There don't seem to be many online discussions on Cinavia DRM so I thought I would start one here.
First of all for those that don't know what it is:
From Wikipedia, the overview:
Overview
Cinavia works to prevent copying via the detection of a watermark recorded into the analog audio of media such as theatrical films and Blu-ray discs. Note that the intent is to prevent all copying, both pirate copies and legal copies of one's own content, for example, for format shifting.
The watermark is able to survive recording through microphones (such as recording a film in a movie theater with a camcorder), as well as compression and encoding, yet still be imperceptible to human hearing. Verance claims that the presence of the watermark does not affect audio quality.[2]
When media with the watermark is played back on a system with Cinavia detection, its firmware will detect the watermark and check that the device on which it is being played is authorized for that watermark. If the device is not authorized (such as not being an authorized movie projector in the case of a cam bootleg, or not utilizing AACS in the case of a copy of a commercial Blu-ray disc or CSS in the case of a copy of a commercial DVD), a message is displayed (either immediately or after a set duration) stating that the media is not authorized for playback on the device and that users should visit the Cinavia web page for more information. Depending on the device and firmware, once the message is triggered, the audio may be muted, or playback may stop entirely.[3]
The full wikipedia article is HERE for reference.
So basically it's a modern day DRM technology that is so far unhackable. It has an audio watermark that will survive any transfer.
So why should I care if I'm not a pirate?
Because if like a lot of people these days you decide you want to rip any of your DVDs/Blurays into an electronic format (such as the popular .mkv container) for storage on say your computer/NAS/Server, this will affect you.
What will happen if I try to rip my own legit copies of my DVDs/Blurays?
Nothing will happen. They will still rip ok. But....
What will happen when I try to play my ripped/transfered legit DVDs/Blurays?
As above in the wiki article you can read more, but essentially, after usually around 10-20 minutes unto the movie, the audio will be muted and/or playback stopped entirely with a Cinavia DRM copy protection message.
Will this affect ALL my DVD's/Blurays?
No, cinavia has only affected CERTAIN titles:
"As of February 2012, the vast majority of Blu-ray releases with Cinavia have come from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. However, there have been Cinavia Blu-ray releases from Warner Home Video (The Losers), 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Dylan Dog: Dead of Night), and Universal Studios Home Entertainment (Larry Crowne, The Thing)."
For the full list of affected titles so far you can go to the wiki article above. But just on the bluray format in 2010 there were 7 affected titles, in 2011 there were 16 and in 2012 there are currently 22 affected titles.
What devices are Cinavia DRM enabled and will cause me problems when watching my legit ripped movies?
Again for a full list read the above article, but it is mainly Sony and Samsung Bluray players, and the PS3 (Playstation 3).
Can I not avoid it somehow?
No. It's here to stay on devices that decide to run with it. But you can chose to run with a device that does not have it, or devices on older firmware that do not have it enabled, for example the PS3 pre 3.10 firmware (or custom firmware).
Will it get more widespread?
This is already happening.
Are media players Cinavia free?
Most are yes. Check the list.
Are HTPCs affected?
No.
Overall I feel that this DRM is likely to be the most successful yet and may not be broken. There have been workarounds discovered but they are by no means perfect and do not totally eradicate it, i.e. there will be some compromise. I am not aware of it being properly avoided/hacked yet. The PS3 can run custom firmware that avoids it, but this is because the underlying OS and Cinavia related files are removed/modified since the PS3 got opened up last year with full hypervisor access etc. For most hardware running Cinavia, it will be a case of living with it.
It's a shame for users that genuinely own the physical media and want to enjoy it via a NAS/server etc. A lot of people do not seem to be aware of it as have not experienced it yet.
Perhaps this will push more and more people away from PS3 ownership and onto HTPCs and Media players without Cinavia.
Thoughts and discussion welcome.
Poll also welcome:
Have you experienced Cinavia?
1: yes
2: no
First of all for those that don't know what it is:
From Wikipedia, the overview:
Overview
Cinavia works to prevent copying via the detection of a watermark recorded into the analog audio of media such as theatrical films and Blu-ray discs. Note that the intent is to prevent all copying, both pirate copies and legal copies of one's own content, for example, for format shifting.
The watermark is able to survive recording through microphones (such as recording a film in a movie theater with a camcorder), as well as compression and encoding, yet still be imperceptible to human hearing. Verance claims that the presence of the watermark does not affect audio quality.[2]
When media with the watermark is played back on a system with Cinavia detection, its firmware will detect the watermark and check that the device on which it is being played is authorized for that watermark. If the device is not authorized (such as not being an authorized movie projector in the case of a cam bootleg, or not utilizing AACS in the case of a copy of a commercial Blu-ray disc or CSS in the case of a copy of a commercial DVD), a message is displayed (either immediately or after a set duration) stating that the media is not authorized for playback on the device and that users should visit the Cinavia web page for more information. Depending on the device and firmware, once the message is triggered, the audio may be muted, or playback may stop entirely.[3]
The full wikipedia article is HERE for reference.
So basically it's a modern day DRM technology that is so far unhackable. It has an audio watermark that will survive any transfer.
So why should I care if I'm not a pirate?
Because if like a lot of people these days you decide you want to rip any of your DVDs/Blurays into an electronic format (such as the popular .mkv container) for storage on say your computer/NAS/Server, this will affect you.
What will happen if I try to rip my own legit copies of my DVDs/Blurays?
Nothing will happen. They will still rip ok. But....
What will happen when I try to play my ripped/transfered legit DVDs/Blurays?
As above in the wiki article you can read more, but essentially, after usually around 10-20 minutes unto the movie, the audio will be muted and/or playback stopped entirely with a Cinavia DRM copy protection message.
Will this affect ALL my DVD's/Blurays?
No, cinavia has only affected CERTAIN titles:
"As of February 2012, the vast majority of Blu-ray releases with Cinavia have come from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. However, there have been Cinavia Blu-ray releases from Warner Home Video (The Losers), 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Dylan Dog: Dead of Night), and Universal Studios Home Entertainment (Larry Crowne, The Thing)."
For the full list of affected titles so far you can go to the wiki article above. But just on the bluray format in 2010 there were 7 affected titles, in 2011 there were 16 and in 2012 there are currently 22 affected titles.
What devices are Cinavia DRM enabled and will cause me problems when watching my legit ripped movies?
Again for a full list read the above article, but it is mainly Sony and Samsung Bluray players, and the PS3 (Playstation 3).
Can I not avoid it somehow?
No. It's here to stay on devices that decide to run with it. But you can chose to run with a device that does not have it, or devices on older firmware that do not have it enabled, for example the PS3 pre 3.10 firmware (or custom firmware).
Will it get more widespread?
This is already happening.
Are media players Cinavia free?
Most are yes. Check the list.
Are HTPCs affected?
No.
Overall I feel that this DRM is likely to be the most successful yet and may not be broken. There have been workarounds discovered but they are by no means perfect and do not totally eradicate it, i.e. there will be some compromise. I am not aware of it being properly avoided/hacked yet. The PS3 can run custom firmware that avoids it, but this is because the underlying OS and Cinavia related files are removed/modified since the PS3 got opened up last year with full hypervisor access etc. For most hardware running Cinavia, it will be a case of living with it.
It's a shame for users that genuinely own the physical media and want to enjoy it via a NAS/server etc. A lot of people do not seem to be aware of it as have not experienced it yet.
Perhaps this will push more and more people away from PS3 ownership and onto HTPCs and Media players without Cinavia.
Thoughts and discussion welcome.
Poll also welcome:
Have you experienced Cinavia?
1: yes
2: no
It may be here to stay, but can be avoided.