Pirated 4K 'Aquaman' rip suggests iTunes 4K movie DRM has been broken
The appearance of a pirated 4K-resolution version of the movie "Aquaman" on torrent sites is suspected to have been acquired from the iTunes store, which if true is a sign that someone has found a way around Apple's copyright protection measures.
"Aquaman"
While pirated movies are not an unusual sight, it has been noted tracker sites are circulating a version of the movie that uses "Web-DL" in the title, which denotes that it is a web download, typically from video streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes.
As the file appeared shortly after it became available to purchase on iTunes, reports TorrentFreak, with 4K versions of the movie not currently available on either Netflix nor Amazon. The timing and the lack of availability at that resolution prompted rumors that those behind the ripped video's creation had discovered how to defeat Apple's iTunes 4K protection, be it by cracking or by breach.
There is some debate about the claim, as the report notes that it could be a mislabeled download. However, the limited availability from other avenues makes it seem plausible to have been acquired from iTunes. While a version is available in 4K on Vudu, it was released after the pirated upload first became available.
If genuine, the existence of a pirated version of a 4K film sourced from iTunes could mean more pirated releases of other movies at the high resolution could also be on the way.
At present, there is no way to watch 4K movies from iTunes on a Mac or iOS device, with the content only playable and not downloadable on an Apple TV 4K. Given Apple's penchant for security, it is likely that it is investigating the issue to close the breach or security hole as quickly as possible.
"Aquaman"
While pirated movies are not an unusual sight, it has been noted tracker sites are circulating a version of the movie that uses "Web-DL" in the title, which denotes that it is a web download, typically from video streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes.
As the file appeared shortly after it became available to purchase on iTunes, reports TorrentFreak, with 4K versions of the movie not currently available on either Netflix nor Amazon. The timing and the lack of availability at that resolution prompted rumors that those behind the ripped video's creation had discovered how to defeat Apple's iTunes 4K protection, be it by cracking or by breach.
There is some debate about the claim, as the report notes that it could be a mislabeled download. However, the limited availability from other avenues makes it seem plausible to have been acquired from iTunes. While a version is available in 4K on Vudu, it was released after the pirated upload first became available.
If genuine, the existence of a pirated version of a 4K film sourced from iTunes could mean more pirated releases of other movies at the high resolution could also be on the way.
At present, there is no way to watch 4K movies from iTunes on a Mac or iOS device, with the content only playable and not downloadable on an Apple TV 4K. Given Apple's penchant for security, it is likely that it is investigating the issue to close the breach or security hole as quickly as possible.
Comments
The vector from the original report isn't clear. There are two practical possibilities 1) A hack of the ATV4K, allowing for a capture of the video data after decryption has been done somehow or 2) an interception of the network stream at some point in a network with a sniffer of some sort -- which would need to be decrypted somehow.
The former seems more likely.
Mr Jobs was also famously known for using public statements as a negotiating tool. He may not have been as firmly "against DRM" in all cases as his statements may have implied. https://daringfireball.net/2007/02/reading_between_the_lines
I have already watched it on my 4K Apple TV.
"At present, there is no way to watch 4K movies from iTunes on a Mac or iOS device, with the content only playable and not downloadable on an Apple TV 4K."
It was "not downloadable" before, but it's past the "preorder" stage and on to the "buy" stage, which means you can in fact download it.
As far as I know, it's still a criminal offense to bootleg property, let alone give it away for free. So whoever did this is going to remain very, very quiet. Which means it's just a guessing game whether or not this was ripped off during an Apple download.
BTW, is it possible to make a copy of a 4K video playing on a 4K monitor with an 8K video camera, then "save" the video as a 4K? Seems to me that's one way around the issue.
You absolutely cannot download iTunes 4K content to a device. You can only stream it. You will never have the entire movie on your device at any given time, only limited pieces. The ATV will only keep about 1GB of the movie on the device in total for buffering purposes. As you progress through the movie, it will delete older chunks.
they are using iTunes to mean the iTunes store. and yes that is the actual question. how did anyone get a downloaded copy to break. because it's potentially using the same DRM has the other movie files and there's like 5 programs for cracking that.
my guess is that if it's from an iTunes file it was a screener. there have been studio screeners sent out using iTunes for a while. sometimes even before they're available to the public (using download codes). and it's possible that they used the 4k version for these screeners. and yes even if they were technically 'rentals' at least 2 of those 5 programs can break a downloaded rental file. or so they claim.
you watched it via streaming on your apple tv. now download it in 4k on your computer, which would be a needed first step to crack the DRM and then post it on something like pirate bay
(* part of my decision when I was in grad schools to buy books on Kindle, was because I could de-DRM any I really needed to as future-proofing. I feel the same with other media, though TV/movies would be on the least-valuable to me end of the spectrum for future-proofing.)
Yeah, though I'm not super-picky (old eyes, non-super-duper-high-end-TV, etc.) I also prefer a really good 1080p source over anything I've streamed. I haven't seen a lot of 4k content since we got our 4k TV, but I've not been overly impressed with anything I have seen.