Ars reports on the first of many security holes in next-generation DVD standards:
The folks at c’t magazine have discovered a simple tool for beating the content protection on Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats: the print screen button. By pressing the print screen button once per frame, you can capture an entire movie at full resolution. Of course, you’d want to automate this task, but c’t has shown that it can be done. They’re promising more details in the forthcoming print version of their magazine.
The few machines on which they’ve confirmed the hack have been running Intervideo’s WinDVD, though it’s likely that this hack isn’t specific to WinDVD. C’t also reports that Toshiba now has updates planned to disable the screen capture function while the software is running, and they may also update the AACS key in order to force users to either patch their software or be unable to decode the content.
The industry will stick its thumb in this hole, but if the record of past DRM efforts is any guide, that’s not likely to save the dike.
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