Posted on 06/09/2005 4:16:37 PM PDT by Panerai
Friends and colleagues of mine, knowing that I’m keen on these kinds of puzzles, recently peppered me with messages that read along these lines:
“Hey, I hear the new Dave Matthews CD can’t be copied! Know of a workaround?”
And so, I dutifully purchased yet another copy of Stand Up (I’d already grabbed the album from the iTunes Music Store to check out iTunes’ new video feature) and took a look.
For those new to the story, Sony BMG Music is in the early stages of releasing audio discs (they’re not official audio CDs as they don’t conform to the audio CD Redbook standard) that are copy protected in such a way that you can listen to the disc on your computer only after authorizing the CD as you would a piece of software. Once special software is installed and the disc authorized, you’re allowed to burn a single archive copy. The details of exactly what you can and can’t do with the disc are provided in a Read Me document placed on the data portion of the disc. The CD’s wrapper also includes a link to a FAQ from SunnComm, the company responsible for the disc’s copy protection scheme.
(Excerpt) Read more at playlistmag.com ...
Is this CD playable on my computer?: Yes, similar to other software and games, usage of the CD on your computer does require your acceptance of the end user license agreement and installation of specific software contained on the CD. It also requires your computer to be appropriately configured. Please review the Systems Requirements documented on the package of the CD you are trying to play.
So, I plunked the disc into my Dell PC and, sure enough, just like with a Windows app, the CD asked that I install a hunk of software that would allow it to play. After that software was installed, the disc wouldn’t show up in iTunes.
No iTunes support!? Surely you jest.
With heavy heart I returned to the FAQ and read:
Can I transfer MediaMax digital audio files to my iPod? Apple’s proprietary technology doesn’t support secure music formats other than their own, and therefore the secure music file formats on this disc can’t be directly imported into iTunes or iPods.
While these discs aren’t currently compatible with iTunes or iPod, we are actively working on an acceptable solution, and have reached out to Apple in hopes of addressing this issue. To help speed this effort, we ask that you use the following link to contact Apple and ask them to provide a solution that would easily allow you to move content from protected CDs into iTunes or onto your iPod: http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html
In case Apple’s representatives haven’t yet come up with an answer to the feedback it’s likely to receive, let me propose this simple answer:
Buy a Mac.
That’s right, despite SunnComm’s claims that its copy protection scheme makes its wares incompatible with iTunes—and therefore the iPod—when I inserted my Dave Matthews disc into three different Macs, the disc appeared, played, ripped and burned in iTunes (and transferred to my iPod) with nary a glitch, and without the need for an authorizing utility.
And this is the kind of technology that the music industry hopes will stem the tide of piracy!?
God help them.
Did you try holding down the shift key when you inserted the disc??
This stops the CD from autoloading, which runs a program requiring you to install their software..
I will have to remember that. This kind of schemes on CD's or DVD's will only lead to even less purchases. As long as that means less Dave Mathew CD's being sold, it's fine with me.
I tried burning a song off of Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits.
Can't be done. I am bummed.
If you code it... they will hack.
I think they are hoping the registration of the disc will allow them to track the original user when the songs show up on Gnutella.
Very interesting, sent it to music maven hubby. And he loves to be legal, within reason!
Presto...
Last time someone tried to introduce this kind of technology a kid with a felt pen defeated it the same afternoon it was released.
> ... holding down the shift key when you inserted the disc??
That implies that (by default), AutoPlay, aka Auto Insert
Notification, is still enabled for that optical drive.
Learn how to turn it off. Yes this means that you'll need
to run install.exe when installing software, and media
discs won't play automatically, but it will prevent the
auto-install of massive griefware, such as is described
in the basenote here.
Check from time to time to ensure that AIN remains off,
as some software installs and updates will turn it back
on again. AIN is one of Bill Gates' gifts to virus
writers, including Hollywood DRM vermin.
Disable autorun (or hold down shift), no problem ripping.
Better yet, don't buy the disk. Download the content. Presto no copy protection issues.
What the RIAA idiots have done is make it easier to steal these disks then legally put them on you IPod.
LOL
A lot more tedious I know, but I haven't found a CD I can't pluck a few songs from yet.
No one deserves to be ripped off more than music industry weasels...
Exactly what I said.. I use PolderbitS and love it... A simple RCA output line to the back of your computer (you may have to purchase a sterio input, I did) and PolderbitS does the rest... Any CD, Album, Cassette, Mic, even those streaming audio files that they will not let you record will record with PolderbitS...
bump for later review
Agreed. I remember thinking much the same thing when Sony released a Celine Dion CD that wouldn't play on computers. The obvious next step in the evolution of this technology is Celine Dion CDs that won't play on anything. Way to go, Sony!
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