATSC) happens again, but truthfully the situation is looking more like a single rare occurrence to me than an issue with the Broadcast Flag.

Short Bits: Broadcast Flag

chrisl — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:56:00 GMT

Broadcast Flag issues? I’d like to write a nice article about the Broadcast Flag and what it is and isn’t. Only problem, there is no good source of factual information at all on the web. The Wikipedia entry doesn’t cite a single source [citation needed] about the technical aspect or implementation. In fact, that 1000+ word entry only cited five sources, all of which are related to the votes and riders in the Senate.

My basic understanding of the Broadcast Flag (or most current concept) is that it does not limit recording. The idea is to protect recordings. Thus, the recent problems with Vista Media Center and NBC are more likely a bug in Media Center rather than NBC truly enabling the "Broadcast Flag." However, it would be great if there was a recent (respectable) source that actually has information on the true implementation of the Broadcast Flag.

Zune Community Brings New Shared Experience to Music

chrisl — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:29:00 GMT

Spring release adds features that inspire people to explore, discover and discuss their favorite music.

REDMOND, Wash. — May 5, 2008 — Last November Zune launched “Zune Social,” a music community Web site where music fans can discover new music, browse each others’ playlists, and comment on their discoveries and tastes.

In just its first five months, more than two million users have joined the community. With enough members to populate a major city, the community is almost as diverse as the world of music itself, from hardcore audiophiles and passionate music fans to people who are just crazy about the Zune player.

Brian Seitz, a Group Marketing Manager for Zune, says it’s a core goal of his team to create an experience where the diversity and knowledge of all those music fans is tapped to inspire Zune listeners to explore new music. With that in mind, the Zune team worked to incorporate extensive customer feedback into a refresh of the online music community and Zune software, which is being launched this week.

“Zune owners are pretty passionate, and they had a lot of great ideas for making the community more valuable to music fans,” he says. “And I definitely fall into that category myself — the main reason we’re all here is we love the music.”

The spring update includes enhanced features that build on the sense of community and musical exploration Zune delivers. The downloadable Zune application is now integrated with the Zune community site so members can send messages to friends, look at their music collections, shop for new content, and drag-and-drop Zune Cards to their players, all without opening a Web browser. Also, the online Zune Marketplace is offering TV episodes for download for the first time.

Zune Card Makes Musical Exploration Portable

One way to make these connections is with the free Zune Card, a sort of electronic Zune playlist, which automatically reflects the songs played on a Zune player or Zune PC software. With the spring update, the Zune Card now becomes more portable.

“For Zune Pass subscribers, dragging and dropping a friend’s Zune Card onto your Zune means that all of the music that friend has been listening to is automatically synced to your Zune, so you can listen to the full tracks when you’re out and about,” Seitz says.

Read Full Press Release

Fact or Fiction: Microsoft and Blu-ray

chrisl — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:26:00 GMT

I’ve gotten a fair amount of reaction to the various articles I’ve posted on Microsoft and Blu-ray, and it still seems the overall consensus on the web is that Microsoft will fall head over heels for Blu-ray in their products.

I want to preface this post by saying that I’m not advocating Microsoft not supporting Blu-ray. The fact is that Blu-ray won, while I think HD DVD had its clear advantages those don’t matter anymore. I want Blu-ray support in any product that markets itself as part of a digital home.

Fiction: Microsoft should support Blu-ray on the Xbox 360

I truly don’t understand why Microsoft would add Blu-ray support to the Xbox 360 at this point. When Microsoft added HD DVD support they did so by adding some four million lines of code to the Dashboard and had Toshiba manufacturer and sell the HD DVD drives at a loss. How do I know it was at a loss? Just look at the fact that the standard IDE drive was selling for far less than any other IDE HD DVD drive on market.

Toshiba didn’t make any money on the 300,000 that were sold and neither did Microsoft. Microsoft took the development time to add support simply to counter Sony including Blu-ray in the PS3. This was an extremely poor counter, but it provided a fairly cheap way for a consumer to add support for a next gen DVD format on their Xbox.

As that was the only real reason, what reason does Microsoft have now to do the same for Blu-ray? The war is over, Blu-ray won. Your not fighting that anymore. The Xbox 360 is nearly two years old with an approximate four year total turn-over time for the next console. Why add Blu-ray in any form to the Xbox 360?

