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Digital copy

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A digital copy is a commercially distributed computer file containing a media product such as a film or music album . The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy (typically a DVD , Blu-ray , Blu-ray 3D , or Ultra HD Blu-ray disc) with which the digital copy is usually offered as part of a bundle . It allows the disc's purchaser to acquire a single copy of the film on a digital device such as a personal computer , smartphone , tablet computer , or digital media player , and view it on those devices without requiring access to the physical media. "Digital copy" is also commonly referred to as "Digital HD" (where it is referencing a high-definition or UHD digital copy).

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67-570: There are three types of a digital copy. The first is a copy made in advance and included on the disc. The second is created dynamically from the DVD content itself. In both scenarios the publisher decides which content, formats, digital rights management (DRM) systems and technical parameters are used for the Digital Copy. Digital Copy systems based on existing pre-generated files are less flexible than dynamic transcoding solutions. The third version

134-483: A Kickstarter project – "ebook stravaganza 3000" – to fund the conversion of 3,000 comics, written over 12 years, into a single "humongous" e-book to be released both for free and through the iBookstore; launched 8 February 2012, with the goal of raising $ 3,000 in 30 days. The "payment optional" DRM-free model in this case was adopted on Stevens' view that "there is a class of webcomics reader who would prefer to read in large chunks and, even better, would be willing to spend

201-412: A data storage device easier. HandBrake's backend contains comparatively little original code; the program is an integration of many third-party audio and video libraries , both codecs (such as FFmpeg , x264 , and x265 ) and other components such as video deinterlacers (referred to as "filters"). These are collected in such a manner to make their use more effective and accessible (e.g., so that

268-445: A CSS-encrypted DVD to play on a computer running Linux , at a time when no compliant DVD player for Linux had yet been created. The legality of DeCSS is questionable: one of its authors was sued, and reproduction of the keys themselves is subject to restrictions as illegal numbers . More modern examples include ADEPT , FairPlay , Advanced Access Content System . The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WCT)

335-540: A DRM-free version. Websites – such as library.nu (shut down by court order on 15 February 2012), BookFi, BookFinder , Library Genesis , and Sci-Hub  – allowed e-book downloading by violating copyright. As of 2013, other developers, such as Blizzard Entertainment put most of the game logic is on the "side" or taken care of by the servers of the game maker. Blizzard uses this strategy for its game Diablo III and Electronic Arts used this same strategy with their reboot of SimCity ,

402-511: A Ubisoft server for the game. Later that month, a real crack was released that was able to remove the connection requirement altogether. In March 2010, Uplay servers suffered a period of inaccessibility due to a large-scale DDoS attack , causing around 5% of game owners to become locked out of playing their game. The company later credited owners of the affected games with a free download, and there has been no further downtime. In 2011, comedian Louis C.K. released his concert film Live at

469-472: A cash payout or album downloads free of DRM. Microsoft's media player Zune released in 2006 did not support content that used Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM scheme. Windows Media DRM , reads instructions from media files in a rights management language that states what the user may do with the media. Later versions of Windows Media DRM implemented music subscription services that make downloaded files unplayable after subscriptions are cancelled, along with

536-607: A direct successor to HandBrake. The MediaFork website and forums were moved to HandBrake's, and the next release was officially named HandBrake. On December 24, 2016, after more than 13 years of development, HandBrake 1.0.0 was released. There is another transcoder, called VidCoder, that uses HandBrake as its encoding engine. Some GPUs (including GPUs physically integrated with CPUs , referred to by AMD as APUs ) contain dedicated hardware for video encoding and decoding ( Intel's Quick Sync Video , Nvidia's NVENC , or AMD's Video Coding Engine / Video Core Next ). This hardware

603-466: A little money on it." In February 2012, Double Fine asked for crowdfunding for an upcoming video game, Double Fine Adventure , on Kickstarter and offered the game DRM-free for backers. This project exceeded its original goal of $ 400,000 in 45 days, raising in excess of $ 2 million. Crowdfunding acted as a pre-order or alternatively as a subscription . After the success of Double Fine Adventure , many games were crowd-funded and many offered

