HighDef Content to Require New Monitors 607
QT writes "Ars Technica has an interesting article on how HDCP figures into Microsoft and Apple's future OS plans.
Not only will future HD content not play in pure HD on most existing monitors (it will be degraded, or not shown at all), but high-end monitors today don't support HDCP yet. HDCP
has been coming for 3+ years, but geek fantasy items such as Apple's $3,000 30" Cinema Display don't even have support for it yet! The end result is that when Windows Vista ships
(and Apple's next OS), most people won't be able to watch protected HD content on their computers."
My god: it's struck already! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:My god: it's struck already! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:My god: it's struck already! (Score:4, Interesting)
Or maybe... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Or maybe... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Or maybe... (Score:5, Funny)
Damn. Dubya always gets the most advanced technology long before the regular citizens do.
Re:Or maybe... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Or maybe... (Score:4, Informative)
Then check out RMS' short story The Right to Read [gnu.org]
-Charles
Not if... (Score:3, Insightful)
Not if you buy your Harry Potter too early.
Re:My god: it's struck already! (Score:4, Insightful)
Time and time again, DRM systems have been shown to hurt paying customers. Apple's DRM is probably the most widely accepted because it is the least restrictive and doesn't pull stupid requirements on the end-user like this. DVD's DRM is accepted because it is invisible. Divx, however, required players to "phone home," and lasted in the market just a few months before being killed off by lack of interest. I think we'll find that if people have to replace their TV sets to play Blu-ray disks, they're just going to stick with DVD's.
I'm not opposed to DRM... my livelyhood to some degree depends on it. But putting restrictions on the end-user like this will alienate a lot of potential buyers. Why spend 200 dollars for a player that doesn't provide any advantage over the current standard if you don't invest hundreds more in your monitor / television?
DRM should be invisible, or it shouldn't be on the market.
No, only what he THINKS Apple will do (Score:5, Insightful)
But Apple has never said they will - this article just postulates they will have to.
Well, before ITMS would not people have also postulated that it would be impossible for Apple to sell songs without DRM that would restrict CD burning? After all, that was the standard of the time.
Some companies are smart enough to realize that obsoleteing millions of monitors is Not Smart, and will avoid doing so if they can. And Apple has shown they can avoid the more onerous restrictions set forth by giant industries that would rather have it otherwise. And making millions of computer monitors obsolete is right up there in terms of gall.
So the story poster would have been wise to note the speculative nature of the topic instead of proclaiming it as fact from Apple.
Re:No, only what he THINKS Apple will do (Score:3, Insightful)
Because if they DON'T, they will not be able to play the content at all.
(more technically, if Apple doesn't implement signal decimation filtering on un-encrypted outputs, they won't be given the keys to display the content AT ALL).
Re:They didn't have to put DRM in iPod. (Score:3, Insightful)
Mounts as drive (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Mounts as drive (Score:5, Informative)
True, and it's worth pointing out that the file names are not mangled to make it harder to copy them. They are mangled because they become unique identifiers. This is so that when you change the ID3 information, iTunes knows which files to replace, thus avoiding duplicates.
Re:Mounts as drive (Score:3, Insightful)
The song names that you see aren't taken from the file names, they're taken from the ID3 tags, and from a database which cross references song names to file names.
Thus, the iPod's embedded system never has to deal with long file names, which are pretty common if you name your music according to the "[Artist] - [Song].mp3" form, especially if you don't abbreviate anything.
Th
Re:But not REQUIRED (Score:3, Informative)
Re:No, only what he THINKS Apple will do (Score:5, Interesting)
The box [spatz-tech.de] exists already, but it's illegal thanks to the DMCA.
Re:No, only what he THINKS Apple will do (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:No, only what he THINKS Apple will do (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:No, only what he THINKS Apple will do (Score:3, Insightful)
Who is more foolish? The fool, or the one who follows the fool.
Circumvention (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Circumvention (Score:2)
Re:Circumvention (Score:5, Insightful)
Every country will eventually be coerced into doing the same, either with trade/financial incentives and punitive sanctions for the unwilling, or worse. Worse would come later, of course, but it will happen if necessary. Treaties will be enacted that will force every country who wants to play in the international technical markets to comply. The USA produces virtually no hard goods anymore. Steel? Autos? Electronics? Manufactured goods of every kind? These hard goods are not made in the USA anymore.
Wake up and smell the coffee. "Intellectual Property" (OK, so I lied) is the mainstay US export for the rest of this century. The rest of the world is not safe and should be very worried.
Re:Circumvention (Score:3, Informative)
This isn't quite correct. Lots of cars are still manufactured in the USA. Honda has two plants in Ohio, Toyota has various plants in the south, BMW and Mercedes have plants in places like South Carolina and Alabama, etc. Of course, none of these companies are US-owned (Ford and GM build all their cars in Mexico now). Apparently American labor is
Re:Circumvention (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Circumvention (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Circumvention (Score:5, Insightful)
And to the content industry, I will never buy or rent, or watch your content on these terms. You will be replaced by artists who do not insist on such things.
