New copy-protected CDs are iPod incompatible

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by mudbone, Aug 6, 2005.

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  1. GoldenBoy

    GoldenBoy Purple People Eater

    Location:
    US

    Is that the one that is used on the latest Coldplay release? If so, then I go on record as stating that it has given me problems in one of my DVD players (Samsung HD931), but other than that I have been able to rip it to disc and put it on my iPod as well as play it on my XA9000ES without any problems.
     
  2. GoldenBoy

    GoldenBoy Purple People Eater

    Location:
    US
    BTW, both drives on my Mac (one internal, one external) are DVD burners.
     
  3. Nobby

    Nobby Senior Member

    Location:
    France
    It's threads like these that mean I will always have a Plextor in my system!
     
  4. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Be careful! Did you know that it is actually ILLEGAL to mention in print how to circumvent any copy-protection scheme, not to mention against forum rules? Sorry to be a party-poop.
     
  5. I recently bought the import Paul McCartney Fine Line CD single. It is labelled as having "Copy Control" technology. In fact, it does make A LOT of "clicking" noises when played on my Philips SACD player. Those bums at EMI. However, it appears to play fine on my Mac.

    Here's the really funny part--it has a Mac client for the audio player, which I didn't install or otherwise use. I just played the tracks through the preview pane of the finder and they played fine.

    I guess they have to do a little more work on the "Mac player" application before it actually works--it looks like EMI at least is attempting to implement a copy protection scheme for Macs, however.

    A text file included says it is the CDS200 version.
     
  6. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    They won't because of one thing: marketshare. The Mac marketshare isn't enough for them to redesign entirely a copy protection system targeted towards Windows users.

    Technically, there are huge differences between Windows and OSes like Mac OS X concerning the management of multisession discs, as are Enhanced CDs or CDs with copy protection. The Mac always mounts the different sessions equally. There are two disc icons on your Desktop, one for the music, one for the enhanced content, in our case the lobotomized player and the DRMed WMA tracks. Windows tends to favour the latest session.

    If they wanted to address equally Windows and Mac users, they'd have to start almost from scratch and their solution would compromise compatibility with many non-computer players. So far, their copy protection system is the hmm... best solution they have found.
     
  7. Why even have the "Mac player" application at all? You don't need it to play the CD on a Mac. You can rip tracks on a Mac and burn copies of the disc, unimpeded by copy protection.
     
  8. As a side note, I'm really PO'ed that the copy protection causes the CD to make clicking sounds on my SACD player. I imagine I could just burn a copy on my Mac--for my own use, of course--that won't have the copy protection and, thus, will be playable on my SACD player without the clicks.
     
  9. rpd

    rpd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville
     
  10. GoldenBoy

    GoldenBoy Purple People Eater

    Location:
    US
    And it doesn't even really work on Windows, if you know how to avoid letting it install in the first place.
     
  11. The American press has 1st Amendment free speech rights that, obviously, German courts do not hold as sacrosanct as we over here do.
     
  12. Claude

    Claude Senior Member

    Location:
    Luxembourg
    Skylarov
     
  13. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    I entirely agree. It rather shows that the guys who rule the record companies and that are responsible for such corporate decisions are completely out of touch with the reality. Anybody who's got a computer and wants to copy the CD will succeed in doing so. People that just want to play the CD on a regular player while enjoying the artwork and the booklet will be bugged by the butchering of the artwork and the erratic behaviour of the CD.

    This week, I was wondering about getting the new McCartney. Then I saw the cover: the photograph was spoiled by a huge logo. I checked the Limited Edition: they had managed to print the logo on the "deluxe" slipcase. Obviously, putting a sticker (as it was done on the reissues by Brian Eno) or limiting the logo to the left part of the tray (as on "A Bigger Bang") was beyond the abilities of the guy who's responsible for the job on a high profile new album. If EMI doesn't respect the people who buy their albums, I've got no problem with not buying and not listening to the music they release.