670-595: A physical, analog or broadcast form into a digital form for portability or later use. Combined with the Internet and file-sharing tools, made unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content ( digital piracy ) much easier. DRM became a major concern with the growth of the Internet in the 1990s, as piracy crushed CD sales and online video became popular. It peaked in the early 2000s as various countries attempted to respond with legislation and regulations and dissipated in

737-536: A portable video player, even if they own the DVD. Jon Healey of the Los Angeles Times pointed out that, with DVDs, consumers were being asked to pay more for uses they had before at no extra cost with CDs and cassette tapes. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols of ComputerWorld.com describes digital copy as "nonsense, a feature that is no feature at all." He criticizes it as an attempt by the industry to sugar-coat DRM , complaining that viewers should be able to watch

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804-475: A presentation at DEF CON . The DMCA has been cited as chilling to legitimate users; such as security consultants including Niels Ferguson , who declined to publish vulnerabilities he discovered in Intel 's secure-computing scheme due to fear of arrest under DMCA; and blind or visually impaired users of screen readers or other assistive technologies . In 1999, Jon Lech Johansen released DeCSS , which allowed

871-472: A process key was published by hackers, which enabled unrestricted access to AACS-protected content. In January 2007, EMI stopped publishing audio CDs with DRM, stating that "the costs of DRM do not measure up to the results." In March, Musicload.de, one of Europe's largest internet music retailers, announced their position strongly against DRM. In an open letter, Musicload stated that three out of every four calls to their customer support phone service are as

938-477: A result of consumer frustration with DRM. Apple Inc. made music DRM-free after April 2007 and labeled all music as "DRM-Free" after 2008. Other works sold on iTunes such as apps, audiobooks, movies, and TV shows are protected by DRM. A notable DRM failure happened in November 2007, when videos purchased from Major League Baseball prior to 2006 became unplayable due to a change to the servers that validate

1005-493: A simple keystroke to access the CD versions of the track and rip them to MP3 , the inclusion of separate digital copies has been completely deprecated in the music industry, though a download code for a digital version compatible with phones, portable media players, or rights to a higher-bitrate copy on a digital music service might be included for an analog format purchase of an album, such as an LP record or cassette tape . To limit

1072-549: A stream specification determining whether a stream can be recorded. This could block instances of fair use, such as time-shifting . It achieved more success elsewhere when it was adopted by the Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB), a consortium of about 250 broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators, software developers, and regulatory bodies from about 35 countries involved in attempting to develop new digital TV standards. In January 2001,

1139-554: A strict non-DRM policy. Baen Books and O'Reilly Media , dropped DRM prior to 2012, when Tor Books , a major publisher of science fiction and fantasy books, first sold DRM-free e-books . The Axmedis project completed in 2008. It was a European Commission Integrated Project of the FP6, has as its main goal automating content production, copy protection , and distribution, to reduce the related costs, and to support DRM at both B2B and B2C areas, harmonizing them. The INDICARE project

1206-472: A successor to HandBrake, Hester created a subversion repository mirroring HandBrake's final subversion (0.7.1) on the HandBrake website and began development on top of that. Hester and Long named the new project MediaFork. On February 13, 2007, Hester and Long were contacted by Petit, who informed them of his support and encouraged them to continue developing. Plans were then made to reintegrate MediaFork as

1273-436: A user does not have to transcode a video's audio and visual components in separate steps, or with inaccessible command-line utilities). HandBrake clients are available for Linux , macOS , and Windows . HandBrake was originally developed by Eric Petit in 2003 as software for BeOS , before being ported to other systems. He continued to be the primary developer until April 2006, when the last official Subversion revision

1340-424: Is an alphanumeric code included on a slip of paper within the physical film's keep case, which is typed in and redeemed at an online portal which allows the customer to download the film at the store of their choice, using their own bandwidth, or stream it through a cloud service at the time of viewing as part of a retailer's digital locker where the customer retains permanent access to the film's digital file. In

