The movie industry wanted to create a universal online locker for digital content when it announced UltraViolet in 2010. The service has limped along for years, but the movie industry is finally reading the writing on the walls. UltraViolet will shut down on July 31st, and shocker, this convoluted DRM scheme makes it confusing to retain access to your purchased content.
Read MoreThe UltraViolet digital movie locker is shutting down on July 31st — act now to save your movies
Google's Widevine L3 DRM, used by Netflix, Hulu, and HBO, has been broken
Today's theme seems to be DRM. Security researcher David Buchanan has managed to crack open Widevine L3, one of Google's less secure Widevine DRM implementations used by apps like Netflix and Hulu. Once decrypted, streams using the DRM method can be played back in "plain old ffmpeg" — trivially easily, in other words.
Read MoreUSB Type-C Authentication Program gets started, sounds like it's effectively DRM for Type-C devices
Today the USB-IF, the non-profit behind the USB standard's marketing and specifications, revealed the formal launch of its "USB Type-C™ Authentication Program," originally announced back in 2016. The optional program "defines cryptographic-based authentication for USB Type-C chargers and devices." If that sounds like a thinly veiled euphemism for hardware DRM to you, that's because it is.
Read MoreUnlocking the bootloader on Sony phones no longer wrecks the camera in Pie
Sony has been kind enough to let Xperia device owners unlock their bootloaders for years. That's an option that fewer and fewer OEMs offer, but it comes with some very real drawbacks in Sony's case. Unlocking an Xperia device would clear all DRM keys, thus turning your camera into hot garbage. There's good news, though. It appears that the Android Pie update no longer cripples the camera on unlocked devices.
Read MoreUS Copyright Office says circumventing DRM to repair certain electronics, including phones and smart speakers, is now legal
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a law passed in the United States over 20 years ago, criminalizes the production of technology intended to circumvent DRM. While most people equate this with pirating movies, the law has also drastically affected the technology repair industry, as more and more manufacturers implement DRM designed to limit repair options. For example, recent Mac computers have a chip which makes certain repairs impossible without Apple-authorized software.
Read MoreYou can buy the Pocophone F1 in the US, but you probably shouldn't
Xiaomi is a huge smartphone maker in many parts of the world, but not in the US. When the company announced its Pocophone sub-brand, there was some hope it could come to American shores. That doesn't appear to be the case, at least not officially. You can already purchase the Pocophone F1 from several US eBay sellers, but there are a few things to know before you do.
Read MorePocophone F1 lacks support for Widevine L1, HD playback in Netflix and other apps don't work
Xiaomi's Pocophone F1 has already made waves in the smartphone industry for being incredibly affordable; a ~$300 phone with a Snapdragon 845 processor is virtually unheard of. Budget phones are inherently going to have some tradeoffs, and a less-obvious one has been discovered: lack of support for Widevine L1 DRM.
Read MoreThe Play Store's new 'app signatures' aren't DRM, and sideloading isn't in danger
Earlier this month, Google announced that it would start adding metadata to applications downloaded from the Play Store. The metadata serves as proof that an APK originated from the Play Store, allowing devices to verify that the app hasn't been tampered with. However, there is a growing misconception that this is a form of DRM (Digital Rights Management), which simply isn't true.
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OnePlus updating its 5 and 5T to play HD Netflix, but you have to send your phone back to get it
OnePlus' phones are a great value, but they've each individually had a few drawbacks. One negative they all had in common, though, was a DRM deficiency. None of the company's handsets supported the correct Widevine level required for HD playback in Netflix. Distress on the subject came to a head late last year, and OnePlus surprisingly announced that it would add the feature in the future. In a comment on OnePlus' forums today the company confirmed that it was now able to update handsets to support it, but the process will require that you physically send the phone back to OnePlus for the update.
Read MoreOnePlus 5 and 5T can't play Netflix in HD, but the feature will be added at some point
The OnePlus 5T is one of our favorite phones at AP. It's a fantastic value, improving on its predecessor without costing a whole lot more. But there is still one unfortunate disadvantage to using one. Like OnePlus' older phones, it doesn't support the correct DRM level for HD playback on services such as Netflix. But OnePlus has promised us that this will be corrected in the future for the OnePlus 5 and 5T.
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