Hello, it’s my first post on the forums. Please be kind haha.
I’ve noticed that there is an update (which I’ve installed) that allows for the Prime 4 + to use Apple Music streaming however it doesn’t support the earlier Prime 4. Why? How is it that hardware that is only a couple of years older has missed out on this functionality? It makes absolutely no sense. I use Mac for just about everything. This includes an Apple Music subscription. So to not allow Prime 4 access where the Prime 4 + can use it means I either have to upgrade the hardware to the + or as i’m doing now, continue paying for Beatport monthly along with Apple Music subscription. Seems a little unfair.
There is a specific security chip installed on newer devices that is needed to facilitate both Amazon and Apple music streaming services. This is a requirement by the streaming companies in order to allow hardware to use them. Unfortunately older hardware doesnt contain the chip, hence the ‘plus’ versions being released.
I am sure just like stems there is a way it can be added to older devices. If Apple Music is used on older laptops and computers it most certainly be used on only a few year older model after all the prime 4+ was modeled exactly after the prime 4 minis the chip. If they can make stems work on iPads they can certainly make Apple Music accessible on the older prime 4???
Apple and Amazon have requested their service on consoles is accessed with DRM security. As older consoles don’t have this then it’s a no. If you need more information feel free to contact Apple to ask why.
Neither do all the computers on which the DJ software runs, and it’s been incorporated there. Our standalone devices are also computers running an operating system.
We accept that this “DRM chip” exists, but has anyone actually seen it?
Did Denon DJ really change the design of their PCBs just to accomodate one chip, or did the original PCB design have a space for it, but it just wasn’t fitted?
We’ve heard much about this chip here, and with certain other inMusic products - but AlphaTheta products are now also able to access Apple Music. Why have we heard nothing about a chip in those products?
Thanks to all for your answers. Makes perfect sense. I at the least have access to Beatport streaming so I’ll stop being butt hurt about it. It would have been awesome if it were compatible but it is what it is. Thanks again.
I know most Apple devices have their own dedicated security processor, and have done for years, not sure about WIndows based devices.
I found this online though, so assume most of them have something in place to run this tech:
DRM is used across a wide range of digital content, from entertainment media like books, music, and videos to database subscriptions, software programs, and sensitive business data. Using DRM to protect this media enables content creators and copyright holders to prevent people from making changes to their work or using it for unintended purposes.
Here are a few common examples of DRM in practice:
Apple iTunes: Apple’s iTunes store uses DRM to limit how many devices customers can use to listen to songs. Audio files that users download from iTunes include data about their purchase and usage of songs. This prevents the files from being accessed on unauthorized devices. Apple also protects the content in its iBooks store with FairPlay technology, which ensures books can only be read on iOS devices.
Digital music: Spotify leverages blockchain technology to enable the payment of artists through cryptocurrency. The music streaming company bought startup Mediachain to help it identify songs that were played and the right artist to pay using DRM.
Microsoft software: Anyone that downloads Microsoft software, such as Windows or Office programs, has to accept the company’s user license and enter a key before they can install it. Microsoft also has DRM technology called PlayReady, which secures the distribution of content over a network and prevents unauthorized use of its software.
Sensitive documents: Many organizations use DRM technology to safeguard business-critical documents or sensitive information, such as confidential employee data, business plans, and contracts. DRM enables organizations to track who has viewed the files, control access to these files, and manage how people can use the files. It also prevents files from being altered, duplicated, saved, or printed.
Regulation compliance: DRM is crucial for helping organizations comply with data protection regulations. For example, it enables healthcare organizations to meet the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and assists all organizations in meeting the needs of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Edit: and when you look around at the various DJ software, computer hardware, and computer OS… compatibility essentially means you can only run the newest DJ software on the newer OS that only works on newer hardware (my 2015 MBP that has a security chip only works up to a certain Mac OS, my M1 model can update all the way)
Steve Stone of the YouTube channel TheDJLab addressed this point in his latest live stream.
