Copy protection?

kdenninger wrote on 10/21/2003, 8:23 PM
Does DVDA support setting the SCMS copy-inhibit flag on DVDs, and/or is there any support for other forms of copy protection within DVDA?

I'm looking for a piece of software that will take encoded MPEGs (say, from Vegas), build a DVD, and allow me to make it at least somewhat difficult for someone to make exact duplicates of them..... (yes, I know there is no such thing as "perfect" copy protection, and I'm not interested in licensing Macrovision's stuff.)

I have a use for DVDA in producing low-run-count DVDs of original material, and cannot justify commercial duplication with the attendant minimums and setup costs.

Comments

vonhosen wrote on 10/22/2003, 12:33 AM
The DVD-R/+R format & DVDA do not support copy protection or region coding.

You would need both higher end software & replication for these features.
JSWTS wrote on 10/22/2003, 2:32 PM
kdenninger,

To enable copy protection, you need software that will allow for it to be added (DVD-A does not offer this feature), and it would require output to DLT and brought to a replication facility where the copy protection will be added on glass mastered discs. The two most common copy protection schemes are Macrovision (scrambles the video output so you can't directy make a taped copy of the dvd) and CSS (which prohibits direct digital copying). Macrovision bits can be written with authoring type burners and media (like the Pioneer S201--~$4500) but also requires licensing fees to use it. CSS encryption keys can not be written by either authoring or general recordable media and burners. I don't know of any other copy protection scheme currently used to protect DVD's.

Region encoding can be written to recordable dvd's, but requires an authoring application that can set that feature--DVD-A does not have it.

Jim
kameronj wrote on 10/22/2003, 4:51 PM
You could always pop that little tab in the corner of the DVD - that makes it so it can't be copied.

I do it all the time.















No...wait....that's a cassette tape and taping over it. Nevermind!