Decrypt AACS movies
p2pnet.net News:- “This is real, any good java programmer can confirm this program make sense, and all that is missing is the decryption keys,” posts muslix6 on the Doom9 forum, billed as, “THE in-place to be for everyone interested in DVD conversion”.
“I already have a version that works with volume key instead of title keys,” the post continues. “Even more powerfull!” And, “Version 1.0, with volume key support should be out on january 2.”
Doom9 was where the FairUse4WM application showed up. It allows people to un-DRM Microsoft Plays[not]ForSure tunes downloaded through Windows Media-supported ’services’.
Now meet BackupHDDVD, “a tool to decrypt AACS protected movies,” says muslix6, going on, “I was not aware of anyone having done that, so I did. BackupHDDVD is a tool to decrypt a AACS protected movie that you own, so you can play it back later using an HDDVD player software.
“This is the first version, and it’s not very stable yet. This software don’t provide any cryptographic keys, so you have to add your own keys. Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oZGYb92isE. Executable and source code: http://rapidshare.com/files/8318838/…HDDVD.zip.html. Please read the FAQ before asking me any questions. Merry Christmas everyone!”
Same to you, muslix6. And a useful New Year. And all the best to the Blu-Ray and HD DVD disc makers 
Meanwhile, below is his outline of the AACS farce which led to BackupHDDVD, or:
The Saga of decrypting an AACS protected movie
By Muslix64.
December 6:
I just bought a HD-DVD drive to plug on my PC, and a HD movie, cool! But when I realized the 2 software players on windows don’t allowed me to play the movie at all, because my video card is not HDCP compliant and because I have a HD monitor plugged with DVI interface, I started to get mad… This is not what we can call “fair use”! So I decide to decrypt that movie. I start reading the AACS specification I have found on the net. I estimate it will take me about 4 weeks of full time job to decrypt that. I was wrong, it was in fact, easy…
BTW, when I disable my HD monitor, I can watch the movie,on my old VGA screen, but, what is the point of having a HD monitor and not being able to watch a HD movie on it!
December 7 to December 12:
Nothing, I try many things, but I’m going nowhere. I change my technique
December 13:
Now I focus only on title key. I was very surprise to realize that the title key is there, in memory! Can it be that easy? Around 7PM, I decrypt my first movie “pack”. Around 11PM, I have now a totally decrypted movie! But there is a problem. Frame skipping.
December 14:
After many tests, I found a field in the Nav pack, that fix the frame skipping problem. Wow! Now I can watch a smooth playback of an HDDVD film that I have decrypted! After only 8 days of work, I was able to decrypt an HD-DVD movie! What’s the problem? There is a major security problem somewhere.
December 15 and December 16:
I put together a small program called “BackupHDDVD”, a java based command line utility to decrypt movies.
December 17:
I made a small video called “AACS is Unbreakable” where you can see the output of the program while decrypting. You can also see a playback of a decrypted movie.
December 18:
Upload that video on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oZGYb92isE
December 20:
Upload the program and source code on RapidShare (V0.99)
http://rapidshare.com/files/8318838/…HDDVD.zip.html
December 21:
I want to go further in the decryption, so I decide to track down the “Volume unique key” instead of title key. I found it also! I’m preparing BackupHDDVD V1.00, that will support volume key and title keys.
December 25:
Merry Christmas!
December 26:
I create a thread on the Doom9 forum about BackupHDDVD. People don’t believe it…
Stay tuned.
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
Also See:
un-DRM Microsoft Plays[not]ForSure - Microsoft vs FairUse4WM, August 31, 206
Doom9 forum - BackupHDDVD, a tool to decrypt AACS protected movies, December 27, 2006
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January 3rd, 2007 at 6:06 am
It is Jan 2, and muslix6 has released an updated program as promised. It is still to be determined whether or not this is a hoax or not though, as no keys have been provided, and many people do not have the means with which to test out the software provided. While I do own the Xbox 360 HD-DVD accessory myself, I do not have the technical knowledge required in order to get the keys needed to actually decrypt movies. Same with most folks I would assume. Right now the only thing of any real value is that it has lit a fire of interest out there, so hopefully some enterprising fellow will take what muslix6 has started the rest of the way.
It’s probably worth noting that when this information became available at Christmas, I almost immediately canceled my order at Amazon.com for a rather expensive quantity of HD-DVD movies. Right now I only own several movies plus the Microsoft drive, so I don’t have a lot to loose if I put things on hold for now, or should Blu-Ray win. Having purchased a brand new HDTV recently, I am really quite desperate for HD material. I only went with HD-DVD because the drive accessory was so cheap. I would be just as happy with Blu-Ray. Just so long as I can eventually get my HD fix, I’m happy lol. Anyways, because of all this I was inclined to overlook the fact that there was a format war even going on. It’s this news regarding AACS that has made me pause and take stock of the situation though, and what I’ve decided is that maybe it would be better to wait after all, and see what results from it.
See, while some folks see this news as a confirmation that HD-DVD has won the format war, my belief is that HD-DVD may have just as easily lost the format war. If this news about decrypting AACS has any truth to it, which it may, and combined with things being so early in the format wars game, it is just as likely that all remaining studios supporting HD-DVD might just jump ship and swim over to the other side, effectively killing HD-DVD in the process. It doesn’t matter how badly one might want HD-DVD to win, and I have no doubt that those whom are happy to see this recent news regarding AACS being cracked have all their fingers and toes crossed that it will. But what good is a format that all of the studios refuse to stand behind?