The simple fact is that it’s not in Microsoft’s best interest to provide Blu-ray support in the Xbox 360. The drives are going to be too expensive as there is no reason to sell them at a loss anymore. Pair that with the development time for BD+ and BD-J, two technologies that Microsoft didn’t agree with in the first place and you have a recipe for no Blu-ray on the Xbox 360.

As for internal drives, that’s even worse. Going back to the drawing board, yet again losing money for an integrated drive that can only be used for movie playback. Remember, developers can’t use Blu-ray Disc’s as that you limit your market by some 18 million current Xbox 360’s (Microsoft also wouldn’t allow it either).

I strongly disagree that Microsoft already has some of these things planned and working as Derek Flickinger suggested on CE Pro yesterday. I don’t believe the Xbox 360 will ever have Blu-ray Disc support. As for the Xbox 720 or whatever you want to call it, I think it is too soon to say it won’t but I don’t think you can say it will either.

Fact: Microsoft should support Blu-ray playback on the PC

There is no doubt that Microsoft should support Blu-ray playback on the PC, but as I’ve talked about several times this comes with a major technical concerns.

For native Blu-ray playback to happen in Microsoft applications they will need to update Vista’s Protected Media Path to support BD+. This is a pretty significant change to the system that already supports AACS, the only protection that was needed for HD DVD.

It has always surprised me that BD+ never got the bad press that any other DRM/content protection system does. It runs code in a virtual machine within the player, if that’s not something for the DRM opposed to get upset about I don’t know what is.

The need for BD+ and the equal need for Java-based BD-J interactivity support instead of the Microsoft developed XML-based iHD leaves a huge shadow of doubt about what Microsoft is going to do. No doubt Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center users will suffer from having to use PowerDVD or alike to playback their Blu-ray Disc’s.

This also leaves Media Center and the connected Extender ecosystem in doubt. Managed Copy in the still unfinished AACS specs will give Blu-ray the ability to offer streaming too, but BD+ is still an issue. Microsoft might get burned by the PS3 again as there is a good chance it will be the first product to take advantage of such features.

Fiction: Microsoft should wait for digital downloads

Digital downloads are exactly what Microsoft wants. Why? Because from VC-1 to WMDRM to Silverlight to Windows Server to Windows Vista they can push their products from point A to point B and collect on them all.

The clear problem with this is the lack of bandwidth in the US. Streaming and downloading of large files just isn’t an option for most US broadband users, and no matter how efficient VC-1 is as a video codec. The fact of the matter is US ISPs are holding up streaming being a viable mass market solution.

The best way to explain this is with a graphic from Vudu, another streaming hopeful (via Dave Zatz). As you can see from the graphic, those with broadband connections less then 2Mbps have up to a four hour delayed wait before they can start enjoying an HD download. It should also be noted that the audio/video quality provided in these sorts of streams just can’t match what Blu-ray has been delivering for the past year. Highly quality means higher bitrates with means larger file size which means longer download times.

Those ISPs that do have the bandwidth (>10Mbps) charge a pretty penny when compared to a basic lower bitrate DSL connection. Are customers willing to both pay high dollar for an Internet connection and then pay high dollar for an HD download that it many cases has to be watched within 24 hours? There is still a lot of work that has to be done before digital downloads can replace physical media for good.

Of course, itshould be noted that digital downloads already exist using Microsoft technologies. The Xbox 360 has downloads via the Xbox Marketplace and the same basic concepts from above apply in terms of download times and bitrates. Many are waiting for Microsoft to extend the reach of the Marketplace downloads to Windows Media Center (and thus Media Center Extenders) as well portable devices like the Zune.

Related:

More Ramblings About Blu-ray & Xbox 360

Short Bits: DRM, Vista SP1, Xbox 360, More

chrisl — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:28:00 GMT

Hard to think people are just now getting around to talking about the DRM crap made by Peter Gutmann and Bruce Schneier. I went after Schneier in Feburary, but it’s hard to imagine that these “professionals” up into the ring without knowledge of any of the real issues. Oh well, they might be incredibility smart individuals, but maybe they should stick to cryptography. Too bad cryptography has so many useful purpose, since it is the basis of digital rights to start with. Ed Bott also covers this story nicely.

