GM Records

Discs replicated in the pressing process protect themselves at the authoring and mastering stage. The most important task of applied protection is the prevention of illegal copying. However, there also exist other methods of protection, for example “parental block”, the aim of which is to prevent children from playing their own discs or selected scenes. The essence of this text is will above all be of the first type of security. An example and the means of their operation will attempt to explain.

 

Many types of security exist on the market. The three most important of these connected with CDs and DVDs can be installed at GM Records. They are StarForce by StarForce Technologies, Safe Disc by Macrovision and CSS protection, which is currently implemented. However, clients who would like to protect their products with the program Analogue Copy Protection can also count on this at GM Records.

 

The first two security programs concern protection against copy of the contents of CD-Rom and DVD-Rom type discs. And so StarForce is one of the best security programs currently available on the market. Discs protected by this program are provided with a 24-bit alphanumeric key, which is recorded only once at the moment of the first use of the program. This is the first method of identifying a medium as the “original” or a “copy” without being integrated into its physical structure. Verification of the original is determined by comparison of the angle between the first and final sectors of the disc, with an appropriate angle encrypted on the disc created, so that it can be used directly in the operating system environment. There also exists a version of the security program StarForce without a key. It is an interesting point that the client, in preparing the master, should inform the company StarForce of the production for example at GM Records, since each pressing has a different key for certification.

 

Second in the line of security programs is Safe Disc – a system devised by the company Macrovision Corporation. The program protects the executable file (files with the extension EXE, DLL) through the addition of indecipherable bytes to randomly selected sectors. During an attempt to copy the disc, recorders trace undecipherable sectors, disrupting the copying. After playing, the hard disk cannot run the application, because the computer demands the insertion of the original disc. Additionally, a program verifying the correctness of the information encrypted in the signature is inserted on the disc, which protects the correct playback of the original discs. Another means of protecting CD-Rom and DVD-Rom type mediums is the so-called regional lockout, which does not allow the playback of discs in a region other than that assigned to it.

 

 

1 – USA, Canada

2 – Europe, including France, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, the Middle East, Japan, South Africa

3 – Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Indonesia

4 – Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America

5 – India, Africa, Russia, countries of the former USSR

6 – People’s Republic of China

 

In the case of DVD-Video discs, CSS (Content Scrambling System) protection, licensed by the DVD Copy Control Association, is adhered to, which protects against copying the contents to another disc or a hard disk. CSS is a content scrambling system, in which every scene of a film (video title set – VTS) can be coded using a unique key. The disc key and scene key (one per VTS) are recorded in encoded form. They are then de-scrambled in the decoder and the decoded information is used. Other information separate from the audio/video is not encrypted. For DVD-ROM drives the decoder MPEG 2 receives the essential keys from the drive, which means that it can only be used in accordance with the device/programming. The keys can be unique to each DVD title and are already encrypted through the author’s CSS licence at the point of preparation of the discs. We favour two means of protection: full, in which the entire protection cycle is performed in the Authoring Department, and part, in which the encryption key is added during the recording of the material in the Mastering Department.

 

The second security measure for DVDs mentioned – Analog Copy Protection, concerns protection against recording of video material directly from the DVD player onto analogue and digital mediums, for example VHS tape. The protection relies on the addition of an extra signal which disrupts the copying process. One of the newest protection systems on the market concerning DVDs is RipGuard, prepared by Macrovision. The basis of its creation was many hours of observation and analysis of the mechanisms of the work of copying programs, and the protection of mediums occurs so that the programs cannot copy their contents. The methodology of its operation allowed the safeguarding of a protected disc by RipGuard against the majority of recorders.

 

There are other different protection programs on the market, among them SecureRom by SONY, Tages by Thomson & MPO, LaserLock and others. Firms such as Warner Bros, Walt Disney Company, IBM, Sony, Microsoft, Intel and others are currently working on new means to protect discs. Advanced Access Content System allows the protection of new generation carriers.

 

The protection of discs is constantly undergoing updates and improvements, which is unfortunately thanks to the users, who break it and copy the discs themselves. GM Records, adapting its offer to market needs, possesses the necessary licenses to protect pressed discs, making use of a part of the above mentioned systems.

 

Popular and most frequently encountered forms of protection:

25-06-2009