Digital rights management: Difference between revisions

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<blockquote><I>DRM creates a damaged good; it prevents you from doing what would be possible without it. – Defective by Design</I><ref>https://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm</ref></blockquote>

== Why it is a problem ==

==Why it is a problem==

DRM, by definition, is designed to make content less compatible with devices. This means there is a higher likelihood of software or hardware refusing to play content due to buggy or overly restrictive DRM. For example, with the aforementioned Netflix HDCP requirement, it is not enough for the display you intend to watch the content on to support HDCP—all monitors connected to the system must support it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Netflix requires all monitors to be HDCP 2.2. How can I get around this? |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1avkwtb/netflix_requires_all_monitors_to_be_hdcp_22_how/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Old Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How do I get Netflix working at 4k on my second monitor? |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/netflix/comments/mam2l9/how_do_i_get_netflix_working_at_4k_on_my_second/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Old Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How to use Netflix on your Windows computer or tablet |url=https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23931 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Netflix Help Center}}</ref> This means that on PCs with multi-monitor setup PC, older but fully functional monitors cannot be used as secondary screens without violating Netflix’s DRM restrictions.

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DRM failures can also come as a surprise. For example, with a YouTube Premium subscription, you can "Download videos to watch offline", but such videos are only available for 48 hours without an internet connection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Watch videos offline on mobile in select countries & regions |url=https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=YouTube Help}}</ref> This creates confusion and problems, as users may want to download videos in anticipation of a period without internet access.

=== Ineffectiveness of audio and video DRM ===

===Ineffectiveness of audio and video DRM===

It is nearly impossible to prevent copying of non-interactive content such as audio and video once it is distributed to the consumer.

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Audio DRM is trivial to bypass, as the audio must be decrypted into a plain analog signal in order to drive physical speakers or headphones.

=== DRM degradation ===

===DRM degradation===

The development of some forms of DRM, such as [[wikipedia:Games_for_Windows_–_Live|Games For Windows Live]], are reliant on special processes within some operating systems that end up becoming unsupported or deprecated as time goes on. Legacy [[SecuROM]]-protected titles (released roughly between 1998 and 2005) are notoriously known for not running on operating systems newer than Windows XP<ref>https://www.lucadamico.dev/papers/drms/securom/ArabianNights.pdf</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=@haggar |date=15 Oct 2006 |title=Unpacking SecuROM 4.xx |url=http://www.reversing.be/article.php?story=20061015153108847 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226230919/http://www.reversing.be/article.php?story=20061015153108847 |archive-date=26 Feb 2022 |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=www.reversing.be}}</ref>. Customers must spend an extensive amount of time circumventing the DRM (or using more illicit methods) just to play content they legitimately purchased.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baggs |first=Nathan |date=16 Jan 2025 |title=Hacking This Terrible DRM |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjkqI7dBDVg |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

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From 1996, DVDs began to feature the "Content Scramble System" (CSS), an encryption based DRM. CSS was successfully circumvented as early as 1999, less than five years after its introduction, partly due to the limited length of the 40-bit encryption key, which was used to comply with US government export regulations of the time.<ref>http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/FrankStevenson/mail1.txt</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000302000206/http://www.dvd-copy.com/news/cryptanalysis_of_contents_scrambling_system.htm "Cryptanalysis of Contents Scrambling System", Frank A. Stevenson, archived from dvd-copy.com]</ref> Following this, DVDs as well as HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays would implement other types of DRM, one of them being the "Advanced Access Content System".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced Access Content System (AACS) |url=http://www.aacsla.com/specifications/specs091/AACS_Spec_Common_0.91.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302130221/http://www.aacsla.com/specifications/specs091/AACS_Spec_Common_0.91.pdf |archive-date=2 Mar 2007 |access-date=20 Apr 2025}}

</ref> When the AACS key was similarly extracted, the AACS Licensing Administrator began issuing cease-and-desist letters to websites where the key was posted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Apr 2007 |title=AACS licensor complains of posted key |url=https://lumendatabase.org/notices/21725 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Lumen}}</ref> Another form of Blu-Ray DRM, [[Cinavia]], uses a form of audio watermarking that makes certain releases unplayable in devices that are not equipped to recognize it, a notable example being Sony's Playstation 3.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ganesh |first=T. S. |date=21 Mar 2012 |title=Cinavia DRM: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Blu-ray’s Self-Destruction |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/5693/cinavia-drm-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-blurays-selfdestruction/2 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=AnandTech}}</ref>

</ref> When the first AACS processing key was similarly extracted, the AACS Licensing Administrator began issuing cease-and-desist letters to websites where the key was posted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Apr 2007 |title=AACS licensor complains of posted key |url=https://lumendatabase.org/notices/21725 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Lumen}}</ref> Another form of Blu-Ray DRM, [[Cinavia]], uses a form of audio watermarking that makes certain releases unplayable in devices that are not equipped to recognize it, a notable example being Sony's Playstation 3.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ganesh |first=T. S. |date=21 Mar 2012 |title=Cinavia DRM: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Blu-ray’s Self-Destruction |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/5693/cinavia-drm-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-blurays-selfdestruction/2 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=AnandTech}}</ref>

