Were any Copycode-encoded CDs released?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by vwestlife, Jul 17, 2018.

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  1. vwestlife

    vwestlife Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    When Sony first demonstrated Digital Audio Tape (DAT) in 1987, the music industry was freaking out about its ability to make "perfect" copies of CDs. CBS/Columbia Records was a major proponent of a "Copycode" system that would apply a notch filter to all new CDs released. A chip in DAT recorders would detect the Copycode and prevent you from copying the CD to DAT. The RIAA backed this system and even proposed legislation to legally require it in all new digital audio recorders (which thankfully didn't pass).

    The system failed because the Copycode notch was much more audible than they claimed. But I'm wondering, did they release any Copycode-encoded CDs to the general public? It would be most likely to appear on CBS/Columbia CDs in 1987. I've heard that Barbra Streisand's Broadway album was one of the albums used in Copycode testing, but I don't have a copy of it on CD to check.

    If any Copycode-encoded CDs exist, you'd see a deep notch around 3840 Hz on an audio spectrum analysis graph, as shown in the article below:

    [​IMG]
     
  2. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    No. But Verance watermarking on downloads is every bit as audibly annoying!
     
    vwestlife and AlanDistro like this.
  3. Farmer Mike

    Farmer Mike Forum Resident

    There was a Charley Pride album that came out in the early 2000's that was supposed to be encoded with something that would prevent it from being copied.
    If I remember correctly it didn't fit the Redbook specs and was listed as a CD-ROM

    Edit, here's a CNET article about it. It wasn't the same as the Sony system-
    Label releases copy-protected CD with Pride
     
  4. vwestlife

    vwestlife Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I just did a video about the "copy protected" CDs from the early to mid 2000s. Those didn't mess with the audio like Copycode did; but some messed with the CD's Table Of Contents (TOC) to cause some computer CD drives to be unable to read it, or contained rootkit software which tried to prevent you from being able to "rip" the CD.



    As for Copycode... CBS was intending to put it on vinyl records and pre-recorded cassettes, too. They didn't want you to be able to make a digital copy of any copyrighted music, regardless of its source. Presumably even a radio station playing Copycode-encoded music would be enough to trigger the system and prevent you from being able to record it.
     
    mtvgeneration and c-eling like this.
  5. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Neil Diamond's "12 Songs" being a notorious example of the latter.
     
  6. vwestlife

    vwestlife Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I found more information about the exact range of frequencies affected by the Copycode filter:

    [​IMG]

    So I made my own equivalent of it in Adobe Audition:

    [​IMG]

    At first with typical pop music, it had very little audible effect, but when I processed a recording containing a high piano note with the Copycode filter, it fell flat on its face:

    Unmodified recording, no Copycode:
    http://www.amstereo.org/files/no copycode.wav

    With original Copycode filter:
    http://www.amstereo.org/files/original copycode.wav

    In response to criticism of how it affected the highest notes of a piano, CBS said they were going to reduce the width of the Copycode notch from 250 Hz to 112 Hz, still centered at 3838 Hz.

    So I processed it again with the revised Copycode filter:
    http://www.amstereo.org/files/revised copycode.wav

    At least now you can actually hear that piano note, but it's still very audibly degraded compared to the original. No wonder CBS conceded that artists could turn off the filter during "sensitive passages" or opt out of having their recordings Copycoded at all!
     
  7. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Peter Gabriel's-UP 2002 promo was toughest I had ever encountered software wise. It took going through four different drives to be able to rip it. Never had any trouble with 2000's Warner Germany discs.
     
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