Dvd password protection

[Sethie]

Hi Guys,

I have been thinking a lot about the possibility of adding a password protection to a dvd. I have been brainstorming a bit but came to the conclusion that it is most likely not possible but to make sure I would like to have your opinion. I just got back from vacation with my mates and we are making a dvd of the video's we shot.

There are a few video's we would like to add but that isn't really family material so we would like to add a password to certain extras. Adding a password script would be the best option but if you manage such a thing the system should temporally save the data you enter. But a dvd is a closed medium so there is no temporally saving space. So I guessed the only of having a password protection is some sort of a "maze" created by menu's? If anyone knows if it is possible to create a password protection please let me know because I am unable to fix it so far.

[neuron2]

Make a hidden button. Here's one way:

http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/24/855463

[Midzuki]

There are a few video's we would like to add but that isn't really family material so we would like to add a password to certain extras.

The trick will not work against the standalones that can list ALL the titles contained in the VOB set.

[mbcd]

Cant you use GPRM-Register for that ?

Make some buttons and each button changes the register.

I remember that it is possible to use "if"-command in DVD too. So if Registers are not valid, repeat, otherwise link to new PGC ...

[setarip_old]

@Sethie

1) And none of those suggestions will prevent anyone playing the DVD on a PC from simply playing the .VOBs directly.

2) Simply make TWO DIFFERENT DVDS - one without the "non-family friendly" stuff and another with both types of video

[von_Runkel]

It depends on what software you use for authoring, your knowledge of MPEG-2 and the DVD-Video standard.

As Midzuki and setarip_old pointed out, any casual "ripper" or even a standard DVD player can read any VOB files on a DVD. If your goal is to avoid these "casual rippers" from reading tracks from your DVD, then you need to do something unusual, perhaps something that even an experienced ripper will miss (in a normal rip). You need to obfuscate.

Some suggestions:

Play with angles. Make 3-4 angles of nonsense and the 5:th containing the essence. Mix this with plenty of nonsense tracks of the same kind, but without your hidden content. Link the hidden content from a hidden button or require a certain play sequence to unlock the correct track with the correct angle visible.

Make a very long (4 hours or more) VBR track of black with the hidden content in the middle of the stream. The black part takes very little space. Combine it with UOP and the normal viewer has no clue and ejects the DVD or deletes the VOB if it is ripped to a hard drive.

Link a hidden button to a chapter in a stream that has an invalid beginning (vob file not playable from start). The beginning of the track can be corrupted with a hex editor prior to burning. Playing the VOB from a hard drive isn't impossible, but you need to know how to repair/cut the MPEG file to make it work. This DVD can of course not be replicated, only works for burnt DVD's.

Combine all three obfuscating methoths and you should be safe, though not from experienced and determined persons, of course.

[Ghitulescu]

I am not sure what you intend to protect: its play or its copy (and subsequent play).

If you want to prevent that non-authorised people to watch the content of a DVD on a DVD player the simplest solution is to make use of the parental code (the player doesn't know if there are strangers or children, anyone not being able to unlock the PG18 is a child), for this set SPRM 13 to the desired level (http://dvd.sourceforge.net/dvdinfo/sprm.html). http://www.dvd-replica.com/DVD/vmgpml.php
This doesn't help agains copying (and "deparenting" it) or playing on a computer (unprotected, there are also players that would enforce PG even on a PC).

You could also play a bit with the menus and create a menu of 10 buttons to mimic a remote control (alarm, telephone etc.) and juggle with GPRM and commands, when the right code is input, then launch that PGC.
It can be copied and has no effect on the players that could list all PGCs, as Midsuki, even if PUOs are in force.
I think a thread with a similar question was here (actually the OP wanted to programm a game if I recall), but check also other fora.

You could also make use of DVD-copy prohibiting ideas of the previous post,

or you can combine all in one.

Remember, a DVDR is unprotected on any PC if the right software is present.

[jdobbs]

You could use the same techniques used for easter eggs. Buttons in places that nobody knows about, etc.

[jdobbs]

You could use the same techniques used for easter eggs. Buttons in places that nobody knows about, etc.

[setarip_old]

@Sethie

A fun (and somewhat sadistic) thing to do is to burn REWRITABLE discs - and include an Autorun file that requests the input of your password. Allow for, perhaps, three tries at entering the correct password and, if the correct password is not entered, perform a quick erase or reformat...

This might even surprise knowledgable users (If they haven't turned off the autorun function)

[Ghitulescu]

While surfing the net I've found some interesting posts in the German Doom9 Forum -> http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=39410
Apparently there is a need for encrypting DVDs also from the consumers' side.

check also these links->http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/tutorial/keypad.html - I swear my remote control idea was not taken from MediaChance webpage :)
and -> http://www.truecrypt.org/

[Junior73Italy]

Hi Ghitulescu,
I worked a lot in the past on the protection of DVDs until to make a small software to try to protect from being copied. I will go back to work on both the DVD and Blueray to create a single software that is capable to prevent copies the newbie people.
For the Dvd i think is possible to make a simple Dvd player software can only read a protect dvd that is compatible with this software. I don't Know is this a good idea but I'm tryng to start to work on it.
Is very difficult to maintain compatibility with all home DVD players when we try to protect a normal dvd.

For th BluRay i I 'm tryng some solution ....

Do you want to make same test?

Bye

[Ghitulescu]

Protecting a Data-DVD is easy, think of Navigation DVDs. Because they are pressed.
Protecting a DVDR is not as easy as the standard does not allow it and you have to assure the playback compatibility. You can't have the same control over the burner as you do in CD domain (they've learned their lesson).
The only possible way of preventing a DVDR to be copied is much the same as the method K2A (Sony) used for CD-DA (multisessions with invalid pointers).

[setarip_old]

@Ghitulescu

Hi!

Please read my post at the following link:

http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1313426&postcount=3352

[Ghitulescu]

@Ghitulescu

Hi!

Please read my post at the following link:

http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1313426&postcount=3352

I fully agree with you: it is/should be illegal to protect something that one does not own (you may see other posts of mine concerning eg watermarking which goes in the [about] same direction).

I had the impression that the OP wanted to protect some adult content from being viewed by children, to which end I have a great sympathy. If we trust the OP, that videos belong to him and his mate, so he's/they're entitled to have protection on his/their DVDs under the same law that allows the studios to protect theirs.

[setarip_old]

@Ghitulescu

I was referring to the post that was addressed to you in this thread by "Junior73Italy"...