Vista SP1 hit the web in the form of a leaked beta last week. APC Mag did a nice in-depth look into whats there so far. Media Center has some sort of update in SP1, I’ve yet to bother to look into this, but I doubt it is anything major at this point.

A new version of DVRMSToolbox for Vista is out. Casey published /mceDvd360 for any developers who want to attempt to get DVD streaming (transcoding) working for a nice Xbox 360 Extender-based solution. Source code in C# for anyone is who interested in a new project. The Media Center SDK was also updated.

The new Xbox 360’s Premiums with HDMI still use 90mm chips. Boo. At least they still cost a little less with the recent price drop.

Missing Remote did a nice ATSC/NTSC Tuner Guide that runs down the pros and cons of just about every current tuner on the market. Before your next purchase, be sure to check out the guide to make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck.

Another Cryptography Expert Gets Into The Vista DRM Ring

chrisl — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:24:00 GMT

Wired News | Vista Month: Welcome To The DRM? | Wired News has a blog about DRM in Vista, and yet again we have another person writing about something they have no clue about. Michael Calore and Scott Gilbertson basically run down a few of the most popular posts online about Vista’s “DRM.”

Here’s one of my favorite bits from the post. . .

“Clearly DRM is something to think about if you’re planning to upgrade and it raises the question: is Microsoft trying to create a new monopoly on content distribution? The music labels are already realizing that iTunes DRM ties them to Apple and Schneier seems to think Vista’s DRM will do the same for Hollywood content producers.

Schneier thinks that Microsoft is aiming to create a lock-in not just for Hollywood content producers but also peripheral manufacturers. “It’s another war for control of the computer market,” he writes.”

Here’s the link to the Schneier bit for reference.

What Schneier fails to understand is that Microsoft has the smallest part here. Yet again people, lets go over this very slowly. The content is already protected! The content is already protected! The content is already protected! The content is already protected! Do we get that? In case you didn’t, lets look into a little bit more once again.

The content is already protected by non-Microsoft systems. How exactly is Microsoft locking Hollywood content producers into anything then Hollywood bankrolled the content protection system in the first place?

What Microsoft does what is to allow you to be able to play the content you purchased. I know that sounds crazy, playing what you purchased. To do this, any company that wants to enable playback must meet the bar set by the specific organization who controls that specific content protection systems. In this example, AACS would be that for both HD DVD and Blu-ray. To enable playback you agree to their rules. This applies to Microsoft, Apple, any CE company looking to make a standalone set-top box player, etc.

Schneier apparently doesn’t understand this. He says “Microsoft put all those functionality-crippling features into Vista because it wants to own the entertainment industry.” Yeah, Microsoft wants to you’re the own the entertainment industry so instead of buying up all the content they can instead do the same thing CE companies do in order to build a HD DVD Player? Hmm. That doesn’t seem right. If I wanted to talk about “owning the entertainment industry” I’d be talking about Apple, since Jobs actually does now (for all intensive purposes) own a huge chunk of content in Disney. Gates doesn’t own any content, unless owning the entertainment industry applies to a single Stock Photo company (Corbis).

And on to those “peripheral manufacturers” that Microsoft is trying to lock-in; I’m not sure how that works. Lets talk HDCP, that technology that Hollywood requires and that Intel developed. The one that Microsoft has nothing to do with really. Or we could talk CableLabs, AACS, 5C, and any other content protection system and you will see Microsoft also doesn’t having any meaning input into the actually protection. Microsoft is a part of AACS, but I can guarantee they get zero input on the content protection, they are just there because they want to enable playback and streaming of the content that is already protected. Talking drivers, the big Microsoft lock-in that they have been faced with for a long time? Of supporting technologies like DirectX and COPP within their drivers. I didn’t notice to many people complaining there. And of course, drivers can be released without supporting the technologies (unless it’s x64, then they have to be signed anyway), but the protected content that the user attempts to play, will simply not.

