November 30, 2001

8:08 PM

Copy-Protected CDs: The List!Buying CDs as gifts this holiday season? If the people on your gift-giving list have MP3 players or listen to their CDs on their computers, you'll want to have this list handy, as these CDs have intentional "copy-protection" defects that may render them unplayable on computers, certain car stereos, and some other high-end audio equipment.
posted by tpoh.org (14 comments total)

¤ System of a Down: Toxicity (USA, Sony/Columbia)
¤ Tool: Lateralus (USA, BMG/Volcano/Pavement)


Nonsense. I have both albums ripped on my computer. Though I don't really listen to Toxicity, and am pretty bored by it.
posted by trioperative at 8:11 PM on November 30, 2001

*yawn* When will they learn? "Copy protected" cds will be come popular in the near future - but this stuff has been in use for a while and never takes long to defeat. Just look at the Sony Playstation and Sega Dreamcast discs - both hyped their copy protection and both have been effectively defeated by savvy hackers. A room full executives can never match the thousands of hackers and pirates around the world.
posted by wfrgms at 8:13 PM on November 30, 2001

Actually, the CDs listed here are reported with problems. Each title is a clickable link, and each link goes to reported problems as well as reports of successful rips/copies.
posted by tpoh.org at 8:19 PM on November 30, 2001

I think perhaps the main thing is just because someone has a crappy cd-rom drive, they think that it can't be copied or ripped.

And I don't have a really spectacular cd-rom drive, so I don't know, really.
posted by trioperative at 8:24 PM on November 30, 2001

All: According to Slashdot (Yeah, I know, like that is a real news site), music stores have agreed to accept returns - even if opened - if you are unhappy.

Teach this greedy bastards a lesson. Buy the album, open it, and take it back. Make the overhead for selling these CDs too high so that they music stores will not carry them.

Don't let fair use die. You purchased the music - you have a right to listen to it any way you choose.
posted by hadashi at 8:40 PM on November 30, 2001

Obviously the RIAA doesn't watch PBS. There's no such thing as an unhackable program. There's no such thing as an unhackable CD. =) Some are just harder to copy than others.

Not that I would know personally of course. *innocent look*
posted by ZachsMind at 9:10 PM on November 30, 2001

Primus: Antipop (USA, Universal/Interscope)

* Entire disc ripped & converted to MP3, plays fine on my Mac

* Some tracks ripped to Xbox hard drive, all play fine
posted by KLAX at 11:27 PM on November 30, 2001

wfrgms wrote:
--------------
"Copy protected" cds will be come popular in the near future - but this stuff has been in use for a while and never takes long to defeat....
A room full executives can never match the thousands of hackers and pirates around the world.
--------------

Yes, but not everybody is one of the thousands of hackers.
I think the record companies know that no copy protection scheme is unbreakable; but as long as it is hard and abstruse enough to break, so that few people do it, they have won.
posted by Rebis at 10:34 PM on December 1, 2001

Yet another reason to buy a Mac. Can't burn Creed's Weathered directly in Toast, but import the songs into your iTunes music library, and then burn them to CD. This way you have them on your hard drive AND on CD. Same with Sytem of a Down, same with Staind. It doesn't get any simpler.
posted by schlaager at 10:50 AM on December 2, 2001

Can't burn Creed's Weathered directly in Toast, but import the songs into your iTunes music library, and then burn them to CD.

You mean people actually pirate Creed? What's next... photocopying bibles?
posted by wfrgms at 12:49 PM on December 2, 2001

Nah, I just downloaded the bible to my Palm. Full search index and all.
posted by schlaager at 1:15 PM on December 2, 2001

I'm waiting for the day when the RIAA will realize the same facts about the Internet and CD Burners that Hollywood learned about blank tapes and the record button on your VCR, way back when.

Also, when you push your customers around like this, you alienate them. They find ways around you.

Hopefully, the Music Industry will realize that to survive, they need to learn a few of these lessons.
posted by tomorama at 3:41 PM on December 2, 2001

i just want to know who is burning and making profit off of john denver's best... because that's someone i want to avoid... at all costs.
posted by eatdonuts at 8:08 PM on December 2, 2001

Yeah,... these guys are getting trickier (the record industry) some downloaded mp3's out there won't burn on a cdr anymore (it's not just my burner either) it'll say it's copying the file,... and then it'll show that you have a 3 minute song there,... but it won't play on your finished cdr, all the other songs will though,,,.. actually quite strange, cause the mp3 plays fine on the computer,,,. the must have added some code to prevent it from being converted to ram somehow. I think they're starting a mass campaign to make downloading mp3's more unreliable, using their own hired hackers...
posted by danger at 10:00 PM on December 2, 2001