    Record companies executives seem to have never bought a CD in an actual shop or tried to import it on an actual MP3 player that people buy. And the fact is that EMI/Capitol mainly puts these copy protected releases on foreign markets (out of the UK and the US) and they're released by the ton. I'm pretty sure some guy in a London (or L.A.) office is currently trying to take credit everytime there's an increase of CD sales in any country out of the US or the UK by the fact he was the guy who, two years ago, proposed to put copy protection on all CDs. Every time he finds a positive stat in Portugal or Switzerland, he comes to his superior's office and gets a bonus on his already huge paycheck, which will allow him to pay himself a new Armani suit, more cocaine and longer bondage sessions with his favorite SM hooker.
     
  14. You don't understand what I'm talking about. Skylarov was a criminal. That doesn't have anything to do with free speech or freedom of the press!

    Many non-Americans don't understand how sacred freedom of speech is in this country. Freedom of speech extends to freedom of the press.

    An American news website would never be "condemned by the court" for displaying links to a company. Not by an American court, anyway.
     
  15. Claude

    Claude Senior Member

    Location:
    Luxembourg
    OK, Skylarov i not the best example, because he not only spoke about defeating copyprotection, he also distributed software to hack copyprotection.

    But there is also the Felten case, which shows the conflict between freedom of speech and protection of information concerning copyprotection:

    http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/
     
  16. It looks like in that cased the US gov't actually agreed with the Plaintiff's that the DMCA would NOT dilute their free speech rights!
     
  17. rpd

    rpd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville
     
  18. Claude

    Claude Senior Member

    Location:
    Luxembourg
  19. Togo

    Togo Same as it ever was

    Location:
    London UK
    Thanks for the reply, ebkesq. As far as I understand it, sound spikes are used as an alternative form of copy protection.

    Every other CD I play on the mac sounds fine, so it certainly 'aint the speakers. I'll have another go with the Radiohead CD. Maybe it is just me, or, as it is a very loud recording, maybe I need to fix the audio a little first. However, I'm sure I read that this CD and a number of others have this sound spike protection implemented. I'm prepared to be proven wrong, though! :)
     
  20. GoldenBoy

    GoldenBoy Purple People Eater

    Location:
    US

    :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
     
  21. Claude

    Claude Senior Member

    Location:
    Luxembourg
    Here's a very technical analysis by Mark Russinovich (sysinternals.com) of the potential security risks and stability issues introduced by the software installed by copyprotected SonyBMG CDs:

    http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html

    There is also an article on Slashdot:

    http://it.slashdot.org/it/05/10/31/2016223.shtml?tid=172&tid=158

    And a german article on Heise:

    http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/65602
     
  22. GoldenBoy

    GoldenBoy Purple People Eater

    Location:
    US

    :sigh: This is unbelievable and smacks of blatant illegality if you ask me. Unfortunately, government is heavily in the pockets of big business so, if this were a small up-start company doing this one might expect action, but it's not. It's Sony, so chances of government doing anything about this are slim to none.
     
  23. I have nvere heard copy protection in the form of sound spikes. However, I have heard copy protection which has something to do with tricking the error correction in CD players which, on some DVD players, car CD players, and computer CD rom drives. This from of copy protection can cause "crackling" sounds, sounding sort of like surface noise on an LP.

    If that is the case, this form of copy protection would work on some CD-ROM drives and not on others, and it could affect both PC's and Mac's.

    I have not encountered the sound spike protection scheme you mention, but I do not doubt it exists, and is probably not "platform specific." (ie, I *retract* my former statement about your problem!)
     
  24. Michael St. Clair

    Michael St. Clair Forum Resident

    Location:
    Funkytown
    Sony stealthily installing trojan 'rootkits' on our PCs? Shocking.

    Just think what Blu-Ray might try to do to our PCs. :)
     
  25. GoldenBoy

    GoldenBoy Purple People Eater

    Location:
    US

    AFAIK, there is no way to 'trick' the error correction. Doing so would make the discs unplayable on every CD player. The problem that some players, such as DVD players, have with these discs is they try to read the software on the disc, as if it were a DVD. This can, in fact, cause the sound spikes or crackling noises. I've heard it happen on my Samsung HD931 DVD player. Those same discs, however, cause not a single problem on any of my Macintoshes or their CD/DVD-/+R/W drives. There is no CP that is as of today effective on any Macintosh. Perhaps some of these discs might create a problem with the Mac's built-in CD player, but that is easily bypassed by ripping the files to disk and playing those files directly.
     
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