On Mon, 2004-06-28 at 17:28, Chris Pickett wrote: > Jan Depner wrote: > > On Mon, 2004-06-28 at 08:48, Chris Pickett wrote: > > > >>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 ... > >> > > > > > > You're missing the point; I have no problem doing it correctly, I have > > a pro soundcard, and it only takes one person ;-) After that it's all > > digital. > > I think I understand what you're saying: if there's enough people with > good hardware and knowledge of how to do a2d correctly, then it's > possible to get around all copy protection schemes. > > The problems I see are: > > 1) this requires p2p networks to work, which have dubious legal status, > depending on your country, whereas it's not illegal to rip CD's at home > (barring DMCA nonsense) > 2) it takes a lot longer to rip a2d than d2d > 3) you can't pick files from networks just based on bit-rate; you either > need to go by the ripper's reputation, or by listening to them yourself, > to check that the person did it correctly. > All good points. > Basically, at this point, in my opinion, the RIAA doesn't have much to > worry about w.r.t. the "analog hole". > Actually, a lot of what's available on P2P is analog ripped. > Anyway, for me it's a moot point ... I just buy vinyl! > I can't find anything old (like me) in good shape or I'd do the same. Jan
