QUOTE(Xbox-Scene @ Oct 29 2012, 11:00 PM)
they are working on a new DVD Drive PCB and a DVD Firmware called "LT Ultimate". This new PCB and FW will be compatible with all current Xbox Drives and will only require the DVD Key (no need for a FW dump).
My 2 cents....
From the clues provided, I suspect this is a universal interface board.
In a stock XBOX360, the consoles OS knows what ODD (Optical Disk Drive) is installed in that XBOX (its serial num (DVD key), and possibly its manufacturer). When the XBOX wants to boot a DVD, it communicates with the ODD using a protocol, sending it commands to read specific disk sectors, but it also sends it commands to instruct the ODD firmware to verify specific security characteristics that should be present on the original DVD media and feedback.
To guard against interception, these ODD protocol commands are encrypted using the drives unique DVD Key. The stock XBOX OS knows the DVD Key of the installed ODD, thus can use it to encrypt the ODD protocol commands, and the ODD knows its own DVD Key, thus can use it to decrypt the ODD protocol commands, action them, and encrypt responses. This is why you are not able to swap ODD drives between stock XBOX360s, and why it is necessary to extract the ODDs specific DVD-key.
The current manufacturer and drive-specific ODD firmware hacks require someone (c4eva mainly it seems), to patch each manufacturer and drive-specific ODD firmware; to preserve the majority of the ODD drive firmware functionality (used to control the drive spin speed, position the read head, etc.), but to override the commands used to verify the specific security characteristics, and adjust these to always respond as if all is well - even if the security characteristics are not found on the inserted DVD media. XBOX ODD manufacturers do their upmost to guard against this, such as by encrypting the ODD firmware, preventing it being replaced/re-flashed, etc. All of which needs to be overcome to produce a hacked ODD firmware.
Once it became possible to extract an ODDs specific DVD Key, this opened up the possibility of intercepting, decrypting, and interpreting the commands passing between the XBOX and the stock ODD. With this ability, why not let all the encrypted ODD commands pass thru from the XBOX to the ODD, BUT intercept, decrypt, and spot any reports of security characteristic failures in the responses from the ODD, and substitute these with a synthesized All good response, correctly encrypted.
This totally removes the requirement and effort needed to crack the firmware of each new ODD being used in the XBOX manufacture.
It is possible that ODD firmware can be updated/re-flashed by the console. This has happened in the past when new checks for new security characteristics have been introduced. As this re-flashing is achieved using specific ODD protocol commands, the interface board could decide to simply block this from occurring, but then your ODD would not be able to respond to the new security characteristics being used on newer original media. Better let the stock ODD firmware get updated (this way any new original DVD media would work right away). The firmware on the interface board would then be updated to spot the new style security characteristic failure responses, and to use new synthesized All good responses to these.
ONLY the ONE firmware in the interface board would need to be maintained and updated, irrespective of the wide variety of ODD manufacturers and ODD drive model firmwares out there.
PS:
If I recall correctly, one of the initial ODD drives used in the XBOX 360 manufacture did not have re-flashable firmware. (This was replaced with alternative ODD models that did in order to permit new security checks to be introduced.). As this model was unable to be updated to support newer security checks, the XBOX OS does not expect it to. If the XBOX OS simply knows the DVD-key, and determines the ODD type by using a protocol command to interrogate the ODD as to its model (and/or capabilities), the interface board may wish to always respond to the console claiming to be this drive/model. This would prevent the console from ever attempting to re-flash it, and the list of security responses is a known, finite, set.
PPS:
QUOTE(PedrosPad @ Oct 30 2012, 02:01 PM)
PS:
If I recall correctly, one of the initial ODD drives used in the XBOX 360 manufacture did not have re-flashable firmware.
QUOTE(Defosho @ Mar 2 2011, 01:04 AM)
The AP25 FAQ by Defosho
Which DVD drives support and use AP25?
All drives except for:
Samsung - all
Hitachi - v59 and lower
Maybe an interface board that
presents any new model stock ODD as a old hacked Samsung ODD to the console.
Author
Topic: Team-Xecuter and c4eva announce 'LT Ultimate' (Read 144 times)