March 27, 2000, Issue: 1106
Section: News
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DVD breach mars debut of Playstation 2
Yoshiko Hara and Junko Yoshida
TOKYO - Video enthusiasts in Japan have found a second backdoor in Sony
Computer Entertainment Inc.'s newly launched Playstation 2. This time, fans
have discovered a way to exploit the game console's analog RGB output to
illegally copy DVD content to a videotape, circumventing the system's
copy-protection technology. The technique is being discussed on Web sites
in Japan.
The discovery of such a flaw is another blow to Sony, already embarrassed
earlier this month when users in Japan found a way into Playstation 2 to
subvert a geographical code for DVD video disks. So far the issue has not
raised the ire of movie studios or others in the consumer electronics
industry. However, it could hasten a movement that's quietly forming behind
the scenes to develop a new copy protection scheme for the legacy analog
RGB interface used both in Playstation 2 and on PCs.
At issue is whether Sony Computer Entertainment has violated a DVD industry
agreement that prohibits DVD players from having an analog RGB interface.
If so, it's possible that Hollywood studios could take some action against
Sony.
But some in the industry pointed out last week that Sony could make the
case that Playstation 2 is not a standalone DVD player but a PC. Under the
DVD specs, personal computers are permitted an RGB output. So far, however,
Sony has not resorted to this argument.
Sony Computer Entertainment acknowledged here last week that problems with
copy protection can arise from the use of an analog RGB interface, but said
the company did nothing wrong and that the RGB interface on the Playstation
2 complies with the DVD specs.
A company spokesman said that Sony installed in Playstation 2 appropriate
means of preventing any illegal analog-to-analog copying, by providing
security coding from Macrovision for all the system's output interface
signals: RGB, composite, component and S-Video. For copy protection of
analog RGB signals, Sony worked with Macrovision to add Macrovision code in
RGB's synchronous signals, the Sony spokesman added.
Further, the game console comes with a cable that outputs widely used
composite video signals. An optional cable outputs S-Video signals and
component signals. In either case, the video signals are protected by
Macrovision technology, and taped images are therefore of a substantially
lower quality than the originals. That means that nonhackers cannot readily
duplicate DVD-Video content, the spokesman said.
Anonymous sources, however, have posted on various Web sites the circuitry
diagram and the model name of a converter designed to turn analog RGB
signals into NTSC video signals. This converter is also capable of
inadvertently removing Macrovision code.
Micomsoft (Osaka, Japan) is one company that makes such a converter-a
product that has been sold for $100 on the Japanese market for several
years. According to Micomsoft, the device was never intended to break
Macrovision copy protection. Instead, it was designed to enable fans to
play arcade videogames on a home TV. Used as an attachment, it can convert
analog RGB output from an arcade game board into video signals that feed
into a TV set, a Micomsoft spokesman said.
A method for recording DVD video off Playstation 2, reported on Web pages,
suggests using a special cable that has Sony's proprietary 12-pin RGB
connector on one end and a 21-pin multiconnector on the other. The cable is
used to place a converter (such as the Micomsoft unit) between Playstation
2 and a VCR.
21-pin cable at issue
The 21-pin multiconnector is one of the connector specifications defined by
the Electronic Industries Association of Japan (EIAJ). The cable was once
sold by Sony Computer Entertainment to connect the first-generation
Playstation to a TV set equipped with a 21-pin input terminal, but Sony
said the cable is no longer available on the market.
Sony Computer Entertainment said that it is investigating attempts to
record video using such a cable-and-converter setup. The company, however,
has no plans to bring charges against Micomsoft, since the converter's
original design had nothing to do with illegal copying. Micomsoft
downplayed the incident, noting that the demand for its converters is
small, and shrinking.
Engineering executives at leading DVD hardware manufacturers, who requested
anon-ymity, expressed frustration with the situation. They claimed that the
DVD Copy Control Association Inc. (DVD CCA), a licensing agency based in
Morgan Hill, Calif., has prohibited outfitting any DVD player with an
analog RGB output. The only exception is a Scart connector, a 21-pin
connector used in Europe that includes RGB output pins and comes with its
own copy protection measure.
A spokesman for the association, reached last week, said, "DVD CCA is aware
of the reports about this situation and we are looking into it."
Meanwhile, Sony Computer Entertainment has not given up its plan to deliver
better picture quality for displaying DVD images through an RGB output. The
company has proposed to the DVD Forum a new cable specification featuring
Sony's proprietary 12-pin connector at both ends of the cable. This cable
directly conveys analog RGB signals from the Playstation 2 console to a TV
set. Sony is currently the only company selling TVs with a 12-pin input.
So far, it is still unclear how the movie industry will respond to the
Playstation 2 issue. Studio executives acknowledged last week that
protecting against illegal analog-to-analog copying via analog RGB output
has been a contentious dilemma for studios and the computer industry. But
most studios were hesitant to complain about Playstation 2.
When the DVD standard was first developed several years ago, the consumer
electronics, movie and PC industries all agreed to allow an analog RGB
output for PCs, but none for standalone DVD players. Sources working
closely with the DVD Forum's Copy Protection Technical Working Group said
the three industries reached that compromise because SVGA was the only
legacy link available to connect a PC subsystem with an analog PC monitor.
If studios ever wanted to let consumers watch DVD movies on a computer,
this was the only pathway.
Meanwhile, consumer electronics manufacturers agreed to use composite,
component or S-video-all protected by using Macrovision technology-instead
of an analog RGB output.
Some observers last week said the fact that different industries got
different treatment from Hollywood could wind up backfiring. Sony Computer
Entertainment, in theory, could argue that Playstation 2 is not a
standalone DVD player, but a computer, these experts said. The console
doesn't have a DVD decoder chip, but decodes DVD in software. Therefore, it
could be argued that Playstation 2 should be permitted an analog RGB
output, according to this camp.
One Hollywood studio executive, commenting anonymously, said he is not
overly concerned with the Playstation 2 incident. In his opinion, the
picture quality of analog-to-analog copying via analog RGB is too weak to
pose a real threat to filmmakers. Others in the movie industry, however,
said Sony may have to solve the problem before it introduces the new game
console in the United States, where DVD-Video penetration is far more
advanced than in Japan.
Also, Hollywood is giving PCs another look as they become capable of
receiving HDTV broadcasting. An unprotected analog RGB interface between a
computer and a monitor can allow copyrighted material-particularly
high-definition signals-to traverse "in the clear," with no copy
protection. In theory, said one studio executive, such an interface could
become a conduit for mass copying. Anyone could "attach a video-recording
storage device," capture and copy the content, he said.
A copy-protected digital interface connecting a digital display and a PC's
graphics subsystems is in the offing as part of the Digital Visual
Interface. The link that concerns Hollywood at the moment is the analog one.
One studio executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that
new ideas on copy protection for that analog interface are under discussion
among PC, consumer electronics and movie makers. Companies such as Hitachi,
Intel, Matsushita, Sony and Toshiba-all with a big stake in the issue-have
been working to find a solution, the executive said. He indicated than an
answer might emerge in the next few weeks.
A spokesman at Sony Picture Entertainment (Tokyo) said, "Although we have
not received any technical information about this [Playstation 2] issue
yet, if the content is actually being copied from Playstation 2, we need to
discuss [matters] with Sony Computer Entertainment to take effective
measures."
- Additional reporting by Margaret Quan.
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