It seems that Alphatheta chose a software solution to verify the encryption key enabling connection to Apple Music, while Denon DJ seems to have chosen a hardware solution with a chip to control this key.
This implies, to my mind, that if Alphatheta can do it in software, Denon DJ could probably do it very well too.
This seems more like a marketing ploy intended to add value to the higher version or the most recent hardware.
From what ive read, some SOC contain the relevant security chip inside whereas others its separate on the motherboard. It could be whatever chip Alpha have chosen complies with the requirements of Apple Music, if it was driven by software, why aren’t all their devices active for the service?
The Rockchip used in the Prime devices has a security chip, but its one with a coloured past with regards to hacking and vulnerability, so potentially doesnt comply with these 2 specific companies, hence the need for InMusic to create newer devices with the compliant hardware.
Agreed. In addition to the spitballing in my previous post, here’s another point:
Denon DJ’s implementation of stems. They chose to encrypt the stem files so that they can’t be used anywhere except the Prime hardware (including on their own desktop software).
Purchase of a license enables a software “key” to decrypt the files.
It does seem as if it should be possible to decrypt without the “special chip” but as you say, it’s likely a selling point for the new devices.
I don’t have all the details, but he claim to have spoken with people working at InMusic about this.
In any case, if InMusic really wanted to bring the new streaming services to older units that didn’t have this famous internal “DRM chip,” they could have easily offered the addition of an optional external control dongle integrating this famous chip for users who wanted it, which would be connected to one of the USB ports.
There are enough USB ports on most units for this not to be a handicap.
They could even make a small profit on the sale of this “accessory.”
I think that when you really want to find solutions, it’s simply a matter of willpower.
Well, I’m not preaching to my own parish here; I couldn’t care less about Apple Music and Amazon streaming.
Maybe so, but i also think we shouldnt fall into the classic internet thing of assuming everything has a sneaky or conspiratorial side to it… there is a chance they are just being truthful here, and without the facts i dont think its good to assume its all just marketing fluff to sell devices.
It would be good to know what actually had to be signed in the contract, but we never will.
Wow…. To no-one in particular on this thread, or any other thread… but the phrase “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” springs to mind.
It seems there will be some people, in a hundred years time, holding up an SC5000 or a Prime 4, looking all Karen, indignant and outraged, yelling from their hover car, posting using their kinetic thought controlled brain implanted wifi 27 … sobbing that the year 2125 update only allows 7 of the 8 things included in that update, to work on their model…..
Sooner or later, a new model might have to be considered, rather than one purchase lasting an entire human lifetime.
Also some people don’t seem to realise that some models are 1 or 2 or 4 or 6 years old already, when they bought theirs.
Ok, this example says 100 years… but try rethinking the example with 50 years, or 16 years, or 5 years. At some point on that timeline, all reasonable people will say “yeah, actually, things aren’t as bad or unfair or shocking really”
We’re talking about units that, for the oldest, date from 2017 or 2019 and are supposed to be future-proof. Not units that are 15 or 20 years old.
It’s understandable that they don’t have the necessary power to keep up with certain developments and generate stems on the fly, for example.
But they have the resources to read a simple external encryption chip in the form of an additional dongle if they don’t come equipped with one.
Power isn’t the limiting factor here.
If Alphatheta is capable of generating a control and decryption code allowing connection to Apple Music on a simple USB drive, then Denon can find solutions if they wish.
Why would Apple require the physical presence of a mandatory internal chip for Denon devices and only require a software encryption control system from Alphatheta?
If these are marketing choices, they should just be acknowledged at some point.
Just to clarify here, I couldn’t care less whether Apple Music or Amazon Music is available on my device or not. The vast majority of my collection was purchased over decades. I don’t rely on streaming, and I don’t use Apple/Amazon Music.
Toys are not being thrown from prams. A polite discussion is taking place about how/why these particular services have been implemented.
