Teac CD-W548E - StarForce 3.0-killer?

[NetSoerfer]

I read this on chip.de today:


The games' copy protections killer: Teac CD-W548E

This Teac is an outstanding copy protection killer - in combination with the 1:1-copy-tool Alcohol it copies SafeDisc 2.4/2.8 and SecuROM New (4.8). It even defeats StarForce 3.0 as the only burner so far in our test labs.

StarForce 3.0, a copy protection from Russia, prevents harddisc-access and hence all virtualCD-tools like Daemon-Tools, CloneCD or Alcohol. A copy burned with the Teac however can be started from the same drive, sometimes needing several reading attempts. All other copy protection mechanisms yaddayaddayadda bleh...


Maybe someone cares. And maybe it helps prevent confusion about "THE StarForce 3.0-killer"...


sG

[Copytrooper]

Chip writes a lot bullshit, even if it really worked with one game, itґs simply a bug in the protection for sure, ґcause the problem of creating a Starforce backup is physical structure of existing media, which can NOT be altered by any writer.

[NetSoerfer]

would have REALLY confused me if it hadn't been a hoax. :mrgreen:

thanks for the info

[Copytrooper]

Well, it is theoretically possible to create a writer able to make backups of Starforce, SecuROM or ProtectCD5, but this would need completely blank media and some new kind of image which includes physical structure in a writable form.

[NetSoerfer]

Yeah sure, but I didn't expect there'd already be such burner-technology and media that could do that.

Apart from that they used Alcohol in their test which doesn't support an appropriate image-format yet... so yeah, it kinda couldn't be anything but a hoax...

[Copytrooper]

Yeah sure, but I didn't expect there'd already be such burner-technology and media that could do that.

Me too and as a matter of fact: thereґre really neither such writer technology (yet);
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nor such blank media ... and I donґt think it will be developed.

[Andareed]

@copytropper: when you say completely blank media, do you mean cdr's without the pre-included 'wobble'?

[Copytrooper]

(...) do you mean cdr's without the pre-included 'wobble'?

Exactly, otherwise it would be impossible to re-create physical structure of protected original.

[DevX]

Theoretically any CD could be duplicated even on usual CD-R with preexisting wobble if you could control dynamically the size of lands and pits (similar to what CRW-F1 does but on the fly). But this process should be adjusted individually for each CD-R/RW brand of course.
If such drive appears then it could do anything in combination with advanced software.

[Copytrooper]

The problem is, that an original/pressed cd can alter more than just size of pits and lands, the gap between the spiral line itself an also be altered all over the original cd, so cd-r media with pre-wobble will always be different from such originals - thatґs what I meant, donґt know how to measure such things though ...

[Andareed]

But without the wobble, burners lose track of where they are currently writing, correct?

[Copytrooper]

Such media would need a new kind of writers knowing where it writes without pre-wobble - but the on-the-fly-pit&land-altering VeNoM described would also need some new kind of writer and images ...

[DevX]

AFAIK CRW-F1 can change the size of pits for whole disc only. But technically it is not hard to do it on the fly. eg. stop burning, change parameters, continue burning. So new burner is only one step away from CRW-F1.;-)
Required images already exist - MDS is enough, only proper calibration of burner with corresponding media will be required. After that ALL protections behavior based on physial parameters could be simulated - no way to distiguish from original.

[NetSoerfer]

Now that's kinda good news, and kinda unexpected too!