CONTROVERSIAL DVD-CLONING SOFTWARE SEEKS TO SKIRT DMCA VIOLATIONS, WE FIND

Company won’t reveal how program operates, except to say it doesn’t use DeCSS hack for DVD’s Content Scrambling System (CSS) and thus doesn’t violate DMCA. But 321 has confirmed our analysis that DVD X Copy enables PCs with DVD burners to steer adroitly steer between DVD’s mandated CSS encryption and optional analog Macrovision copy protection without defeating or circumventing either. In fact, our tests show, if Macrovision is present on DVD, program carries copy protection intact to copies it makes -- thus preventing any further analog copying of copies to VCRs or DVD recorders.

In week-long trial, we tested program with wide variety of DVD movies, including those known to have Macrovision copy protection and others that studios opted not to copy protect. Results were same in both cases: DVD X Copy burned perfect clone of content to DVD+RW blanks we used -- with all navigation menus and special features intact. Cloned discs played perfectly on other PCs and on all CE-type DVD players that were capable of reading copies from DVD-blanks (some first-generation players can’t). Program’s capability isn’t limited to DVD-Video. It also makes multichannel digital copies of Dolby Digital and DTS tracks of multichannel DVD-Audio discs. Further, we discovered that DVD X Copy can make digital copies of DVD copies, and even CD copies from DVD-Audio music tracks.

Trials were continuing with last week’s release of Version 1.2.1 that’s more user friendly than Version 1.0 we used week earlier. 321 urges customers to use program in manner that respects copyrighted material, and all DVD X Copy clones carry bold-faced message at start of disc that reads “You are watching an Archival copy for personal use.” 321 also said program placed “watermark” on copies that could identify user who tried to post copy to Internet, and each subscriber to program had unique “ID” that was inscribed on DVD copies. It’s not clear, though, what consequence 321 intends for file-sharing copy of copyrighted content. Company earlier this year sued 9 Hollywood studios, seeking declaratory judgment that earlier program -- DVD Copy Plus that cloned DVD-Videos to blank CDs -- didn’t violate anticircumvention clauses of DMCA and could be sold legally for fair-use copying for personal backups. Hearing is scheduled this month in U.S. Dist. Court, San Francisco, on motion to dismiss filed by studios and Justice Dept. 321 filed brief opposing motion to dismiss, and has added DVD X Copy to request for declaratory judgment, spokeswoman told us. Company is represented by Keker & Van Nest, San Francisco law firm that also is assisting in defense of Russian software developer Elcomsoft in trial on DMCA violations in Cal.

“Evade” compared with “circumvent” might be best description of how DVD X Copy treats DVD’s anticopying technologies. In our analysis, DVD X Copy didn’t circumvent DVD’s copy protection, but exploited hole in way disc was decrypted for playback. Here’s how it works:

Movie on DVD is stored as digital code that’s compressed with MPEG-2. Code is encrypted with CSS, and unscrambling is possible only on authorized DVD player or PC-based DVD-ROM drive, which contain CSS decryption keys secured in their control chips. Keys in player mate with more keys buried in hidden parts of DVD to play movie. If PC is used to make bit-for-bit copy of DVD, it won’t play because some of keys don’t copy with movie.

MPEG recording is made up from so-called GOPs -- Groups Of 12 Pictures. First picture in group is intraframe (I), which is complete picture that serves as reference point for 11 that follow. Those try to guess how object is likely to move (e.g., swing of bat and trajectory of ball) by predicting (P) what is coming next ,and also using RAM memory to look both (B) forward and backward frames. So, GOP is mix of I, P and B frames. Only small error signal is needed to describe how guesswork compares with real motion, and correct to difference. MPEG decoder in DVD player uses GOPs to reconstruct analog video for display on screen.

Although DeCSS can defeat CSS encryption, it’s illegal under DMCA. So, DVD X Copy does something very different: It gets between copy-protection systems, instead of defeating them. Original disc is played on legitimate DVD drive, which legitimately unscrambles CSS signal to release MPEG bitstream. Then, instead of feeding stream of GOPs through MPEG decoder to make analog video for viewing, DVD X Copy temporarily stores GOPs in cache file on PC’s hard disc -- just as Internet pages are temporarily cached in PC to speed up Web access. GOP bitstream then is burned onto blank DVDs and temporary cache is deleted. All this can be done at about 2x normal viewing speed, so movie copies in about one hour. Because digital copy is made at halfway stage, after legitimate unscrambling and before analog conversion, CSS is not being defeated and neither is Macrovision. Digital copy made doesn’t have CSS, so it can be drag-and-drop copied again to PC’s hard drive, and additional blank DVD copies can be made from that. For reasons that weren’t clear, those drag-and-drop copies of the DVD X Copy dub wouldn’t run on standalone DVD-Video players, but played fine on PCs.

Perhaps most surprising aspect of DVD X Copy is ability to clone Dolby Digital and DTS multichannel soundtracks of DVD-Audio discs, including menu playlists and still photos. Essentially, DVD X Copy sees original as a DVD-Video, which it is, as key selling point of DVD-Audio was backward compatibility with DVD- Video players. DVD X Copy ignores DVD-Audio’s “advanced resolution” tracks and proceeds to copy multichannel Dolby and DTS. Clones we made played back perfectly with multichannel sound.

More astonishing still was discovery that cloned DVD-Audio tracks could be copied to blank CDs. That’s because Dolby Digital tracks on DVD-Audio are compressed files and well within 650-700 MB capacity of blank CDs. To date, we have been unable to get CD copies to play in DVD players. Likely reason is that player identifies disc as CD and expects to find PCM stereo, and can’t cope with multichannel digital signal. Meanwhile, CD clones play fine on PCs.

Implication of DVD-Audio copying to CDs is that organized pirates will be able to clone high-quality multichannel discs to inexpensive CD blanks and at higher burning speeds than current DVD burners permit. It might even be possible to put multiple DVD-Audio albums on single blank CD. For example, Dolby Digital tracks of Carly Simon’s No Secrets DVD-Audio occupy only 129 MB - - less than 20% of capacity of blank CD. Copying to blank DVD took just several minutes, and dubbing to CD even fewer minutes. To date, content owners and their representatives have yet to comment on DVD X Copy. Spokeswoman for MPAA in U.S. told us “because of the pending court case, we are not providing any public comment at this time.” Trade association officials in U.K. were similarly mute, with Federation Against Copyright Theft there not returning our repeated requests for comment.