1407-499: Is controversial. There is an absence of evidence about the DRM capability in preventing copyright infringement , some complaints by legitimate customers for caused inconveniences, and a suspicion of stifling innovation and competition. Furthermore, works can become permanently inaccessible if the DRM scheme changes or if a required service is discontinued. DRM technologies have been criticized for restricting individuals from copying or using

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1474-419: Is usually provided for scenarios where quick and power-efficient compressed video is desired, such as videoconferencing and streaming video . It is less often used for transcoding like that performed by HandBrake because its compression efficiency can rarely match that of an optimized software encoder for the same codec, but HandBrake still provides the owners of compatible hardware (who are willing to accept

1541-422: The public domain and that the company that published and sold on Amazon's service had no right to do so. Ubisoft formally announced a return to online authentication on 9 February 2010, through its Uplay online game platform, starting with Silent Hunter 5 , The Settlers 7 , and Assassin's Creed II . Silent Hunter 5 was first reported to have been compromised within 24 hours of release, but users of

1608-452: The public domain . The rise of digital media and analog-to-digital conversion technologies has increased the concerns of copyright-owners, particularly within the music and video industries. While analog media inevitably lose quality with each copy generation and during normal use, digital media files may be duplicated without limit with no degradation. Digital devices make it convenient for consumers to convert ( rip ) media originally in

1675-593: The 2010s as social media and streaming services largely replaced piracy and content providers elaborated next-generation business models. In 1983, the Software Service System (SSS) devised by the Japanese engineer Ryuichi Moriya was the first example of DRM technology. It was subsequently refined under the name superdistribution . The SSS was based on encryption, with specialized hardware that controlled decryption and enabled payments to be sent to

1742-489: The Beacon Theater as an inexpensive (US$ 5), DRM-free download. The only attempt to deter unlicensed copies was a letter emphasizing the lack of corporate involvement and direct relationship between artist and viewer. The film was a commercial success, turning a profit within 12 hours of its release. The artist suggested that piracy rates were lower than normal as a result, making the release an important case study for

1809-448: The CLI to enable queueing of several files in a single directory. HandBrake transcodes video and audio from nearly any format to a handful of modern ones, but it does not defeat or circumvent copy protection. One form of input is DVD-Video stored on a DVD, in an ISO image of a DVD, or on any data storage device as a VIDEO_TS folder. As with DVDs, HandBrake does not directly support

1876-738: The DG Internal Market, on the Communication COM(2004)261 by the European Commission on "Management of Copyright and Related Rights" closed. In 2005, DRM Workshops of Directorate-General for Information Society and Media (European Commission) , and the work of the High Level Group on DRM were held. In 2005, Sony BMG installed DRM software on users' computers without clearly notifying the user or requiring confirmation. Among other things,

1943-572: The DVB Steering Board, and formalized by ETSI as a formal European Standard (TS 102 825-X) where X refers to the Part number. Nobody has yet stepped forward to provide a Compliance and Robustness regime for the standard, so it is not presently possible to fully implement a system, as no supplier of device certificates has emerged. In December 2006, the industrial-grade Advanced Access Content System (AACS) for HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs ,

2010-514: The DVD content is played, including what outputs are permitted and how such permitted outputs are made available. This keeps the encryption intact as the content is displayed. In May 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) passed as an amendment to US copyright law . It had controversial (possibly unintended) implications. Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested for alleged DMCA infringement after

2077-429: The HandBrake forum. Since their work was complementary, they began working together to develop an unstable, but still compileable, release of HandBrake supporting the H.264 format. Hester and Long made progress in terms of stability, functionality, and look and feel , but it was not possible to submit their patch to the HandBrake subversion repository without authorization from Petit. Unable to submit their revisions as

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2144-555: The PlayStation Portable that were not widely compatible with more popular personal media devices, such as iOS devices. Fred von Lohmann of the Electronic Frontier Foundation described digital copy schemes as "stealing your fair use rights and selling them back to you piecemeal", disputing claims by Hollywood studios that it is illegal for customers to rip a personal copy of a DVD to put on