Schneier also tries to make an argument that Microsoft, “with 95% of the operating system market” could of told Hollywood no, and that Hollywood would then have to get rid of the requirements for DRM in their products. Of course, we all know that PC’s don’t account for even half of the playback market. When Average Joe wants to playback content they reach for a CE player (eg. Sony, Toshiba, Pioneer, et al). PC playback is really just a convenience, it’s expected however and Microsoft knows this. So, that 95% of OS marketshare, really turns into 2% of the overall player marketshare. 2% seems rather low to me, but clearly without Microsoft's support Hollywood is going to ditch DRM because of it (Catching the sarcasm?)

Schneier ends with. . .

“Unfortunately, we users are caught in the crossfire. We are not only stuck with DRM systems that interfere with our legitimate fair-use rights for the content we buy, we're stuck with DRM systems that interfere with all of our computer use--even the uses that have nothing to do with copyright.”

With this alone we know that Schneier fails to understand the underlying concepts at work here. I guess I should keep studying security and cryptography, it seems when you put that anywhere near your name people take you seriously in matters completely outside your field. Oh well, I guess I will start signing with posts as below.

Chris Lanier
MCP, MCSA, MCSA: Security, MVP, Security+, A+, Network+

I’ll have to work on some cryptography ones, I’ll hit that up next week.

(Thanks to Shawn Oster to link, only way I would have known about the posting)

Update: And of course you can search for more of my writings on the same subject. Here are two recent ones relating to Vista.

OS X and Linux: CableCARD, DIRECTV, Dish, HD DVD, Blu-ray?

What Content Will Be Crippled When Output in Vista?

OS X and Linux: CableCARD, DIRECTV, Dish, HD DVD, Blu-ray?

chrisl — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 23:02:00 GMT

Something that comes up often in my posts about different technologies coming to Windows Vista is why are they always limited to Windows? Well, the answer is that most of them are just not.

Starting with CableCARD, the OpenCable Unidirectional Receiver (OCUR) was specifically created to bring native digital cable to PC’s. It was a mix between CableLabs and Microsoft, I’m assuming Microsoft approached them to help build the Media Center platform. OCUR’s are not limited to use in Windows, however.

As is stands right now, Vista Media Center is the Home Media Server (HMS) that CableLabs defines as certified for use with OCUR’s. Not only can additional companies outside of ATI/AMD develop OCUR’s, but additional Operating Systems can be work. If Apple really wanted to add CableCARD support to OS X, I’m sure they could. They would need to work with CableLabs to ensure the content protection framework in OS X (which is non-existent at this point, AFAIK) fits within the already set rules and regulations that go hand and hand with CableCARD, just as Microsoft did in Windows Vista with Protected Media Path (PMP). This is a very costly and difficult process. So difficult and costly, Apple would likely rather you buy from the iTunes Store and call it a day.

Remember that Microsoft has been working on CableCARD support in Windows for years now, you could see the start of things in Update Rollup 2 (Windows XP) where OCUR entries made it into the registry.

This same process applies to anyone wanting to support CableCARD on Linux. However, because of the nature of Linux, I doubt you will ever see a good solution here. The solution basically ends up being TiVo. Your happy copy of Fedora Core isn’t going to see CableCARD support, sorry.

Since details on the DIRECTV and Dish add-ons for Media Center haven’t been released yet, it’s hard to say if the same applies. Notable even more closed then Cable, I bet they will keep stuff exclusive to Windows. However again, if Apple really wanted it I’m sure they could work out something. Linux again, not so much (in an open form).

HD DVD and Blu-ray are basically the same deal. I’m sure Apple will end up supporting Blu-ray Playback in OS X, they do have a nice seat on the BDA after all (yet, they have supported burning HD DVD for over a year, nothing for BD IIRC).

Since OS X is more closed by nature, it will not be as hard to develop a playback solution for. Apple basically handles all of its own drivers (since it controls the hardware), so that takes a little off of development. Since QuickTime (or whatever DVD application they ship) really doesn’t work in a DirectShow-like fashion, they could get Blu-ray (or HD DVD) playback gong using the same sort of protected sandbox as InterVideo and Cyberlink do. Part of the reason for PMP in Windows is to open up playback of this media to other applications, notably Windows Media Player and Media Center. This way, it’s all integrated and it flows. I hate the sight of PowerDVD opening on top of my Media Center UI just to play back an HD DVD.

