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...hardware, which is above software...
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That is irrelevant since the two methods cannot be compared, though they can both be simultaenously used (Securom 4.8+ uses special subchannels AND density variations). Some hardware protections can be quite easily defeated (CD-COPS) whilst software protections using special bad sectors (such as Advanced Ring Protech, often called 'Proring') can give readers a hard time (over 24 hours - depending on reader - for a dump that can even result in a Windows crash!), not to mention
weak sectors that not all readers are able to burn. As for reading pregap, or even the entire lead-in, not all readers support it. And don't forget audio CDs : all audio CD protections to this day are only software-based (using fake TOCs and illegal track lengths), yet some such as the most recent versions of Cactus Datashield 100 are
extremely difficult to read, if not impossible for most readers.
On the other hand, even the most recent versions of Securom can be fooled by the Blindwrite twinpeaks method, provided that BW is updated to avoid blacklists (yep newer Securoms do attempt to blacklist the twinpeaks method - the @£%&*#! bastards
). The Plextor Premium has even gone one step further by implementing Gigarec into its firmware, allowing it to reproduce density variations almost 1:1, close enough to 1:1 to fool the protection check! - though this only has been shown to work with Securom, not Starforce. Nevertheless, it's a milestone. Perhaps other CD burner manufacturers will follow in soon enough. Yet even this writer is only a 2-sheep burner, not a 3-sheep one, ie. can write all weak patterns used today, but not
very weak ones that could be used in the future, if not in safedisk 2.9. Indeed I've seen reports, on US, german and french forums, of users succeeding in making successful backups of safedisk 2.9 with their Premium only if EFM enhancement (in Alcohol or BW) was enabled - meaning the backup was only workable, not 1:1! Even Liteon burners have had trouble burning this protection, although some users have managed to burn 1:1 copies without EFM bypass enabled using their LTR 52327S - perhaps thanks to Liteon's new 7S chipset. Unfortunately, this writer is not available in France right now, and even this one has not yet been tested on "3-sheep" patterns - can't wait for the results..
So U C, software-based protections can turn out to be very tough nuts to crack for even the most recent readers/burners, and they do have a bright future - perhaps more than hardware-based ones.
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Do you know if Lite-On CD-RWs are going to be a new firmware for SecuROM 4.8+?
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If you mean the ability to reproduce density variations, to this day only the PX Premium has this feature. I don't know when other brands will follow in its wake. Besides given the
price of the Premium - surely due to Gigarec - one can only assume that such firmware takes a very long time to develop. And there is perhaps still much room for improvement in this field, since Gigarec can only be used with buffer-underrun protection
switched off, thus increasing the chance of having a coaster! If Liteon could write their own gigarec-firmware, that would be most welcome since users would most likely get all its benefits without its main drawback - the cost!
But for now, I'm more interested in new Liteon writers' ability to do 100% correct EFM encoding, which would safeguard us against deadlier versions of Safedisk 2.x. After all we've seen what Macrovision are capable of, and no one knows what they've got in mind
semper idem, sed aliter