This announcement from WinDVD is not to surprising considering all the crack announcements in recent weeks. As the article mentions at the end, are we in for a crack-and-upgrade cycle everytime someone circumvents the AACS copy protection.
Digital Trends
The update is required for customers to be able to view AACS-protected Blu-ray or HD DVD content-and that doesn't apply just to newly-released titles customers may buy in the future, but also to existing discs. Corel's mandatory update notice comes with an ominous warning: "Please be aware that failure to apply the update will result in AACS-protected HD DVD and BD playback being disabled."Technical information on the update is sketchy-and Corel is unlikely to release details of its methodology-but at this point WinDVD 8 customers could be justifiably concerned this may be the first installment of a continual crack-and-upgrade cycle as programmers continue to find ways to circumvent AACS copy protection.