No matter how they do, they will be forced to the same restrictions any other AACS-certified playback device/application. They will have to respect ICT, they will have to respect HDCP (which brings up a good point, do they have any HDCP enabled components shipping?), etc.

Apple could add support for these things if they wanted, but Cable/Sat don’t really fit Jobs vision. iTunes is the place to be, why waste development time to bring Cable/Sat to OS X? Blu-ray (and/or HD DVD) Playback will eventually come to OS X and will have the same restrictions that you see in Windows and other standalone players.

Linux is just to open of an OS to enable playback of this protected content. For a consumer installed machine, developers are going to have a hell of a time passing the bar set by organizations like AACS and CableLabs. Linux will still rule in the embedded market as it does today, the consumer based installs will be going no where fast, unless some huge changes are made to the platform (don’t count on that, all hell will break lose when “DRM” is part of Linux).

Update: Before someone brings up this Job’s recent Thoughts on Music (which is great if it would happen), remember that Apple still has to respect the content owners if they want the content. Same with Microsoft and any other CE or IT company.

Vista PMP Already Cracked?

chrisl — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:57:00 GMT

Update on Driver Signing Bypass (Alex Ionescu's Blog) (Via Engadget)| Alex Ionescu appears to have takin the first step to defeat that evil DRM that prevents everyone from doing everything (or something like that). He goes through the different ways that Microsoft could patch Vista to disable his work, but ends with the conclusion that it’s unlikely Microsoft can fix it.

Thoughts? Could he really have broken PMP on today, Vista’s golden day?

I doubt, but now it’s time to play the waiting game. While playing, why not send some nasty mail to random content owners to express your dislike with the content protection systems they keep dreaming up,

DefectiveByDesign's Anti-DRM Campaign Gets Trashed by Digg Readers

chrisl — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:02:00 GMT

Something that I personally find hilarious is that DefectiveByDesign, the Anti-DRM Group that was formed last year, is getting trashed by the growing user base that actually understands some of the problems behind content protection and DRM. This is a very good day in the world of DRM and Digg.

Here’s a few example comments from Digg about DefectiveByDesign’s upcoming Vista Launch Events in NYC.

“So, the guys at defectivebydesign.org are going toi be the jackasses that pretend to be cool and nonconformist by going to a windows party and making fools out of themselves? Thanks, we reaaally needed to know that, couldn't have survived without it on the front page. P.S. all the info in the article is old news, no reason to digg it.”
“Wait wait, people are pissed off because Vista supports HDCP? If I'm not mistaken, Vista has to support it in case Studio's enable the god damn feature”
“I'll say this loudly:IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH DRM, DON'T USE MEDIA THAT USES DRM.
At least with Windows you have the FREEDOM to decide for yourselves, unlike some operating systems I could think of.”
“Pathetic. Apple will also include the DRM required to playback all new content that's produced and requires the ***.”
“So what happens when media starts coming out that needs the DRM systems, either others OS will have to implement it in some way or hack a way round it which would probably be illegal.”

I’m a big fan of Digg in general, buy generally don’t spend more then five minutes reading the ignorant comments left by the users. I’m a fan of targeted websites and blogs that can cover a subject without their user base being subjected to incorrect information and endless FUD about certain features, mainly relating to DRM.

I’m all for ending DRM that restricts fair use; however I do believe that content owners should have the right to protect their content if they want to. The problem is that we need to get to the point where this can happen. AACS in HD DVD and Blu-ray is a good first step, with the concept of Managed Copy. It’s not perfect by any means (I shouldn’t have to pay for a copy of the media I already purchased) but it’s a good first step.

DefectiveByDesign needs to understand that if they want to help, they need to actually go after the people that matter. Microsoft is not who they should be going after. Stage your foolishness at the MPAA, collectivity “Hollywood.” They are the reason that Microsoft has to waste millions of dollars developing the framework to allow users to actually play this media. Feel free to attack Microsoft for the stupid things they do, like locking their Zune DRM out from PlaysForSure. Attack Apple for not licensing FairPlay. Attack the record labels (RIAA) for requiring Microsoft, Apple, and others to develop their sort of protection framework. Actually attack the companies that are the problem, attack the root of the problem.

Of course, there are still loads of users that comment the other way, but they seem to be increasing getting corrected by those who get it.

