[Dalgo]

Have you seen the artice at http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=2508 I think that's just terrible. If I am allowed to record something that I'm watching on my TV to my VCR why can't I record a high quality version of that onto my computer? I guess that if I were to create a collection of high quality reruns of The Drew Carey Show and Happy Days I would ruin the film industry. So... who thinks that it is fair/ unfair for Apple to limit what you can and can not record with your computer?

[kasima]

Concerning the specific DVD references in the article from the link, it's important to take a look into the details about how dvds are encrypted. I'm not a supporter of someone else heavy handedly controlling media like they are trying to do with SDMI and mp3s, but it's important to consider the alternative with DVDs.

Most commercial DVD video is encrypted. That means that even if someone can get a bit for bit copy of a DVD, they can't play the video because they won't have the decryption keys. The key point is that the decryption keys for every commercially produced DVD with encrypted video is stored on the disc. If they were to allow those keys onto a blank DVD-R, anyone would be able to copy the bits straight off a dvd and burn encrypted video onto a DVD-R. Yes, it would allow bit for bit commercial DVD video disc copying. I think people can see the problems with making that capability available.

The restrictions that the DVD-R manufacturers have placed on the format only prevents CSS encrypted video from being played in a regular DVD player off of consumer DVD-R media, known as embossed media (the area where the vendor keys normally would be is embossed and thus can't be written to). All unencrypted video, such as iMovies, do not require decryption keys and can be put onto DVD-R with no problems.

As for the part concerning recording TV in the article, I don't believe that there is anything to prevent someone from digitizing an analog stream to DV stream format and burning that onto a DVD-R. In fact, Pioneer and other Japanese companies are pushing DVD-R as the VCR replacement. They already have set top DVD-R recorders and DVD-R camcorders. Companies are only trying to prevent their worst case scenario, and that's easily making perfect digital copies of DVDs for your friends. Granted, it can be annoying for certain people and certain applications, but this kind of protection is what the studios required before any movies would be put onto DVDs. So the choices were either no protection with no content out or protection with studios happily pumping out DVDs for our consumption. With all the additional content being put onto DVDs such as interviews, featurettes, and commentaries, I gladly choose the latter.


[This message has been edited by kasima (edited 01-24-2001).]

[Dalgo]

I guess that I misinterpreted the article. What I was objecting to is how the video industry wants to limit our ability to copy high quality digital video, such as the digital TV signals that TV stations are beginning to be simulcast next to the regular analog stuff. I thought that Apple had adopted some sort of standard such as HDCP into iDVD. I reread the article and it appears that I was wrong. I'm glad that Apple is not trying to limit our ability to record digital TV onto a DVD.

I can see why they wouldn't allow iDVD to circumvent CSS. Apple would probably get sued if it did. I don't really have a problem with not having the ability to copy commercial DVD's. It's just limiting the recording of digital TV signals that would bother me.

[mitchell_pgh]

Don't worry, if OSX becomes the hacker OS that it could be, we should have many many alternatives. DeCSS has been cracked, so if you know where to get it (no big deal) your golden.

1 Hour on a DVD-R is a joke! For broadcast quality (TV etc.) you should be able to cram 10x that amount!

Too Bad this forum isn't as cool as it could be...

[mitchell_pgh]

Actually, I couldn't record my own DVD of "The Matrix" to my Sony Digital 8 video camera! (I was going to make a legal copy of it There must be some type of write protection built into the video stream [I isolated that simply by unplugging the system - which was easy enough to get rid off by the use of a video filter from Circuit City]