2211-810: The Workshop on Digital Rights Management of the World Wide Web Consortium was held. On 22 May 2001, the European Union passed the Information Society Directive, with copyright protections. In 2003, the European Committee for Standardization /Information Society Standardization System (CEN/ISSS) DRM Report was published. In 2004, the Consultation process of the European Commission, and

2278-480: The ability for a regional lockout. Tools like FairUse4WM strip Windows Media of DRM restrictions. The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property by the British Government from Andrew Gowers was published in 2006 with recommendations regarding copyright terms, exceptions, orphaned works, and copyright enforcement. DVB ( DVB-CPCM ) is an updated variant of the broadcast flag. The technical specification

2345-475: The activation limit led Spore to become the most pirated game in 2008, topping the top 10 list compiled by TorrentFreak . However, Tweakguides concluded that DRM does not appear to increase video game piracy, noting that other games on the list, such as Call of Duty 4 and Assassin's Creed , use DRM without limits or online activation. Additionally, other video games that use DRM, such as BioShock , Crysis Warhead , and Mass Effect , do not appear on

2412-405: The authentication code may have an expiration date, rendering the copy invalid if it the redemption code is fulfilled after that time. In common practice, most codes have remained available to redeem well after the printed expiration date, in order to keep customer goodwill and avoid complaints about the inability to redeem a code for a title which continues to sell older stock. Over time, this became

2479-445: The claim that DRM was inciting people to use illegal copies. Although Ubisoft has not commented on the results of the "experiment", Tweakguides noted that two torrents on Mininova had over 23,000 people downloading the game within 24 hours of its release. In 2009, Amazon remotely deleted purchased copies of George Orwell 's Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) from customers' Amazon Kindles after refunding

2546-649: The complete blocking of any possibilities of making private copies was an impermissible behaviour under French copyright law. The broadcast flag concept was developed by Fox Broadcasting in 2001, and was supported by the MPAA and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). A ruling in May 2005 by a United States courts of appeals held that the FCC lacked authority to impose it on the US TV industry. It required that all HDTVs obey

2613-412: The content legally, such as by fair use or by making backup copies. DRM is in common use by the entertainment industry ( e.g. , audio and video publishers). Many online stores such as OverDrive use DRM technologies, as do cable and satellite service operators. Apple removed DRM technology from iTunes around 2009. Typical DRM also prevents lending materials out through a library, or accessing works in

2680-574: The copy). Most often, digital copy solutions mainly offered Apple iTunes files with their respective DRM services, with Windows Media with Windows Media DRM and FairPlay also used, but due to the latter's lack of success in the market, most digital copies utilized iTunes. Other solutions also provided support for Sony PlayStation Portable and pre-smartphone age feature phones using 3GP video files and Open Mobile Alliance DRM. Some publishers limited their digital copies to Microsoft operating systems and devices. With audio compact discs ,

2747-413: The copyright holder. The underlying principle was that the physical distribution of encrypted digital products should be completely unrestricted and that users of those products would be encouraged to do so. An early DRM protection method for computer and Nintendo Entertainment System games was when the game would pause and prompt the player to look up a certain page in a booklet or manual that came with

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2814-448: The copyright holders for maintaining artistic controls , and supporting licenses' modalities such as rentals. Industrial users (i.e. industries) have expanded the use of DRM technologies to various hardware products, such as Keurig 's coffeemakers , Philips ' light bulbs , mobile device power chargers , and John Deere 's tractors . For instance, tractor companies try to prevent farmers from making repairs via DRM. DRM

2881-565: The cracked version soon found out that only early parts of the game were playable. The Uplay system works by having the installed game on the local PCs incomplete and then continuously downloading parts of the game code from Ubisoft's servers as the game progresses. It was more than a month after the PC release in the first week of April that software was released that could bypass Ubisoft's DRM in Assassin's Creed II . The software did this by emulating

