Intel and DTCP-IP

DTCP-IP Digital Transmission Content Protection over IP (DTCP-IP) was developed by Intel, Hitachi, Matsushita (MEI, also known as Panasonic), Sony and Toshiba — as an offshoot of the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG). It provides similar encryption-with-handshake functions as HDMI but over the common digital bus interconnects – FireWire, USB and IP connections – using existing network cabling.

Intel and Trusted Computing

Trusted Computing based around the use of a Trusted Platform Module is a technology that may be seen as either benign or malign depending on which side of the 'everything open source versus the establishment' fence you happen to be standing. Although a TPM chip in itself does not implement DRM it does enable DRM implementation in combination with BIOS code and other software.

Linux, Protected Media Paths and HDCP

According to Microsoft, in order to satisfy the big media companies a considerable amount of the development effort for Windows Vista went into implementing DRM. Vista incorporates what Microsoft call a Protected Environment (PE). This creates a corridor through the operating system called a Protected Media Path (PMP) which, in theory, is not accessible to the computer user. The device bus communications associated with the process, which are accessible to the user, are encrypted.

Implementing similar encrypted corridors for Linux would violate the principles of open source on a fundamental level. In any case, with Windows it is Microsoft who are 'the keepers of the keys' and who have a compact with the content providers, driven by commercial interest. Linux developers do not represent an equivalent group.

HDCP is implemented in hardware on optical drives, sound cards, graphics cards and displays; hardware which can just as easily be part of a Linux system as it can be part of a Windows system. Only the suitable player software with the appropriate keys is lacking.

Blu-ray encryption systems - Advanced Access Content System

AACS logo Encryption keys for licensed users of HDCP are managed by Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator (AACS-LA). The system allows copyright owners to revoke authentication keys if they see evidence that illegal copying is taking place, although the AACS-LA are now saying they are retiring old keys and replacing them with new ones as a matter of course and on a regular basis. The last public announcement of key revocation on the AACS website was in September 2007.

Blu-ray Disc Plus (BD+)

Blu-ray logo Rather than being content with one encryption system the industry has opted for several, perhaps having already lost faith that AACS will provide the level of protection they are looking for.

Mike Dunn, President Worldwide of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, has said of BD+ "Fox has vigorously fought against piracy for years and the adoption of BD+ as part of the Blu-ray Disc specification, and an enhancement over and above AACS, was a key factor in our decision to publish on the format. This added layer of content protection gives Blu-ray yet another distinct competitive advantage."

Blu-ray Disc Plus (BD+) was developed by Cryptography Research Inc. and is based on their Self-Protecting Digital Content (SPDC) concept. This is a system of dynamic encryption that allows the inclusion of code on the media which can be executed by the drive. Effectively BD+ utilises a small virtual machine embedded in authorised players. This is the sort of thing that gives the technically savvy nightmares. The original BD+ has been hacked and then repeatedly re-hacked as the copyright controllers make adjustments to nullify the hacks.

In November 2007 Cryptography Research Inc. sold the SPDC business unit to Macrovision for $45 million. BD+ Technologies LLC administer the manufacturer licensing for BD+.

There have been reports of BD+ protected discs not playing because the firmware in the player had not caught up with the protection and there being a delay of several weeks before the hardware manufacturer in question managed to issue a firmware update.

Next: BD-ROM Mark

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