OpenMG
Encyclopedia
OpenMG is a SDMI
-compliant digital rights management
system by Sony
. It is designed for audio files in ATRAC3 format. The compliant software, eg. Sony SonicStage
, is usually capable of transcoding MP3
and wav
files to OpenMG/ATRAC3. The file extensions OpenMG-encrypted files use are .omg and .oma.
There has already been at least one reported case when a security update of Windows broke OpenMG-compliant software. This issue was later resolved.
Sonicstage
3.4 includes an option to remove DRM from one's entire media library, allowing unrestricted use. However, this feature is disabled for copies without a license.
The compliant music organization systems, eg. OpenMG Jukebox, work by "checking out" and "checking in" the files to/from portable players, keeping only one copy unlocked in order to hinder proliferation of copies.
, Sony intends to restrict the files to be only moved instead of copied, artificially emulating the restrictions of physical objects. However, as of the most recent releases of Sonicstage, files can be "checked out" of the library an unlimited number of times to a portable device, without the need to "check in" any of them.
tags.
Secure Digital Music Initiative
Secure Digital Music Initiative was a forum formed in late 1998, composed of more than 200 IT, consumer electronics, security technology, ISP and recording industry companies, ostensibly with the purpose of developing technology specifications that protected the playing, storing and distributing...
-compliant digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
system by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. It is designed for audio files in ATRAC3 format. The compliant software, eg. Sony SonicStage
SonicStage
SonicStage is the name for Sony software that is used for managing portable devices when they are plugged into a computer running Microsoft Windows. It comprises a music player and library manager, similar to iTunes, Windows Media Player and RealPlayer. It is used to manage the library of ATRAC...
, is usually capable of transcoding MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
and wav
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
files to OpenMG/ATRAC3. The file extensions OpenMG-encrypted files use are .omg and .oma.
There has already been at least one reported case when a security update of Windows broke OpenMG-compliant software. This issue was later resolved.
Sonicstage
SonicStage
SonicStage is the name for Sony software that is used for managing portable devices when they are plugged into a computer running Microsoft Windows. It comprises a music player and library manager, similar to iTunes, Windows Media Player and RealPlayer. It is used to manage the library of ATRAC...
3.4 includes an option to remove DRM from one's entire media library, allowing unrestricted use. However, this feature is disabled for copies without a license.
The compliant music organization systems, eg. OpenMG Jukebox, work by "checking out" and "checking in" the files to/from portable players, keeping only one copy unlocked in order to hinder proliferation of copies.
Lock-out
The 'checking in' and 'checking out' of files is often cumbersome and risky in comparison with unprotected data. Side effects include user complaints of being locked out of their own original recordings, unable to transfer them to the computer. With the combination of OpenMG with MagicGateMagicGate
MagicGate is a copy-protection technology introduced by Sony in 1999 as part of the Secure Digital Music Initiative . It works by encrypting the content on the device and using MagicGate chips in both the storage device and the reader to enforce control over how files are copied.MagicGate...
, Sony intends to restrict the files to be only moved instead of copied, artificially emulating the restrictions of physical objects. However, as of the most recent releases of Sonicstage, files can be "checked out" of the library an unlimited number of times to a portable device, without the need to "check in" any of them.
Inability to read 'corrupted' ID3 tags
OpenMG modules also tend to choke on corrupted MP3 ID3ID3
ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, and other information about the file to be stored in the file itself....
tags.