MacroVision are debuting RipGuard, their new digital rip-control solution that they claim plugs the 'digital hole' opened up by DVD ripping software.
In recent years MacroVision's CSS technology had fallen foul of DeCSS, which found its way into a number of shareware and freeware DVD-ripping packages.
Now MacroVision thinks it has circumvented DeCSS and is rolling out RipGuard to DVD publishers now. DVDs protected with RipGuard will apparently play on 'most' DVD players and recorders and users shouldn't notice a difference, until they try to make a copy.
Although RipGuard protects the vulnerable part of a DVD recording, the digital information itself, it doesn't plug the 'analog hole' - where a recording, once converted to an analog signal can then be reconverted back to a digital bitstream.
The unhappy side effect of this solution is that making duplicates of DVDs for personal use becomes harder. The dream of keeping digital copies of your DVDs on a central movie server got further away today.
In recent years MacroVision's CSS technology had fallen foul of DeCSS, which found its way into a number of shareware and freeware DVD-ripping packages.
Now MacroVision thinks it has circumvented DeCSS and is rolling out RipGuard to DVD publishers now. DVDs protected with RipGuard will apparently play on 'most' DVD players and recorders and users shouldn't notice a difference, until they try to make a copy.
Although RipGuard protects the vulnerable part of a DVD recording, the digital information itself, it doesn't plug the 'analog hole' - where a recording, once converted to an analog signal can then be reconverted back to a digital bitstream.
The unhappy side effect of this solution is that making duplicates of DVDs for personal use becomes harder. The dream of keeping digital copies of your DVDs on a central movie server got further away today.
Comment