4K Content Protection “Stripper” Beats Warner Bros in Court

LegendSky, a hardware manufacturer that creates devices enabling consumers to bypass 4K copy protection, has survived a crucial lawsuit. LegendSky was sued by Warner Bros. and Intel daughter company Digital Content Protection (DCP), who said the company was breaking the law, but a surprising settlement suggests otherwise.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

hdfurylLate last year the first pirated copies of 4K videos leaked from both Netflix and Amazon. These leaks were unusual as online 4k streams were always well protected against pirates.

Initially it was unclear how the HDCP content protection had been circumvented, but several sources suggested that one of LegendSky’s latest HDFury devices may have been involved.

This suspicion was later corroborated by a well-known Scene group, which openly thanked HDFury in their release notes.

However, not everyone was pleased with the new “pirate tool.” In fact, Warner Bros. and Intel daughter company Digital Content Protection (DCP) sued the HDFury manufacturer over its ability to “strip” the latest HDCP encryption.

The Chinese hardware manufacturer fiercely rejected these piracy claims and countersued Warner and Intel subsidiary for defamation.

In its reply, LegendSky explained that their devices do not “strip” any HDCP copy protection. Instead, the contested HDFury device merely downgrades the higher HDCP protection to a lower version, which is permitted as an exception under the DMCA.

The company further added that several HDCP licensees including Netflix, Disney, NBC and CBS have bought their devices for legitimate purposes.

It’s possible that DCP also appreciated the strength of this argument as this week the company dropped its copyright infringement claims against LegendSky. This means that the 4K integral remains for sale, despite the earlier piracy claims.

Court documents reveal nothing other than a statement signed by both parties, stating that the claims and counterclaims have been dismissed. However, LegendSky did inform its customers a few days ago referring to a settlement being reached.

“We just have been informed by our legal counsel that we must pull all of the below products immediately due to a pending confidential settlement we are reaching,” the email in question reads.

LegendSky’s email

hdfury-pull

Interestingly, the products that were pulled have nothing to do with the 4K splitter that started the lawsuit. Instead, they are digital to analog converters.

In the U.S. these type of products have previously been classed as “infringing” and DCP informed the court about several of these so-called “analog hole” verdicts in an earlier filing. It therefore makes sense that puling these older products is part of the settlement.

This allows Warner Bros. and the Intel daughter company to save face, but it’s only a minor conciliation. With the 4K integral still up for sale, the Chinese hardware manufacturer has without doubt booked a moral victory in this lawsuit.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Evidence of gang ties does not include music on cell phones, court says

Use caution “when drawing conclusions from a defendant’s musical preferences.”

Music from the band Los Tigres Del Norte the authorities found on an assault defendant's mobile phone was wrongly used to prove gang affiliation, Washington state's top court ruled. (credit: Knight Foundation)

Washington state's top court is tossing the assault convictions of three men, in part because prosecutors told jurors that Latin music on one of the defendant's mobile phones highlighted a gang affiliation.

The issue was tangential to why the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Ricardo Juarez DeLeon, brother Anthony DeLeon, and Octavio Robledo. The trio was convicted of first-degree assault in connection to a 2009 non-deadly drive-by shooting in Yakima County. The court demanded a retrial because the men told jail officials they were gang members and could not be placed in a cell with rival gang members. But ultimately the admission was wrongly used against them at trial before the jury, the top court found.

"In this case, the defendants made self-incriminating statements to avoid a credible risk of physical violence," the top court ruled. (PDF) "By their very nature, such statements cannot be considered voluntary, and they should not have been admitted."

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Deals of the Day (5-06-2016)

Deals of the Day (5-06-2016)

Dell’s XPS 13 line of thin and light laptops are notable for their super-slim screen bezels (the 13 inch laptop is closer in size to a typical 11.6 inch model than to most other 13.3 inch laptops). But they’re also notable for a reasonably low starting price of about $800… for a model with a Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, 12GB of storage, and a 1080p non-touch display.

You normally have to pay nearly twice as much if you want a version with a 3200 x 1800 pixel touchscreen display.

Continue reading Deals of the Day (5-06-2016) at Liliputing.

Deals of the Day (5-06-2016)

Dell’s XPS 13 line of thin and light laptops are notable for their super-slim screen bezels (the 13 inch laptop is closer in size to a typical 11.6 inch model than to most other 13.3 inch laptops). But they’re also notable for a reasonably low starting price of about $800… for a model with a Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, 12GB of storage, and a 1080p non-touch display.

You normally have to pay nearly twice as much if you want a version with a 3200 x 1800 pixel touchscreen display.

Continue reading Deals of the Day (5-06-2016) at Liliputing.

After Battlefield 4 comes… Battlefield 1?

Leaks suggest this oddly numbered game is set in an “alternate history” World War I.

This leaked retailer art matches with art briefly seen on Xbox Live. (credit: Reddit)

It appears the anticipated sequel to Battlefield 4 will not be Battlefield 5. Instead, EA has apparently thrown traditional counting out the window by preparing Battlefield 1, a new shooter that seems to be set in an alternate history version of World War I.

None of this is official yet; EA is set to actually reveal the next Battlefield title as part of a day-long livestream at 4pm Eastern time today. But the name has been leaked ahead of time by photos from a retail source. The promotional art in those photos matches art that showed up briefly on Xbox Live earlier today and on the livestream itself, depicting a figure with a WWI-era pistol and trench club. There have been previous rumors about the game's setting, too. Back in February, a game called Battlefield 5 was briefly listed as a "WW1 tactical shooter" by a Swiss retailer with an October 26 release date.

