Oh Nine, Eff Nine

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

This is about the AACS encryption key controversy.

HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are encrypted such that you have only limited access to it.

This hex key will allow one to play HD-DVD movies on systems with HD-DVD-ROM drives (not DVD drives) but without commercial software. So programmers can create their own software to play movies on HD-DVD. It also allows one to rip the HD-DVDs and play them in a different format.

Basically this code allows you to watch the movie you paid good money for in anyway you want.

This is now being called as the magic number which can maybe decode almost all the HD-DVD titles released till date!!

There was even a time when the AACS LA said that this hex number was copyrighted and started asking all the sites/blogs to remove this number from their database and also delete all the discussions related to it!!
Can you imagine? A number, being copyrighted?
God! What is the world turning to!