Up until now, companies developing copy-protection for Audio-CDs have always aimed at blocking the ability to digitally rip music from a CD on a PC, but did not have any effect on analogue re-recordings . The UK-based Darknoise Technologies have been developing an approach that blocks the ability to use the analogue loophole for re-recording music by either a microphone in front of a speaker or using line/speaker-out to line-in. The system works by
modifying the original audio in a way which is inaudible to the ear, but is picked up as loud audible noise on any input source whether the recording remains in analogue such as on tape or is converted to digital, thus resulting in a noisy recording. The system also works on radio-broadcasts to stop unauthorised taping from the radio as well as interferes with MP3 encoders thus resulting in poor quality MP3 encodings.
SunnComm Technologies said on Wednesday that they have agreed to buy the Darknoise Technologies firm to bring their anti-piracy methods to a new level. Plans have also been made to show the Darknoise Technology to the executives at BMG since they have previously used SunnComm's original anti-rip technology . Unfortunately, BMG ran into problems with SunnComm's original anti-piracy system when a graduate student showed how to get around it by holding down the shift key upon loading a protected CD .
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The company has struck an agreement to purchase the United Kingdom-based Darknoise Technologies, which claims to have technology that can guard against people copying CDs in even the most old-fashioned ways. Unlike existing CD copy protection, which tries to make CD music files invisible or unreadable to computers and other copiers, Darknoise actually modifies the audio of the songs slightly. If those songs are then copied--even by holding a tape recorder in front of a stereo speaker--the formerly inaudible Darknoise addition becomes audible and makes the copy unlistenable, the company claims. "This stuff works," SunnComm Chief Executive Officer Peter Jacobs said. "The science is real. You can't hear it when (a piece of music) is being used properly, and you can do nothing but hear it when a song is copied improperly." Read the full article here. |
I cannot see too many consumers keen on this technology if they have no choice but to take the original CD where ever they go since digital audio players and even cassette tape recordings are ruled out. It would also make online-services superior to these CDs as most online services including Napster and iTunes allow consumers to record their music onto CD-R. Finally I would say that the music industry would be very happy to use this technology to prevent radio listeners from taping off the radio. It is like the audio equivalent of Macrovision.
Feel free to discuss and read more about copy protection systems on our Copy Protection Discussion Forum.
Source: CNET News - The Net
Yippie even more degratation of the audio! Keep it up and soon we'll be back at vinyls and after that, stonecakes!
Audio filtering will likely work if one gets hold of the digital rip off the CD. For other sources such as off the radio, the damage takes place upon recording and the resulting noise is not as easily removed.
Anyway if this technology is put into CDs and the radio, it will likely anger anyone who still tapes their CDs for their legacy car-cassette-radios as well as mini-disc owners since the noise affects audio compression (MD uses Atrac2/3 compression).
Thank goodness this new annoyance has fallen into SunnComms inept hands. The only pleasure greater than the workaround for this Darknoise will be listening to the furious remarks, posturing and hollow threats from SunnComm once it becomes public. [edited by Crabbyappleton on 06.02.2004 01:41]
Was it SunnComm that had a bit of a problem with the "SHIFT" key...? If so, nuff said... 
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