Remember that the first Battlefield game (the one people sometimes call "Battlefield One," and which came before Battlefield 2) was actually titled Battlefield 1942.  The name Battlefield 1 remains technically available, we suppose. The series has already jumped around to "1943" and "2143" over the years if you want to get really confusing with the numbering.

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Ajit Pai votes against Charter/TWC merger, objects to Wheeler’s conditions

Cable merger to be approved despite Pai’s complaint about FCC “micromanagement.”

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. (credit: FCC)

Charter Communications is close to winning approval of its acquisition of Time Warner Cable (TWC), but Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai is voting against the deal.

Pai, a Republican, isn't opposed to the cable merger itself, which will make Charter the nation's second largest broadband provider after Comcast. Instead, Pai objects to the conditions that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed imposing on the deal. Charter should be able to buy TWC without facing onerous requirements, Pai says.

"The FCC's merger review process is badly broken," a Pai spokesperson said, according to an article in The Hill. "Chairman Wheeler's order isn't about competition, competition, competition; it's about regulation, regulation, regulation. It's about imposing conditions that have nothing to do with the merits of this transaction. It's about the government micromanaging the Internet economy."

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HoloFlex is a flexible, glasses-free 3D smartphone screen

HoloFlex is a flexible, glasses-free 3D smartphone screen

Microsoft may be working on a holographic computing platform that involves a big, expensive headset. But researchers at Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab have developed a headset-free system that works with a smartphone-sized device.

It’s called HoloFlex, and it’s a flexible touchscreen display combined with an array of more than 16,000 fisheye lenses that give graphics a 3D effect, making it look like they pop off the screen.

As the team’s demo video makes clear though, there are some serious downsides to the technology.

Continue reading HoloFlex is a flexible, glasses-free 3D smartphone screen at Liliputing.

HoloFlex is a flexible, glasses-free 3D smartphone screen

Microsoft may be working on a holographic computing platform that involves a big, expensive headset. But researchers at Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab have developed a headset-free system that works with a smartphone-sized device.

It’s called HoloFlex, and it’s a flexible touchscreen display combined with an array of more than 16,000 fisheye lenses that give graphics a 3D effect, making it look like they pop off the screen.

As the team’s demo video makes clear though, there are some serious downsides to the technology.

Continue reading HoloFlex is a flexible, glasses-free 3D smartphone screen at Liliputing.

Uncharted Fortune Hunter: Schatzsuche für den Multiplayermodus

Kurz vor der Veröffentlichung von Uncharted 4 hat Sony die Begleit-App Uncharted Fortune Hunter für iOS und Android veröffentlicht. Die macht Spaß – und schaltet eine Reihe von Inhalten für den Multiplayermodus des Hauptprogramms frei. (Uncharted, Sony)

Kurz vor der Veröffentlichung von Uncharted 4 hat Sony die Begleit-App Uncharted Fortune Hunter für iOS und Android veröffentlicht. Die macht Spaß - und schaltet eine Reihe von Inhalten für den Multiplayermodus des Hauptprogramms frei. (Uncharted, Sony)

FAA chief announces advisory panel on drones as industry checks its watch

In olive branch to tech industry, FAA taps Intel CEO Brian Krzanich for new panel.

FAA administrator Michael Huerta told attendees at this week's drone conference that the FAA is forming an advisory committee led by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich to help prioritize drone rulemaking work. (credit: Sean Gallagher)

NEW ORLEANS—Former Cisco CEO John Chambers delivered a keynote on Tuesday at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) XPONENTIAL conference, slamming the Obama administration for moving too slowly on adjusting regulations governing commercial and private drones.

Chambers said that Obama doesn't "get" drones and that the US is potentially being left behind in a market that he claimed could drive trillions of dollars in economic impact. His remarks drew loud applause from the audience of attendees—many of whom represented companies eager to cash in on drones as either vendors or customers.

Federal Aviation Administration administrator Michael Huerta responded on Wednesday with a talk about the FAA's progress on drone regulations before the same audience that Huerta had previously called "a lion's den" in his last appearance at AUVSI's flagship conference four years ago. But, he joked, "We're getting to know each other so well that UAS conventions are getting to be like family reunions."

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Microsoft will kill the “Get Windows 10” nagware app after July 29th

Microsoft will kill the “Get Windows 10” nagware app after July 29th

Microsoft has announced that its Windows 10 free upgrade offer for Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 users ends July 29th. So what about that little Windows icon Microsoft added to your taskbar last year… the one that prompts you to upgrade? Yeah, it’s going away too.

WinBeta reports that Microsoft will first disable the “Get Windows 10” app and eventually remove it from affected PCs.

The move makes sense: Microsoft pushed the app to users to promote the free Windows 10 update.

Continue reading Microsoft will kill the “Get Windows 10” nagware app after July 29th at Liliputing.

Microsoft will kill the “Get Windows 10” nagware app after July 29th

Microsoft has announced that its Windows 10 free upgrade offer for Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 users ends July 29th. So what about that little Windows icon Microsoft added to your taskbar last year… the one that prompts you to upgrade? Yeah, it’s going away too.

WinBeta reports that Microsoft will first disable the “Get Windows 10” app and eventually remove it from affected PCs.

The move makes sense: Microsoft pushed the app to users to promote the free Windows 10 update.

Continue reading Microsoft will kill the “Get Windows 10” nagware app after July 29th at Liliputing.