Lord Reith wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 9:31 pm
skynet wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 4:52 pmHD Tracks uses a different type of approach when watermarking
Could you elaborate please? If there's any watermarking on the hirez I would rather just stick with the cd.
I was going to buy the vinyl but after reading all the complaints about warping, I'm not even going to bother with that. Like the old phrase "No taxation without representation" I also firmly believe in "No corner cutting without appropriate pricing".
Not much, since the method is supposed to be patented, confidential and propietarie, and i am not even sure if the method they use can really be called "watermarking" (this goes way back to the beginning of 2000s), but is my understanding that whenever you purchase a track or an album through HD tracks they use an algorithm (provided by vendors UM, or whoever the hell is the publisher) that is basically a method using metadata, this does not affect the quality of the tracks but is an easy way to track them down, this is used by the computer in which the file is played for automatically retrieving and presenting data associated with an audio recording having unique identifying indicia therein. A listing of codes within the computer system is automatically searched to find a code corresponding to the unique identifying indicia in a remote DB. In response to finding the code corresponding to the unique identifier, metadata is flagged in the vendor database whenever the audio file does not belong to the system from the "purchaser" (and no, i am not sure if this is done by either flagging IP or MAC addresses which would make sense, also remember that whoever bought a track on HDTracks and other "digital stores" leave all their information available, from name to mail address, which in the case of HD Tracks generates a unique user id which is used as part of their tracking system). Microsoft patented in 2008 i believe, a "stealthy audio watermarking" as well which Universal
supposedly is using called El Dorado. According to the patent, El Dorado is, among other things, "designed to survive all typical kinds of processing, including compression, equalization, D/A and A/D conversion, recording on analog tape and so forth. It is also designed to survive malicious attacks that attempt to remove or modify the watermark from the signal, including changes in time and frequency scales, pitch shifting and cut/paste editing."
Is my understanding also that Universal and Sony already declined to discuss who developed their watermarks and what they would do with the information they cull from their analyses when questioned about it (from audio engineers to executives).
i know there is a well and far more versed people here to talk about that tech, but that is as far as i know...