[Jawed]

http://www.behardware.com/articles/6...sequences.html

HDCP protection is active – and I personally regret quoting Microsoft’s announcement saying that encoding wouldn’t be active before 2010, maybe even 2012 or never.

Jawed

[mrcorbo]

Originally Posted by Jawed

http://www.behardware.com/articles/6...sequences.html


Jawed

The author of the article is hopelessly and I mean hopelessly confused. Digital connections have always required (and it was always indicated that they would require) HDCP to function. What is supposed to be delayed until 2010 (or whenever) is studios using the ICT token. And so far they haven't used it. The downrezzing we are seeing in some PC software players is purely an implementation choice on their (the software developers) part and not mandatory. That is, in these cases they are downrezzing everything, ICT token or not. Not all players (or indeed not all versions of the same player) behave this way. Truth be told this mess has more to do with Cyberlink and Intervideo than it does DRM.

[Arwin]

Are you sure? In the article he makes a clear distinction between the two.

I myself have also been wondering about the fact that a number of devices won't output a digital HD signal unless HDCP is supported on the receiving screen ... So this part of the protection seems to be active. It's just that you can usually still get an analogue HD signal out of these devices. As soon as that stops from happening, then we have the particular restriction we have been worried about previously. Right?

EDIT: it's a nice article, even if it shows its French origins a little here and there on the linguistic level .

[DemoCoder]

No, digital devices have not always required HDCP. Many many CE devices with DVI output prior to HDMI functioned with HDCP or DBCP.

[mrcorbo]

Originally Posted by mrcorbo

Digital connections have always required (and it was always indicated that they would require) HDCP to function.

Originally Posted by DemoCoder

No, digital devices have not always required HDCP. Many many CE devices with DVI output prior to HDMI functioned with HDCP or DBCP.

That's what I get for not being precise with my language. What I meant to say was, HD DVD and BluRay have always required an HDCP-compliant display in order to allow a digital connection to be used when accessing AACS-protected content. Therefore, the quote in the OP indicates a clear miscommunication somewhere along the line.

My theory is that the question was posed something like, "Will an HDCP compatible display be required to view HD DVD?" and that the answer was "No, this will not be a requirement until 2010 at the earliest." This is actually correct, since you should have the option to pass the video over an analog connection at full resolution unless the ICT token is active and this is what is supposed to be activated in 2010. Now if the question had been asked, "Will an HDCP compatible display be required to view HD DVD over a digital connection?" or the answer had been phrased, "No, because if your display lacks HDCP you will be able to use analog connections at full resolution until 2010 when the ICT token is due to start being set in studio releases." this misunderstanding would not have happened.

It is possible, though, that the question was phrased correctly and that MS France simply had incorrect or incomplete information. So maybe my initial characterization was unfair. That having been said it wouldn't have taken much additional research to discover the inconsistency and get the correct information. Heck, they could have asked me.

[Jawed]

Originally Posted by mrcorbo

Heck, they could have asked me.

Why would they?

Jawed

[digitalwanderer]

Originally Posted by Jawed

Why would they?

From what he's saying, I'd say so that they had accurate information in their article.

Thanks for the posts Mr. Corbo, very informative and very much appreciated.

[mrcorbo]

Originally Posted by digitalwanderer

From what he's saying, I'd say so that they had accurate information in their article.

Thanks for the posts Mr. Corbo, very informative and very much appreciated.

Sure, NP. It was a well worn subject on some of the media-centric forums before the add-on was even released so I had the benefit of learning quite a bit from the speculation and debates that were going on then.

As an aside, it's a shame that we are finally starting to see simplification and standardization in the way that A/V hookups are made, but the need for a protected media path has added a layer of complexity back. Once this transition period is over though, overall system setup and operation should be a lot more pleasant than it has ever been. HDMI itself has finally delivered what I was hoping Firewire would a few years ago.