DefectiveByDesign is not helping anything, all they are doing to making fools of themselves.

chrisl — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:57:00 GMT

There are tons of people out there not understanding all of this “Vista DRM”, mainly because of less than accurate media reporting. That’s completely understandable, but lets run down a quick list here of some of the popular content out there.

DVD Rip (DivX, XivD, etc) downloaded from Bit Torrent/IRC/etc: Output at whatever resolution you want. No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP. Don’t pirate stuff!

DVD Rip (VIDEO_TS, ISO) download from Bit Torrent/IRC/etc: Output at whatever resolution you want. No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP. Don’t pirate stuff!

WMV HD Downloads (MariposaHD, etc): Output at whatever resolution you want. No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP.

Apple/Quicktime HD Downloads: Output at whatever resolution you want. No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP.

Videocasts/blogcasts/Internet TV/IPTV: Output at whatever resolution you want. No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP.

DVR-MS (SD) Recordings: Output at whatever resolution you want. You can still edit recordings, convert recordings, etc unless they are CGMS-A protected. Works the same as Windows XP.

DVR-MS (HD) Recordings: Output at whatever resolution you want. You can still edit recordings, convert recordings, etc. Works the same as Windows XP.

MPEG-2/DivX/etc Recordings from 3^rd Party PVRs: Output at whatever resolution you want. You can still edit recordings, convert recordings, etc. Works the same as Windows XP.

CableCARD: Content recorded from CableCARDs will follow the same sort of output regulations as HD DVD and Blu-ray. Not available in Windows XP.

DVD: Output at whatever resolution you want. If using Component, output is limited because of Macrovision. Use AnyDVD or like to output at whatever you want. Works the same as Windows XP.

HD DVD: If ICT* is set; output at 540p if you are not using HDCP. If using a digital connection (DVI, HDMI) with HDCP, output will be whatever you want always (ICT set or not). If ICT is not set, you can output at 1080p with VGA and 1080i with Component. Works the same as Windows XP.** CE (consumer electronics) HD DVD players (regular set-top boxes) must follow the same rules, not specific to Microsoft or Windows.

Blu-ray Disc (BD): If ICT* is set; output at 540p if you are not using HDCP. If using a digital connection (DVI, HDMI) with HDCP, output will be whatever you want always (ICT set or not). If ICT is not set, you can output at 1080p with VGA and 1080i with Component. Works the same as Windows XP.** CE (consumer electronics) BD players (regular set-top boxes) must follow the same rules, not specific to Microsoft or Windows.

Additions:

DVD Ripping: No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP

Tools like BackupHDDVD/BackupBluray: No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP***

*AACS requires titles with ICT set be marked, so check the package before you purchase the movie. Currently, no titles have ICT set.

** The content protection framework in Vista will also allow for a more traditional DirectShow filter model of playback. Right now, playback is limited to within PowerDVD or WinDVD.

***Though, I have not tested them under Vista, there is nothing to stop or prevent them from specifically working.

Spread the word, digg it!

"Setting The Record Straight" muslix64 on AACS

chrisl — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 22:46:00 GMT

muslix64 e-mailed me this bit, as well as posted it at Doom9 and I assume various other places. Text copied directly from e-mail. . .

I spent the last few days reading a lot of articles on BackupHDDVD, reading a lot of people's post/comments on various websites.

This is the time to set the record straight about this new tool and what the impacts are.

First I need to clarify some points.

Revocation:

In the AACS system, there is 4 types of revocation:
Drive revocation
Host revocation
Device revocation (with MKB)
Content revocation

There is no such thing as "title key revocation" and "volume key revocation"

-------------

Now, here is a list of affirmations I have seen lately.

Affirmation 1: You did not break AACS, just the player

My comment: I did not break AACS, but I find a way to decrypt movies and I have bypassed all the revocation system.
Not that bad...

Affirmation 2: The BackupHDDVD circumvention tool won't last long

My comment: As long as insecure players will exist, it will last...
And insecure players will always exist, in fact you can extract keys from any player! Some players are just easier to extract the key from. Being lazy, I prefer to extract keys from an insecure player than a secure one.
And the AACS spec says "Device keys must be protected!" but they did not said that about volume key, fatal mistake!

Affirmation 3: The keys can easily be revoked.

