Topic: Anadtech on HDCP and PCs.

[Pugnate]

In closing, because these cards are officially HDCP compatible, they are all candidates for the graphics solution in a system with high definition optical drives. The fact that both the graphics card and display device must be HDCP capable, and most displays and graphics cards that people are currently using aren't HDCP compatible is a problem for consumers in general. Most HDTVs produced in the past several years should support HDCP, however, so if you've upgraded recently, this might not be an issue. Unfortunately, almost all LCD and all CRT computer monitors are going to need an upgrade if HDCP content is in your future.

As we said before, these compatibility issues will defintely serve to frustrate and confuse PC users looking to upgrade their system in order to watch high definition movies. We aren't sure how those on the technology side may ultimately help alleviate some of this burden on consumers. The greatest irony is that where legitimate HDCP protected content won't work on some consumer's hardware, pirated videos should work without problems. We can only wonder if the money being poured out in a massive effort to crack down on movie piracy will ultimately be worth the hindrance this has caused the average PC user, or if it will simply drive more users to look for illegal video sources. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you...

Two thoughts:

a) Anandtech should use a spell check.

b) The bit I highlighted is hilarious. If you check my  other thread on Vista, there seems to be a common theme to all this. Pirates will get what they want no matter what, and the only people these measures hurt are the paying customers.

Fuck Microsoft.

Fuck Sony.

Fuck everyone, except maybe pirate bay.

[Quemaqua]

I concur.

[WindAndConfusion]

Q1 2007: HDCP content finally begins to appear on the market.

Q2: HDCP market completely stagnant.

Q3: HDCP DRM cracked, content becomes useable.

Q4: Consumers abandon brain-damaged legal HDCP solutions and begin using media players that don't force them to sit through six minutes of advertising to watch a purchased/rented movie. HDCP market finally starts moving.

Q1 2008: MPAA appeals to Congress over massive piracy. Development of new media and optical formats begins, complete with a new DRM solution, called Parthenon TMTP (Tomorrow's Media Transport Protocol) FAMS (Futuretastic Awesomeness Management Service). Media companies promise the next generation system will be an even bigger (and more expensive) pain in everyone's ass.

[scottws]

You pretty much nailed it Wind...  I feel like there are a lot of people that copy DVDs for the sole purpose of not having the DVD locked at certain parts, like the start-up sequence.  When is the industry going to stop shooting itself in the foot?

The thing about HDCP that really gets me is that it seems focused on stopping the ability to record the video output between the video hardware and the display.  Who ever bothered pirating movies by capturing the output at the SVGA or DVI port?  Sound doesn't even come across those channels... what would be the point?

[Pugnate]

God I hate that. There is nothing worse than treating yourself to some excellent Chinese food, and putting in the rented DVD only to find there are five minutes of stupid adverts that you can not skip through.

[Cobra951]

That's solvable through hacked firmware, on the DVD players which allow firmware updates.  Mine is too cheap for that, but maybe yours can be fixed to do away with that headache.

I don't even know what HDCP stands for.  All I can say is that I'm staying as far away from it as I can.   

[WindAndConfusion]

The thing about HDCP that really gets me is that it seems focused on stopping the ability to record the video output between the video hardware and the display.  Who ever bothered pirating movies by capturing the output at the SVGA or DVI port?  Sound doesn't even come across those channels... what would be the point?

The point is that the whole thing only works so long as they can close every possible hole. That includes holes that haven't been exploited yet, like this one.

For the same reason, the next-gen media formats allow them to "revoke keys" for any players that get cracked in the future. Basically, they store all the decrypt keys for the movies on the movies themselves, in an encrypted format. If you buy a HDDVD/Blu-Ray player whose firmware is later hacked, the media companies can decide, on all future releases, not to include the decrypt key for your model player.* (Fuck knows what'll happen to them if they even try to do it, though. First, everyone with that model player will then have no choice but to hack it. Second, class-action lawsuit.)
*Actually, I think they just make it impossible for your model player to decrypt the file containing the decrypt keys.