drm

diff -u: in-Kernel DRM Support

Zack Brown — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 13:40:20 +0000

A look at what's new in kernel development.

Welcome to the new diff -u! We're experimenting with a shorter, more frequent, single-subject format for this feature, which also may evolve over time. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Recently there's been an effort to add support for digital rights management (DRM) into the Linux kernel. The goal of DRM is to prevent users from making copies of music, video and other media that they watch on their own computers, but it also poses fundamental questions about the nature and fate of general-purpose computers.

Sean Paul, from the ChromeOS developer team, submitted a patch to enable DRM encryption running through certain pieces of DRM hardware, including exynos, mediatek and rock chip. The patch itself is not new—ChromeOS has been using it in-house for years. However, if these DRM patches could get into the official kernel tree, any Linux system running on the proper hardware—not just ChromeOS systems—could support DRM controls.

The code was highly targeted to make it through the gauntlet of kernel patch submission. It didn't go so far as to implement features that would take control away from the user. All it did was implement encryption via High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) and allow the user to turn on and off the hardware that would use the encrypted HDCP data stream.

In other words, the patch theoretically implemented just a general-purpose cryptographic feature that might be used for something other than DRM. And as Daniel Vetter put it in the mailing list discussion, any full DRM implementation also would need an unlockable boot-loader, as well as a variety of userspace code. At that point, he said, "yes, then you don't really own the machine fully."

Pavel Machek didn't like this at all and felt that accepting even Sean's relatively generic patch would encourage hardware vendors to install locked-down versions of Linux at the factory, thus preventing users from altering the OS themselves. He added, "That is evil, and a direct threat to Free Software movement."

Pavel also pointed out that any normal user who was not on a vendor-controlled, DRM-locked system, would get no benefit whatsoever from Sean's patch. On an unlocked system, there was simply no reason to enable the feature at all.

And so, even though the patch only enables features that are already present in a system's hardware, and even though as implemented it would be an optional kernel feature, there is already strong opposition to it because of the threat that such a patch might undermine the future availability of user-controlled computers and the likely proliferation of Linux systems that violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the GPL.

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Android Candy: Disney Everywhere, Even Android!

Shawn Powers — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:06:07 +0000

by Shawn Powers

As a father of three girls, I have piles and piles of Disney DVDs and Blu-rays. I occasionally look at the "Digital Copy" information and roll my eyes, because it requires some odd Windows DRM software or some other convoluted watching method that usually isn't possible or even interesting for me.

Recently, however, Disney did a really cool thing and released an Android app that allows you to stream any movie you have purchased from the Google Play store, iTunes store or from a department store (assuming the store copy came with that seemingly gimmicky digital version).

I tried it today, and sure enough, there was an insert in our Saving Mr. Banks Blu-ray disk that allowed me to redeem a copy of the movie on my Disney account. Now that movie is accessible to me through any Android app along with any iOS app or even a Web browser (using Flash, unfortunately).

If you install the app and connect it to your Google Play account, you'll get a free copy of Wreck it Ralph, even if you haven't purchased any movies in the past.

Don't get me wrong, the movies still are completely crippled with DRM, but at least they are accessible from a multitude of devices. It's the first time the "digital version" of the movies hasn't been a joke—at least in my world. If you have a collection of Disney DVDs with unclaimed codes for digital copies, you can add them to your account and stream the movies instantly. It's actually pretty cool!

To create your Disney account, head over to https://disneymoviesanywhere.com.

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Blu-ray Encryption—Why Most People Pirate Movies

Shawn Powers — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 19:26:04 +0000

by Shawn Powers

I get a fair amount of e-mail from readers asking how a person could do "questionable" things due to limitations imposed by DRM. Whether it's how to strip DRM from ebooks, how to connect to Usenet or how to decrypt video, I do my best to point folks in the right direction with lots of warnings and disclaimers. The most frustrating DRM by far has been with Blu-ray discs.

Unless I've missed an announcement, there still isn't a "proper" way for Linux users to watch Blu-ray movies on their computers. It's hard enough with Windows or Macintosh, but when it comes to Linux, it seems that turning to the dark side is the only option. In the spirit of freedom, let me point you in the direction of "how", and leave it up to you to decide whether it's a road you want to travel.

When ripping a movie from Blu-ray, I know of only one program that can do the job. MakeMKV is a cross-platform utility that will extract the full, uncompressed movie from most Blu-ray discs. Unfortunately, you have to download the source code and compile it. You need both the binaries and the source download files, and then follow the included directions for compiling the software. Yes, it's a bit complex.

Once you compile MakeMKV, you should be able to use it to extract the Blu-ray disc to your computer. Be warned, the file is enormous, and you'll most likely want to compress it a bit. The tool for that thankfully is much easier to install. Handbrake has been the de facto standard video encoding app for a long time, and when paired with MakeMKV, it makes creating playable video files close to painless. I won't go through the step-by-step process, but if the legally questionable act of ripping a Blu-ray disc is something you're comfortable doing, https://www.makemkv.com and https://www.handbrake.fr are the two software packages you'll want to explore.

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