Anyone seen the news item in the latest PCW magazine regarding a
new CD
protection mechanism called "Audiolock"
If it's true, it's going to put an end to being able to RIP commercial CD's
digitally!
For the full low-down, get hold of a Copy of the March 2000 issue, but a
brief synopsis is as follows:
Macrovision (that lovely company), have devised a way to modify the digital
bitstream coming off a standard audio (redbook) CD in such a way that it
will play perfectly in a domestic audio-only CD player, but will not be
able
to be read in a PC CDROM drive. Apparently this is achieved by monkeying
around with the error correction code.
Furthermore (according to the article), when played in a domestic player,
it
is able to force the machine to mute its SP/DIF interface to completely
prohibit digital extraction of the audio data.
It is reportedly under compatability testing with a large selection of
hardware, and is expected to be offered to the "music biz" this summer, for
incorporation into future CD releases. No modification to players is
involved in this scheme - only the code on the CD is altered. The PCW
journalist claimed to have been provided with a test CD pressing, which
worked as stated above.
If this comes to pass, it would (at least for a while) kill off the market
for off-board DAC's as well as any possibility of using a CDROM drive to
rip
these CD's. - or alternatively, it will kill the market for CD's - 'cos I
for one would refuse to buy a CD using this protection mechanism!
Something to watch out for!! - get ripping as much music as you can to your
jukeboxes now, before this is forced upon us!!
Regards,
Paul G.
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