Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] Reading/playing a "copy protected" CD : cdparanoia seems not to help
From: Chris Pickett (chris.pickett_AT_mail.mcgill.ca)
Date: Mon Jun 28 2004 - 16:48:11 EEST
Jan Depner wrote:
> On Mon, 2004-06-28 at 02:46, Anahata wrote:
>
>>On Mon, Jun 28, 2004 at 12:35:03AM +0300, Sampo Savolainen wrote:
>>
>>>you could try to find a CD player
>>>with spdif output and, presuming you have spdif input on your computer,
>>>record the data digitally from a normal player.
>>
>>The possibility of doing this (I assume copy protected CDs can't prevent
>>it, if they can be played at all) is one more thing that makes a
>>mockery of the whole business of copy protection.
>
>
> What really makes a mockery of the copy protection racket is what the
> RIAA calls the "analog hole". If I can hear it, I can copy it. Find a
> CD player that can handle the chewed up CD, run the analog outs to your
> computer, record it. I seriously doubt that there is anyone around who
> can tell the difference between a digitally ripped copy and a digitally
> encoded analog copy.
I can tell the difference, if it's not done properly, and it isn't
entirely trivial to do it properly. For starters, you need a decent
soundcard ... I've tried the stereo mini-in jack on this laptop and also
on a couple of other older motherboards / soundblasters and the quality
is _nowhere_ near the quality I get out of the VXpocket v2 with balanced
inputs, and even that's probably at the lower end of the "prosumer"
range. Non-sound people I know can immediately tell the difference too.
I've heard enough badly ripped vinyl recordings that I don't really
trust the general populace to make analog-to-digital encodings of any
work. Admittedly there are more complex factors involved with vinyl
than with CD's, but if it's any indication ...
I would like to agree though, and also find copy protection of any sort
to be ridiculous, in that "if I can read it, I can copy it". It's just
that in practice there can be so many hoops to jump through that you
start asking, "why do I even want this in the first place?"
Cheers,
Chris
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