Despite the recent revoking of WinDVD 8's key where consumers have to update WinDVD and their HD DVD / Blu-ray drive's firmware to play upcoming titles, hackers have managed to break the AACS Volume ID check. With this hack, it prevents the mandatory check where the disc authenticates itself with a volume ID, thus allowing discs where the volume ID has been revoked to be played back. As a result, this also prevents any future revocations from taking effect unless the AACS LA revoke the actual Toshiba Xbox 360 HD DVD player!
So for those using the new hack mentioned on Doom9, they can allow their drive to play the discs with the revoked Volume ID as well as use the existing processing keys to decrypt and backup discs or play them on a digital monitor regardless of HDCP support.
From what I can see, so long as the graphics card and display HDCP requirements still exist, this is only going to keep the hackers busy hacking the AACS DRM system in every way they can. I'm sure some people who have been using the HD DVD and Blu-ray decryption tools were only doing so in order to unlock the HD playback restrictions on their non HDCP complaint PC set up.
Further info on key revokation can be read here on the Sydney Morning Herald. Thanks to our reviewer & section admin Womble and our system admin Liggy for letting us know.