In the attempt of preventing video ripping via a capture card, modern displays, optical disc players, and computers use the [[wikipedia:High-bandwidth_Digital_Content_Protection|High-Definition Content Protection]] system to encrypt display signals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About DCP |url=https://www.digital-cp.com/about_dcp |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=www.digital-cp.com}}</ref> For example, [[Netflix stream-quality controversy|Netflix will refuse]] to stream content at the full resolution advertised for the plan if the user is not streaming through an HDCP compliant video card and display.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 <blockquote><I>DRM creates a damaged good; it prevents you from doing what would be possible without it. – Defective by Design</I><ref>https://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm</ref></blockquote>
-== Why it is a problem ==
+==Why it is a problem==
 DRM, by definition, is designed to make content less compatible with devices. This means there is a higher likelihood of software or hardware refusing to play content due to buggy or overly restrictive DRM. For example, with the aforementioned Netflix HDCP requirement, it is not enough for the display you intend to watch the content on to support HDCP—all monitors connected to the system must support it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Netflix requires all monitors to be HDCP 2.2. How can I get around this? |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1avkwtb/netflix_requires_all_monitors_to_be_hdcp_22_how/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Old Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How do I get Netflix working at 4k on my second monitor? |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/netflix/comments/mam2l9/how_do_i_get_netflix_working_at_4k_on_my_second/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Old Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How to use Netflix on your Windows computer or tablet |url=https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23931 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Netflix Help Center}}</ref> This means that on PCs with multi-monitor setup PC, older but fully functional monitors cannot be used as secondary screens without violating Netflix’s DRM restrictions.
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 DRM failures can also come as a surprise. For example, with a YouTube Premium subscription, you can "Download videos to watch offline", but such videos are only available for 48 hours without an internet connection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Watch videos offline on mobile in select countries & regions |url=https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=YouTube Help}}</ref> This creates confusion and problems, as users may want to download videos in anticipation of a period without internet access.
-=== Ineffectiveness of audio and video DRM ===
+===Ineffectiveness of audio and video DRM===
 It is nearly impossible to prevent copying of non-interactive content such as audio and video once it is distributed to the consumer.
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 Audio DRM is trivial to bypass, as the audio must be decrypted into a plain analog signal in order to drive physical speakers or headphones.
-=== DRM degradation ===
+===DRM degradation===
 The development of some forms of DRM, such as [[wikipedia:Games_for_Windows_–_Live|Games For Windows Live]], are reliant on special processes within some operating systems that end up becoming unsupported or deprecated as time goes on. Legacy [[SecuROM]]-protected titles (released roughly between 1998 and 2005) are notoriously known for not running on operating systems newer than Windows XP<ref>https://www.lucadamico.dev/papers/drms/securom/ArabianNights.pdf</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=@haggar |date=15 Oct 2006 |title=Unpacking SecuROM 4.xx |url=http://www.reversing.be/article.php?story=20061015153108847 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226230919/http://www.reversing.be/article.php?story=20061015153108847 |archive-date=26 Feb 2022 |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=www.reversing.be}}</ref>. Customers must spend an extensive amount of time circumventing the DRM (or using more illicit methods) just to play content they legitimately purchased.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baggs |first=Nathan |date=16 Jan 2025 |title=Hacking This Terrible DRM |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjkqI7dBDVg |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 From 1996, DVDs began to feature the "Content Scramble System" (CSS), an encryption based DRM. CSS was successfully circumvented as early as 1999, less than five years after its introduction, partly due to the limited length of the 40-bit encryption key, which was used to comply with US government export regulations of the time.<ref>http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/FrankStevenson/mail1.txt</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000302000206/http://www.dvd-copy.com/news/cryptanalysis_of_contents_scrambling_system.htm "Cryptanalysis of Contents Scrambling System", Frank A. Stevenson, archived from dvd-copy.com]</ref> Following this, DVDs as well as HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays would implement other types of DRM, one of them being the "Advanced Access Content System".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced Access Content System (AACS) |url=http://www.aacsla.com/specifications/specs091/AACS_Spec_Common_0.91.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302130221/http://www.aacsla.com/specifications/specs091/AACS_Spec_Common_0.91.pdf |archive-date=2 Mar 2007 |access-date=20 Apr 2025}}
-</ref> When the AACS key was similarly extracted, the AACS Licensing Administrator began issuing cease-and-desist letters to websites where the key was posted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Apr 2007 |title=AACS licensor complains of posted key |url=https://lumendatabase.org/notices/21725 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Lumen}}</ref> Another form of Blu-Ray DRM, [[Cinavia]], uses a form of audio watermarking that makes certain releases unplayable in devices that are not equipped to recognize it, a notable example being Sony's Playstation 3.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ganesh |first=T. S. |date=21 Mar 2012 |title=Cinavia DRM: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Blu-ray’s Self-Destruction |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/5693/cinavia-drm-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-blurays-selfdestruction/2 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=AnandTech}}</ref>
+</ref> When the first AACS processing key was similarly extracted, the AACS Licensing Administrator began issuing cease-and-desist letters to websites where the key was posted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Apr 2007 |title=AACS licensor complains of posted key |url=https://lumendatabase.org/notices/21725 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=Lumen}}</ref> Another form of Blu-Ray DRM, [[Cinavia]], uses a form of audio watermarking that makes certain releases unplayable in devices that are not equipped to recognize it, a notable example being Sony's Playstation 3.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ganesh |first=T. S. |date=21 Mar 2012 |title=Cinavia DRM: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Blu-ray’s Self-Destruction |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/5693/cinavia-drm-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-blurays-selfdestruction/2 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=AnandTech}}</ref>
 In the attempt of preventing video ripping via a capture card, modern displays, optical disc players, and computers use the [[wikipedia:High-bandwidth_Digital_Content_Protection|High-Definition Content Protection]] system to encrypt display signals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About DCP |url=https://www.digital-cp.com/about_dcp |url-status=live |access-date=20 Apr 2025 |website=www.digital-cp.com}}</ref> For example, [[Netflix stream-quality controversy|Netflix will refuse]] to stream content at the full resolution advertised for the plan if the user is not streaming through an HDCP compliant video card and display.