My comment: What keys are you talking about?
As I stated before, there is no such thing as "title key revocation" and "volume key revocation". If someone publishes only volume keys, there is no way to know from which player these keys where extracted from, making the revocation system useless. They can do content revocation, but to revoke what? All movies before 2007? They can do player revocation, so I will just change the player I'm using, big deal...

So what is the AACS revocation system good at?
It is good for that scenario:
Someone post on the net, a tool that do the complete decryption automatically. Off course the program use stolen device keys from an official player. They (AACS and friends) will eventually get their hands on this program, look at the device keys and revoke them. Making that player unable to play new titles. But the author of this program can pre-extract a bunch of devices keys from different players and release them, one at the time, when the previous one have been blacklisted. The AACS spec says "Device keys must be protected!" so I suppose they put more effort in protecting these keys then the volume key in memory.

Affirmation 4: BackupHDDVD is nothing, only one person out of a million have the technical skills to extract keys.

My comment: BackupHDDVD is a proof of concept.

Picture this:
Few skilled persons can do massive volume key extraction, and send the keys to a central server on the internet. Then, they create an easy to use decryption program, with a nice GUI that do online key recovery. That way, my father and your father can backup movies.
Or they can send the keydb.cfg file on P2P networks (BitTorrent, E-Mule, etc..)
See the problem now?

Affirmation 5: You can extract keys from software player on personal computer but not on hardware player.

My comment: It's easier to extract keys from software player, but it also possible to extract keys from hardware player (the set-top box in your living room!)

Conclusion:

The attack I describe in "Affirmation 4", is not here yet, but it's coming. So I give MPAA and AACSLA a head start. Start to think what you can do about that.

To totally block this attack, they need to put different keys on every disk! Now, they only have different keys for different movies. I don't know about the manufacturing process of the disk. This solution may not be possible.

The best they can do, is doing shorter manufacturing run of a particular movie, so it would be difficult to get your hand on every "pressing" of a movie.

When they design AACS, they assume people will look for the device keys. I don't care about device keys. I do care about volume key. Having the device keys mean that you have to re-implements all the complex crypto and do the full AACS process.
I leave all this dirty job to the player and recover only the volume key.

There is 3 important things in cryptography:

1-Private key protection
2-Private key protection
3-Private key protection

Did I break AACS? I don't know. What do you think?

I'm not going to work on this anymore, I'm taking a vacation!

Cyberlink Responds to Alleged AACS Crack

chrisl — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 06:05:00 GMT

With the HD DVD AACS Crack/Hack that supposedly happened last week, I said that Cyberlink would most likely issue some additional information on the matter. I just got an e-mail from the people at Cyberlink with some great information. Above all, Cyberlink is sure PowerDVD's implementation of AACS fully protects HD DVD contents.

First of all, PowerDVD complies to AACS compliance rules to ensure HD DVD contents are fully protected. Cyberlink is confident that PowerDVD fully protects HD DVD contents.
Secondly, PowerDVD does not keep "Title Keys" in system memory. Cyberlink is not sure how the user got the Title Key and notes that the released tool nor the video on YouTube provides the information on obtaining the Titles Keys.
Thirdly, there are no evidences that the user is using PowerDVD to hack/crack HD DVD video content. He or she was simply using PowerDVD to playback the video that was ripped with other software. PowerDVD supports evo video file format playback.

Overall, it doesn’t look like AACS or Cyberlink have found any faults in PowerDVD. So, at this point no updates will be issued for PowerDVD and the verdict is still out on whether or not additional playback software was used to obtain the Title Keys. No one has yet to prove that the keys can be obtained through a memory dump or any other methods.

Yet again, AACS wasn’t cracked/hacked and the one piece of the puzzle for obtaining the Title Keys doesn’t appear to add up.

Thanks goes out to Cyberlink for the information.

No, AACS Was Not Cracked

chrisl — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 02:16:00 GMT

All that happened was the method Cyberlink to decrypt AACS used was semi-compromised. Their implemention kept the key in memory, a key which is needed to legally decrypt the content protection. What is likely going to happen is that specific key will be revoked, and Cyberlink will have to issue an update in order to play newer titles. CSS didn't have a good way to revoke the keys, AACS does.

