Page 1 of CD protection

Can protected pre-recorded cd`s be recorded digitally on a standalone hifi cd recorder?

It depends. There are quite a few different protection methods used for audio discs (I say discs, as they can`t officially be called CDs), and some are nastier then others.

The first line of defence is the SCMS flag. This doesn`t affect PC `ripping`, but it does prevent digital recording on a standalone deck if the flag is set to `Enabled`. It`s generally set to `Disabled` on normal unprotected CDs, but on these protected discs they usually enable it by default.

Some recorders can be `chipped` to disable SCMS, but that`s not the end of your problems. Some of the really sadistic protection methods actually corrupt the audio stream, and rely on the CD player`s built-in error correction circuitry to reconstruct something vaguely listenable from it. A CD player`s digital output often becomes useless when playing these types of discs, so you`ve little chance of making a digital copy.

The best solution is not to buy these corrupt discs in the first place. Many albums available on protected discs in the UK are sold as standard CDs in other countries, and some record companies will apparently replace your discs with unprotected promo versions if you badger them enough.

Mike