2948-705: The creation and distribution of tools used for such circumvention. Such laws are part of the United States' Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and the European Union 's Information Society Directive – with the French DADVSI an example of a member state of the European Union implementing that directive. Copyright holders argue that DRM technologies are necessary to protect intellectual property , just as physical locks prevent personal property from theft. For examples, they can help

3015-451: The decryption of Blu-ray discs . However, HandBrake can be used to transcode a Blu-ray disc if DRM is first removed using a third-party application. Container formats Video formats Audio formats In 2011, Preston Gralla of PC World praised HandBrake for its feature set: "Advanced users will be pleased at the number of options." However, he criticized the usability for new users: "Note that HandBrake isn't necessarily

3082-466: The digital marketplace. In 2012, the EU Court of Justice ruled in favor of reselling copyrighted games. In 2012, India implemented digital rights management protection. In 2012, webcomic Diesel Sweeties released a DRM-free PDF e-book. He followed this with a DRM-free iBook specifically for the iPad that generated more than 10,000 downloads in three days. That led Stevens to launch

3149-409: The easiest program to use. It has a large number of options available, and there's no good explanation of what they do or how to use them. Beginners should stick with the defaults". He concluded by calling HandBrake a "solid choice" for people who are looking for a free video transcoder. In 2013, Lifehacker .com visitors voted HandBrake as the most popular video converter over four other candidates by

3216-596: The game; if the player lacked access to the material, they would not be able to continue. An early example of a DRM system is the Content Scramble System (CSS) employed by the DVD Forum on DVD movies. CSS uses an encryption algorithm to encrypt content on the DVD disc. Manufacturers of DVD players must license this technology and implement it in their devices so that they can decrypt the content. The CSS license agreement includes restrictions on how

3283-616: The licenses. In 2007, the European Parliament supported the EU's direction on copyright protection. Asus released a soundcard which features a function called "Analog Loopback Transformation" to bypass the restrictions of DRM. This feature allows the user to record DRM-restricted audio via the soundcard's built-in analog I/O connection. Digital distributor GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) specializes in PC video games and has

3350-429: The list. Many mainstream publishers continued to rely on online DRM throughout the later half of 2008 and early 2009, including Electronic Arts , Ubisoft , Valve , and Atari , The Sims 3 being a notable exception in the case of Electronic Arts. Ubisoft broke with the tendency to use online DRM in late 2008, with the release of Prince of Persia as an experiment to "see how truthful people really are" regarding

3417-410: The most part until online movie stores were able to include them as bonus files with the download. Digital copy files based on transcoding solutions can use the correct audio track and subtitle based on the user's location or choice and individually create the digital copy based on the target device properties (video and audio bitrate, display resolution , aspect ratio and device utilize for viewing

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3484-402: The movie they have bought on any device they want, and that media companies should change their business plans to meet their customers' legitimate needs. Digital rights management Digital rights management ( DRM ) is the management of legal access to digital content . Various tools or technological protection measures ( TPM ), such as access control technologies, can restrict

3551-468: The necessity of which has been questioned. In 2014, the EU Court of Justice ruled that circumventing DRM on game devices was legal under some circumstances. In 2014, digital comic distributor Comixology allowed rights holders to provide the option of DRM-free downloads. Publishers that allow this include Dynamite Entertainment , Image Comics , Thrillbent , Top Shelf Productions , and Zenescope Entertainment . In February 2022, Comixology, which

3618-418: The number of free copies, the disc typically comes with a single-use alphanumeric code to authenticate the ownership of the title over the Internet; some versions of the concept come with a QR code containing the single-use code in order to allow it to be scanned by a smartphone camera, saving the user time from having to type in the long code, which may contain homoglyphs that may be typed in wrong. Often

3685-438: The original intent of having a digital copy of the album on the same disc was to discourage piracy by only allowing the ripping of a version of the album in a proprietary file format with digital rights management . Due to a number of factors, including the controversial inclusion of rootkits on albums associated with Sony Music labels, along with the proprietary files and interface generally being able to be easy to bypass with

