jsl used our newssubmit to tell us that TheRegister reports that the Bertellsmann Media Group (BMG) is likely to copy protect all of their future releases. The company has opened up a website where users can ask questions and give comments on the copy protections, and the replies are, altough badly typed, you have bad luck if you buy a CD that is protected and it doesn't work.
Also according to the company the protection respects the Red Book standards, the standards that describe the audio CD and make sure that every CD is compatible with every CD player (which certainly isn't the case here):
This is a clear commitment to 100 per cent copy protection, and once implemented will no doubt ease the workload of the various 'corrupt CD' identification sites considerably. Ah, but what if you have a problem playing the CD? 'If you can't play the BMG product on your player please contact your dealer or the responsible person at BMG under (email address of the responsible person)." |
We're sure it makes more sense in German. If you fill in the form and send it off to who knows where, this is what you get from the BMG Kopierschutz Team (typos left in):
'we are sorry you have troubles with our copy protection technology. The copy protection reacts on the special new technology that is build in in burners. Unfortunately htis technics was built in many new CD players, even if they can't copy a cd. 'The copy protection yet does not recognize wheather that burner technics is build in a cd player or in a burner. That's why the cd playern might not play a copy protected CD. Since burner technics are also built in car radios, this may be the reason, why you can't listen to a copyprotected cd in your car. 'As far as we were adviced, our copy protection is according to the Red Book Standart as well as all labelling on the cd. 'A standart home CD player is one that has no burner technics built in. Our Cds play on all Cd players without burner technics. 'There will be no cd manufactured without copyprotection any more."
Read the entire story at the Register here. If you are the unfortunate buyer of a protected audio CD and you want to be able to play the CD, make a backup, or convert it to MP to play it in your MP3 player, then be sure to check out our Audio Forum.
Source: Theregister.co.uk
