HD DVD processing key discovered

BackupHDDVD & new decryption methods

BackupHDDVDDoom9 forum members continue to chip away at HD DVD and Blu-ray encrypted discs by discussing various encryption key discovery methods and the functions of AACS. BackupHDDVD has been around for over a month now, but a major limitation of the utility is that it requires the end-user to enter a Volume Unique Key in order to backup and decrypt an HD DVD.

Lists of HD DVD Volume Unique Keys are being cataloged all over the net now, but anyone who has a newer HD DVD movie or one that has not had its’ Volume Unique Key published online might run into difficulty trying to back up their HD DVD. The initial process used to find a Volume Unique Key is still a complicated endeavor.

The currently known method is to play an HD DVD movie using a computer software player such as PowerDVD or WinDVD. While the HD DVD movie is playing, a memory dump is performed, capturing all of the software players’ memory data into a file. Once the file is captured, it can be analyzed by using a Hex editor such as WinHex in order to try and pinpoint the Volume Unique Key. As you can see from the explanation, extracting a new HD DVD Volume Unique Key is not exactly a simple and straight-forward process. This might limit the amount of HD DVD backup activity that occurs for now.

What about the processing key?

Recent discussions, tests and user reports over on Doom9 indicate that the HD DVD processing key has been discovered. So why is this significant? This is interesting because now it should be possible to decrypt virtually ALL HD DVD discs (and maybe Blu-ray discs too!) by using this processing key + the volume ID of each HD DVD disc.

According to the discussions, the volume ID should be easily found or possibly even “guessed”. Could this be how the new AnyDVD HD application works? Only Slysoft knows the answer to that. At any rate, I expect to see a newer BackupHDDVD type utility released in the near future that does not require a Volume Unique Key database file or the manual input of an HD DVD Volume Unique Key. The next generation DRM wars continue…

About Wes Novack

Wesley Novack is a Technologist working in the software industry, with extensive experience building and managing highly available applications, services, and systems in the public cloud. He has a breadth of experience in online publishing, the consumer electronics industry, and building internet communities. Wes enjoys hanging with his family, skateboarding, hiking, the vegan lifestyle, and a good cup of tea. You can find him on Twitter @WesleyTech.

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