3752-495: The output by altering the bit rate , maximum file size or bit rate and sample rate via "constant quality". HandBrake supports adaptive deinterlacing , scaling , detelecine , and cropping , both automatic and manual. HandBrake supports batch encoding through graphical user interface (GUI) and command-line interface (CLI). Third-party scripts and UIs exist specifically for this purpose, such as HandBrake Batch Encoder , VideoScripts , and Batch HandBrake . All make use of

3819-461: The past with the first two types, the digital copy files based on existing files included only the main audio track (often only stereo ) and no subtitles , compared to the multiple audio tracks and multiple subtitle options available from DVD and Blu-ray. Also, the quality was limited by the bitrate used to encode the file which is typically relatively low and not adjusted to the device to be transferred to. Bonus features were also unavailable for

3886-401: The preferred method of digital copy validation over including a disc digital file in the package. Technology industry analyst Michael Gartenberg described the digital copy initiative as "a smart move" providing an easier alternative to customers compared to converting the files themselves using software such as HandBrake . Gartenberg was critical of Sony for restricting themselves to files for

3953-480: The purchase price. Commentators described these actions as Orwellian and compared Amazon to Big Brother from Nineteen Eighty-Four . Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos then issued a public apology. FSF wrote that this was an example of the excessive power Amazon has to remotely censor content, and called upon Amazon to drop DRM. Amazon then revealed the reason behind its deletion: the e-books in question were unauthorized reproductions of Orwell's works, which were not within

4020-433: The software included a rootkit , which created a security vulnerability . When the nature of the software was made public much later, Sony BMG initially minimized the significance of the vulnerabilities, but eventually recalled millions of CDs, and made several attempts to patch the software to remove the rootkit. Class action lawsuits were filed, which were ultimately settled by agreements to provide affected consumers with

4087-520: The tradeoff) with the option of hardware encoding. Quick Sync was added in November 2014 with version 0.10.0, while NVENC and the VCE became supported in version 1.2.0, released in December 2018. (HandBrake supports both the VCE and the newer VCN, but its interface only mentions the VCE by name, even if VCN hardware is present or a codec is being used that is too new to have VCE support.) Users can customize

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4154-416: The use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DRM technologies govern the use, modification and distribution of copyrighted works (e.g. software , multimedia content) and of systems that enforce these policies within devices. DRM technologies include licensing agreements and encryption . Laws in many countries criminalize the circumvention of DRM, communication about such circumvention, and

4221-511: Was a dialogue on consumer acceptability of DRM solutions in Europe that completed in 2008. In mid-2008, the Windows version of Mass Effect marked the start of a wave of titles primarily making use of SecuROM for DRM and requiring authentication with a server. The use of the DRM scheme in 2008's Spore led to protests, resulting in searches for an unlicensed version. This backlash against

4288-449: Was committed. Petit continued to be active on the HandBrake forum for a brief period after. From May–June 2006, no one in the HandBrake community was successful in contacting Petit, and no further code changes were officially made. In September 2006, Rodney Hester and Chris Long had been independently working to extract the H.264 video compression format from Apple's iPod firmware (1.2) through reverse engineering before meeting on

4355-402: Was later under the ownership of Amazon, ended the option of downloading DRM-free downloads on all comics, although any comics previously purchased prior to the date will have the option to download comics without DRM. HandBrake HandBrake is a free and open-source transcoder for digital video files. It was originally developed in 2003 by Eric Petit to make ripping DVDs to

4422-609: Was passed in 1996. The US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), was passed in 1998. The European Union enacted the Information Society Directive . In 2006, the lower house of the French parliament adopted such legislation as part of the controversial DADVSI law, but added that protected DRM techniques should be made interoperable, a move which caused widespread controversy in the United States. The Tribunal de grande instance de Paris concluded in 2006, that

4489-555: Was submitted to European governments in March 2007. As with much DRM, the CPCM system is intended to control use of copyrighted material by the end-user, at the direction of the copyright holder. According to Ren Bucholz of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), "You won't even know ahead of time whether and how you will be able to record and make use of particular programs or devices". The normative sections were approved for publication by

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