Waiting to see what Cyberlink and AACS said happened, but I don't see that AACS was cracked.

Read below for more.....

Update (1/1/07): Cyberlink Responds to Alleged AACS Crack

Edit 2: Roundup

From various other sources, here is a basic roundup of what most people believed has happened. The software released will decrypt AACS when presented with the Title Key from the specific HD DVD title. The tool doesn't find the Title Key for you, however PowerDVD leaves the Title Key unencrypted in key. DO a memory dump and you should (I guess, yet to really be proved) find the Title Key. At this point the tool does exactly what is printed in the AACS documents. Cyberlink will likely release an update to stop the key from being kept in memory unencrypted. After that update has been published, I think their device key could be revoked. This would mean newer releases would not play without an additional update. Problem solved.

Anyway you look at it, AACS was not hacked or cracked. AACS is still intact, what's not intact is Cyberlink's method for decrypting AACS. I don't see Cyberlink being allowed to leave this unpatched.

Update (1/1/07): Cyberlink Responds to Alleged AACS Crack

Digg Edit: Hey guys,

I didn't expect this to get dugg, not like it's really backed up by anything (I guess shows the power of Digg to pick up random stories). I wouldn't classify myself as a great source of information on this, it's just my thoughts. Feel free to digg it down or whatever, just quick thoughts of mine after I watched the video.

I'm sure AACS and Cyberlink will be out with more information in the next week or so. Until then, there isn't going to be that much "real" news about it.

Happy New Year and watch the comments and Digg for more.

Chris

Update (1/1/07): Cyberlink Responds to Alleged AACS Crack

CableCARD Recordings On Zune? Why The Answer Is No

chrisl — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:53:00 GMT

Vista: no CableCARD streaming to other PCs (Ars Technica) | Ars Technica has a summery of last weeks No Streaming CableCARD Content to Other Windows PC's, and questions the ability to transfer content to portable device…

Quote: “It's hard to believe that Microsoft wouldn't enable this at least for the Zune (which currently has no way to transfer video back off the device, making it "safe" for content owners), but it's not clear exactly which parties are behind which restrictions.”

While this is true from the basic consumer use standpoint, it’s not hard to get anything off a Portable Media Center (and I assume Zune too). Taking for example the Creative Zen Portable Media Center, which I have personally taken apart, the data on the device is not secured in any manor. The hard drive used in the Creative Portable Media Center is an Hitachi Travelstar, and mixed with a simple IDE to USB adapter you can access it directly from Windows. Its FAT32 formatted, and the files are unencrypted (though the organization method of Windows Mobile on the devices leaves a lot to be desired, relaying on ASF meta data, but this has nothing to do with CableCARD)

So, despite the fact that the Zune/Portable Media Center’s can’t re-copy content back over to Windows doesn’t mean the data is secure! It’s going to take a lot more than the software on the PC not allowing you to, it’s got to stay secure on media too.

If you take a look at anything related to CableCARD, part of the deal is the data must stay protected throughout it's existence. I don't know all of the reasoning behind not allowing CableCARD content onto portable devices, but there are generally loads of regulations about unsecured hardware and hardware which could allow sniffing on any bus.

I'm hoping CableLabs and Microsoft will be able to work something out using WMDRM to secure the data on the device. However, with Zune supporting whatever new DRM method they are, I don't know if it supports WMDRM10 for example (anyone know what DRM technologies are support on Zune, please let me know).

The other concept that might work in the future is streaming to the Zune since it has built-in WiFi. Streaming is a good option for in-home viewing, and I would bet easier to secure too.

Introducing Media Center Pro, a New Publication Focused on MCE

chrisl — Thu, 25 May 2006 03:05:00 GMT

Introducing Media Center Pro, a New Publication Focused on MCE | The guys (and gals) at CE Pro have introduced Media Center Pro at new published that is focused on Media Center. This is the magazine for “people who build, sell, install, integrate and support Media Center PCs.” Just a bit of what’s lined up for the first issue in June is a Q&A with Microsoft's Todd Rutherford, information about extending Media Center throughout your Home, optimizing A/V with Media Center, and more.

I’m positive this will be the magazine for everyone reading this blog right now! Stay tuned for more and don’t forget to subscribe to CE Pro and then Media Center Pro (site coming soon).