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Will Windows XP have some form of audio "protection"?

P

ProviaFan

Lifer
I'm trying to decide whether or not to upgrade to XP when it comes out. From what I've read, my system (see rig profile for more info) should be able to handle it (it runs Windows 2000 Pro at an excellent speed now). But if it has sound file "protection" I will probably not be upgrading. So, what have you beta testers found out? Does it have this protection? If so, does it get in the way such as to cause the utterance of nasty 4 letter words? Thanks in advance.
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Josh
 
Well, that's a concern. Mine is this subscription licensing thing. My advice is to wait a bit before you upgrade. Is there a pressing need to upgrade to Windows XP? About the only reason I wanted to (Besides this disease I have of always wanting the latest) was it's compatibility with Windows 95 kernel. I have games that are no longer supported and no new versions that run only under Windows 95/98. I don't want to run a dual boot system again so I was eyeing Windows XP alot but now I'm skeptical. The "price" might be way more than I'm willing to pay. Even if I got it for free. 🙂
 
Windows XP will have what's called "secure audio path", which will remove all access to the audio stream all the way to the sound card so that there's no way to make a perfect digital copy. Only sound card drivers that have been signed by Microsoft will be able to play audio that uses it. This has been implemented in Windows ME as well.
 
So how does this "secure audio path" affect the normal operation of the system? Is it possible to run napster on XP (not that I'm going to, but I am just curious 🙂?
Thanks.
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Josh
 
Well there's something I didn't know. No more mp3s. I have to call Bill to install it and it'll probably cost $500. No thanks.
 
Theoretically, SAP shouldn't affect the MP3s you already have, nor should it affect your ability to use Napster. However, It enables the music industry to distribute music cannot be (easily) copied and can only be played on Windows. Imagine it: Windows-only music. Scary idea, n'est-ce pas?
 
<< However, It enables the music industry to distribute music cannot be (easily) copied and can only be played on Windows. >>

Not good enough. I listen to music in my car. My car has windows but not Windows. Screw the SAP and RIAA, if there is no option to make personal copies of the music I buy.
 
Well, thank you all for the prompt answers. I guess my decision is made to stick with Windows 2000 Pro for now, since it's working perfectly. Then, after Windows XP is out, I'll see what other people think of the final release version, and try it on somebody else's computer, before purchasing it myself. (of course, the pricing issue will be in effect also, since if it's way too expensive, or if I have to rent it, I definitely won't be getting it).
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Josh
 


<< Not good enough. I listen to music in my car. My car has windows but not Windows. >>



I was a bit hasty there; not really windows-only, but it will require a black-box decryptor to play. That means you'll need a new CD player for your car, and all computer software that plays this music, all the way down to the OS, will have to be closed source. That means no Linux. And say goodbye to the MAD Winamp plugin (I don't use it myself, but I know it's a popular thing around here), not only because it's GPLed but because it's an MP3 decoder, and the new digital audio format will have to have encryption built into the specs.
 
What pisses me off most about this whole toilet of an OS is that this trend won't stop with XP. Microsoft will carry it on to everything else they do.
 
Dont worry too much about it. There will be ways around any copy protection they try to integrate into it. You can bet your life on that!

 
This is why I'm gonna give Linux a shot so I won't have to deal with this stuff. I no longer game so Linux will be perfect for my needs assuming all my hardware is compatible. Hopefully, the support will get better as more people migrate to it.
 
You said there is a form of protection in WinME and I use ME and I don't notice anything I can't do that I could before, care to elaborate? I can digitally extract data on a CD to my hard drive in WAV or mp3 form. I don't understand. And if someone could explain simply what you will/won't be able to do in XP I'd be very grateful.

Thanks
 
I use XP also and do not notice anything. I have also not heard in Winbeta that there will anything different than ME in the gold build, but I have read the rumors about whats coming here and at the register
 
It doesn't affect anything you rip and encode from standard CDs, unless you encode them to WMA without disabling the WMA protection. However, it does have a feature that will lock the user away from the raw digital audio stream if the original file is encrypted and played through a special player. If the record labels were to start selling digital audio files over the web (and NO, they will NOT be MP3s), this is what they'd require.
 


<< It doesn't affect anything you rip and encode from standard CDs, unless you encode them to WMA without disabling the WMA protection. However, it does have a feature that will lock the user away from the raw digital audio stream if the original file is encrypted and played through a special player. If the record labels were to start selling digital audio files over the web (and NO, they will NOT be MP3s), this is what they'd require. >>


I made some WMA files from CD witn WinME, and they played just fine, until I did a reformat/reinstall. Now when I try to play them, I get an error message... Secure media, blah blah blah... My MP3s were unaffected.

If this is all XP does, I don't mind.

Nate
 
This issue is like the old saying, &quot;if there's smoke there has to be fire&quot;. By this i mean, we are just starting to see the smoke of the situation and, the fire, which we can't see yet, is MS real intentions down the road.
 
Theres nothing to worry about. The protection is in ME, but can you tell? I'm personally more worried about the fact that Roxio 5 wont let me burn some mp3s. Seriously, this would be such a big drawback to it that even MS isnt stupid enough to do it.

DONT WORRY! Theres no noticible protection now, and there wont be any in the near future. If people can crack SDMI, they can crack anything that MS could create. That kind of protection, because its supposedly at the hardware level, will create far more problems that itd solve. And because of that, if it ever did come, thered likely be a way to turn it off buried somewhere in windows, which wont take long to find.

The only people that this is likely to affect is people who wouldnt even think of visiting a site like anandtech, let alone even know it exists. It may be a pain in the ass for some, but doubtfully for a single person here.

 


<<
I made some WMA files from CD witn WinME, and they played just fine, until I did a reformat/reinstall. Now when I try to play them, I get an error message... Secure media, blah blah blah... My MP3s were unaffected.
 >>



Yeah, that's what I was referring to when I mentioned &quot;without disabling the WMA protection&quot;. There's some cryptic configuration option somewhere in WMP that disables the secure WMA BS. Don't ask me where it exactly is, I don't use WMAs and besides, I'm typing this from Linux.
 
Its not cyrptic. When you encode the file theres a checkbox. Its different depending on the many ways to encode it, but its almost always your choice. In WMP7, its enable personal rights management or somethin. It can come in useful if you dont want people copying your personal files. Thats the &quot;personal&quot; part.
 
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