The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) Licensing Authority 'fesses up. As BBC has reported, the megagroup responsible for the walls of security on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs has just admitted that the encryption on HD-DVD discs has been bypassed, as claimed by muslix64b earlier. The AACS aren't too worried, though, as they note that "It does not represent an attack on the AACS system itself."

The spokesperson further commented that the large size of the files and the high cost of writable hi-def discs made widespread copying of the movies impractical. From that perspective, they might be looking at the early (and high-cost economics) of high-def movies to deter potential pirates - hence their complacent attitude towards the hack.

Here's an interesting bit, though: Why did muslix64b go as far as to break the walls of copy protection on HD-DVD, then, if the economics aren't suited for it right now? BBC gets the answer straight from the hacker himself: because he was so peeved at the fact that he couldn't play his HD-DVD movie, simply because he lacked the required compliant connector (HDMI cable or compliant DVI). According to him, "Not being able to play a movie that I have paid for, because some executive in Hollywood decided I cannot, made me mad."

So... for want of a cable, what got lost again?