The Blu-ray Disc Association has announced the security features of the Blu-ray, which is set to make some waves next year as part of the Playstation 3.The discs will include a new feature called ROM Marks that will act as watermarks embedded into music, movies and games; the Marks can only be added using equipment licensed for producing the discs and will prevent the discs from playing on unauthorized BD-ROM players.
Another feature will act as a second defense if hackers come up with cracks or workarounds. "BD+" will essentially be a patching system that allows the rights-management system to be updated when exploits are discovered:
"Content protection is a critical issue for next-generation media distribution," said IDC's Joshua Martin, Associate Research Analyst, Consumer Markets. "Finalizing the content protection scheme is critical for the launch of blue laser optical disc technology, and new protection schemes should allow for increased consumer flexibility while better protecting prerecorded content compared to current DVD technology."
Official announcement (.pdf) - HTML version
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