Copy Management (SCMS)
SCMS, the Serial Copy Management System, uses digital copy-status information to control successive generations of digital audio recording.
Consumer equipment following SCMS can permit a first digital copy while preventing a further digital copy from that copy. The source's copy status matters. Other equipment may offer selectable copy information or explicitly omit this restriction.
Copy Management (SCMS) — Digital Tape Recorder
SCMS affects whether a recorder accepts a digital recording from a particular source. A compatible cable, sample rate and audio format do not by themselves ensure the copy will be permitted. The recorder also interprets the copy-management information accompanying the digital signal.
Compare the machine's documented consumer, unrestricted or selectable behaviour and the relevant digital connection. Do not infer SCMS handling from the recorder's age, price or professional appearance. A third-party modification does not establish the standard machine's capability. This specification describes technical copy management, not sound quality or the sample rates available for recording.