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tion Issues?” for CSS info). Newer RPC2 DVD-ROM drives let you change<br />
the region code several times (RPC stands for region protection control),<br />
but once an RPC2 drive has been changed five times, it can’t be changed<br />
again unless the vendor or manufacturer resets the drive. The Drive Info utility<br />
can tell you if you have an RPC2 drive (it will say “This drive has region<br />
protection”). See “DVD Utilities and Region-Free Information,” for more<br />
information about circumventing DVD-ROM region restrictions. Since<br />
December 31, 1999, only RPC2 drives have been manufactured.<br />
What Are the Copy Protection Issues?<br />
Content protection system architecture (CPSA) is the name given to the<br />
overall framework for security and access control across the entire DVD<br />
family. Developed by the 4C Entity (Intel, IBM, Matsushita, and Toshiba) in<br />
cooperation with the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG),<br />
CPSA covers encryption, watermarking, and the protection of analog and<br />
digital outputs. Many forms of content protection apply to DVD, as detailed<br />
in the following seven sections.<br />
Analog CPS (Macrovision)<br />
General DVD 21<br />
Copying to videotape (analog) can be prevented with a Macrovision 7.0 circuit<br />
in every DVD player. The general term is Analog Protection System<br />
(APS), also sometimes called copyguard. Computer video cards with composite<br />
or s-video (Y/C) output must also use APS. Macrovision adds a<br />
rapidly modulated colorburst signal (Colorstripe) along with pulses in the<br />
vertical blanking signal (AGC) to the composite video and s-video outputs.<br />
This confuses the synchronization and automatic-recording-level circuitry in<br />
95 percent of consumer VCRs. Unfortunately, it can degrade the picture,<br />
especially with old or nonstandard equipment.<br />
Macrovision may show up as stripes of color, distortion, rolling, a black<br />
and white picture, and dark/light cycling. Macrovision creates problems for<br />
most TV/VCR combos (see “Will I Have Problems Connecting My VCR<br />
Between My TV and DVD Player?”) and some high-end equipment such as<br />
line doublers and video projectors.<br />
Macrovision was not present on the component output of early players,<br />
but it is required on component output of newer players (AGC only, because<br />
there is no burst in a component signal). DVDs contain trigger bits that tell<br />
the player whether or not to enable Macrovision AGC, with the optional<br />
addition of two-line or four-line Colorstripe. The triggers occur about twice<br />
a second, which enables fine control over the video. The producer of the<br />
disc decides the amount of copy protection to enable and then pays<br />
Macrovision royalties accordingly (several cents per disc). Just as with