[Infowarrior] - DRM licensing group presses on with plan to plug analog hole

[Richard Forno]

DRM licensing group presses on with plan to plug analog hole

The AACS-LA plans to phase out analog output of Blu-ray and other AACS- 
protected content over the next few years. The move is ostensibly to  
prevent pirating, but it seems more likely to just cause headaches for  
legitimate consumers.
By Chris Foresman | Last updated June 11, 2009 9:31 PM CT

http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/06/drm-licensing-group-presses-on-with-plan-to-plug-analog-hole.ars

The AACS Licensing Authority, which licenses the AACS content  
protection scheme (read "DRM") used in high-definition Blu-ray discs,  
has released the terms of its "AACS Final Adopter Agreement" online.  
Buried in its 188 pages of cryptic terms are details of what the  
AACSLA is calling the "analog sunset"—an eventual phasing out of  
analog output of AACS-protected content.

The goal of this phasing out is to plug the "analog hole," whereby  
digital content can be copied by redigitizing the analog output of a  
Blu-ray player, for instance. Digital signals transmitted over HDMI  
are already protected by the HDCP scheme, which provides encryption  
between players and HDTVs and monitors.

The terms of the agreement state that AACS licensees must limit analog  
output to interlaced SD resolution ("composite video, s-video, 480i  
component video and 576i video") for any device manufactured after  
December 31, 2010. Then, after December 31, 2013, no device that can  
decrypt AACS content can be made with any analog output whatsoever.

By 2014 the vast majority of TVs made are likely to be purely digital  
devices. But plenty of older, analog-only, perfectly functional HDTVs  
will still be around in a few years. And, as the EFF notes, discs can  
be encoded with an Image Constraint Token that can limit analog output  
despite a player being capable of higher resolution analog output.

Particularly puzzling is the fact that plugging the so-called "analog  
hole" won't stop direct digital ripping, enabled by software such as  
AnyDVD HD. And even the MPAA itself recommends using a camcorder  
pointed at a TV as a way to make fair use copies, creating another  
analog hole.

All this time and effort to block means of casual copying, though,  
doesn't really thwart commercial pirates, and serves mostly as an  
annoyance to paying customers. HDCP has already presented issues for  
users with newer Blu-ray players and older HDTVs, and for some users  
of newer Macs attempting to play iTunes content on non-HDCP-equipped  
monitors and projectors.