BD+ has been cracked for real

In the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray battle for hi-def disc based media dominance, one of the underlying issues was the new DRM implemented on both formats. One of the reasons I was a proponent of HD-DVD while is still existed, was because of the mandatory managed copy, and the less obtrusive DRM. Both formats implement AACS encryption, but Blu-ray, in addition to AACS, has another optional layer of protection in the form of a customized virtual machine that handles further plaback limitations. By encapsulating another level of encryption beneath a virtual machine as BD+ does, it makes the business of cracking such a scheme much more difficult.

Anyway, Slysoft's AnyDVD HD has done it.

In the absence of mandatory managed copy, or the absence of a proper implementation that would allow a server based disc-less movie browsing and playback, this is huge news for the do-it yourself home theater PC crowd. This means that for the foreseeable future you will be able to rip Blu-Rays to your hard drive and stream them over your home network.

The only drawback is that it is not open-source. Proper litigation could limit the spread of the software. We won't have a major media coup on the level of DeCSS. Slysoft has been doing this for years though and we're probably reasonably safe from them just up and disappearing one day.

You can read the Slysoft press release after the jump.

For Immediate Release

Antigua, West Indies - March, 19th 2008

AnyDVD HD now with BD+ support

Film studios that have switched to Blu-ray may have crowed a little
too early because the much-praised BD+ copy protection is an ad
absurdum affair now, too. With today's release of version 6.4.0.0 of
AnyDVD HD it is now also possible to make backup security copies of
Blu-ray discs protected with BD+.

Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group will have to revise his
statement from July, 2007 regarding BD+: "BD+, unlike AACS which
suffered a partial hack last year, won't likely be breached for 10
years". It is worth mentioning that since he made that statement only
eight months have gone by.

Peer van Heuen, head of High-Definition technologies at SlySoft adds:
"Admittedly, we are not really so fast with this because actually we
had intended to publish this release already in December as promised.
However, it was decided for strategic reasons to wait a bit for the
outcome of the "format war" between HD DVD and Blu-ray. On top of
that, we first wanted to see our assumptions confirmed about the in
the meantime released BD+ titles regarding the BD+ Virtual Machine. We
are rather proud to have brought back to earth the highly-praised and
previously "unbreakable" BD+. However, we must also admit that the
Blu-ray titles released up to now have not fully exploited the
possibilities of BD+. Future releases will undoubtedly have a modified
and more polished BD+ protection, but we are well prepared for this
and await the coming developments rather relaxed". Van Heuen adds
jokingly: "The worst-case scenario then is our boss locks us up with
only bread and water in the company dungeon for three months until we
are successful again".

Giancarlo Bettini, SlySoft CEO, adds, "We are convinced that today's
release will give the high-density market new impulse. It remains
unclear just what direction this will take. On the one hand, it can
give Blu-ray a boost because the end-user has the certainty in knowing
now that a backup security copy can also be made from Blu-ray disks
protected by BD+. On the other hand, one or more film studios may want
to reconsider their withdrawal from HD DVD and Toshiba could also
grant the high-density DVD a reprieve. HD DVD certainly deserves a
second chance, particularly since HD DVD hardware has obtained a
higher market share within the last months than its BD counterpart
from SONY. In any event, I wish all those involved a happy Easter from
the bottom of my heart."