-- Bob
more of the same (Score:5, Insightful)
I certainly sympathize, but you do realize that all (legal) DVD players already have this property...
Mike
Re:more of the same (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh, did you just mean all the ones in *your* country? Aren't you allowed to remove region coding on the basis of interoperability, BTW?
Re:more of the same (Score:3, Insightful)
For a short time this year I signed up for netflix and watched things on my laptop (because I was laid up due to surgery). I put a few films in, played them for 5 minutes then they quit due to this region coding bullshit. Then my girlfriend got to watch me fiddle with the fucking compu
Re:more of the same (Score:4, Funny)
Note that doing so, is against the law in every single state in the US. If you're caught doing it (or owning a copy of libdvdcss), you can be prosecuted for it.
Re:more of the same (Score:4, Insightful)
If he has given up a form of entertainment because he feels that they violate his rights and instead of just complaining, he has actually given them up (and then complained)... Then he is stronger than you or I. Frankly, I would admire him for that and wish that the world was inhabited with more people like him.
Let's see you go without some form of entertainment to make a point to a world that doesn't act like it cares about whether if you live or die. I know I couldn't.
Re:Circumvention (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Circumvention (Score:3, Informative)
I managed to break WMAs however with a high success rate, but newer ones are again fixed against that patch.
Nonetheless, it will happen, there just isnt enough demand yet.
Re:Circumvention (Score:5, Insightful)
The black magic needed to run those components dealing with DRM most likely will NOT be open sourced, or made available to FOSS programmers.
FOSS will be limited to "degraded" output -- until it is hacked. Then the lawyers will be turned loose...
Re:Circumvention (Score:4, Interesting)
At least not until you open the monitor in question and put your modchip in there.
Nothing new under the sun...
Re:Circumvention (Score:5, Informative)
Give cracking it a try.
Yes, Linux is used in the set-top boxes (Scientific Atlanta comes to mind). Try loading an alternate OS on these boxes. Done "properly" its impossible (or close to).
The easiest scheme is to have an MD-5 hash of the software load, and refuse to load anything else.
Now, you are thinking "the load will have the key". It may... or the key is in the box. Usually, the key will be wrapped by another AES-256 layer, that the loader knows NOTHING about. FIPS-140 stuff...
Now, the system WON'T be entirely secure -- you could always resort to chip-scraping, or thermals, etc. to break the key. As to the "Hardware to incorporate the technology to decrypt at 30 fps, full screen". Lets see -- using a Xilinx FPGA, I can decrypt AES-256 at a rate of ~500 Mbps. About 10x what is needed. Custom logic? why not. Costs less...
Note that the Linux NEVER KNOWS THE MEANING OF THE DATA. It just shoves it to the monitor. Which already has expensive glass parts, etc. The cost of an additional chip in the monitor is even more easily absorbed.
FOSS DRM? Sure, why not. The job of the FOSS DRM software will be to mediate keys, and establish a trust relationship. IT IS NOT GOING TO DECODE THE DATA.
Ratboy.
Good. (Score:2)
Wait for it... (Score:5, Funny)
Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Good (Score:4, Insightful)
In a nutshell:
- The quality of the FILTERED output will be DVD level. Which is at or beyond consumer expectation.
- New gear will have HD option, and as people upgrade, they will get 10x better than DVD quality.
- You can STILL record at DVD quality, just not HD (and HD does take 10x)
- As monitors are upgraded, the content will be ready.
- Anyone can WATCH "protected HD content" -- at DVD quality. Which happens to be good enough for 40"+ screens.
- We are talking about 1080 line resolution; very few people run monitors at these resolutions (1920x1080). The DVD quality will be perfectly acceptable (1280x480 - with a bit of twigging)
So its likely going through.
Re:Good (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Good (Score:4, Insightful)
When you are getting less quality with DRM than with current systems, the end consumer will notice. Maybe not everybody, but I know enough AV geeks who are not "tech/computer/slashdot" geeks who would go nuts if they had to upgrade their perfectly capable equipment just because producers want to treat them like thieves.
If this does really happen end users (a la joe sixpack, etc) *will* give a damn.
Re:Good (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course, for this to enter the popular conciousness, you'd need the popular news media to report on it fairly. I expect Rupert Murdoch's TV stations and newspapers will do a bang-up job of reporting on how Rupert Murdoch's movie studios are fucking over the average citizen.
Damn copy protection... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Damn copy protection... (Score:3, Funny)
More info (Score:4, Informative)
Microsoft? (Score:2)
Somehow it's always their fault, I guess.
Re:Microsoft? (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft could choose not to implement this, thus allowing HD to be viewed on Legacy monitors.
Re:Microsoft? (Score:5, Informative)
No they couldn't. The DRM algorithms for HD content are patented and controlled by a media consortium. Furthermore the keys for the system are protected as trade-secrets. This consortium will refuse to license the algorithms or keys to anyone who does not sign a contract agreeing to play thier rules. It would be illegal for Microsoft to create an implementation that was not blessed by the patent/key holders.
So the choice that Microsoft and Apple have is to either play HDCP'd content the way they are told to play it (which is downgraded on non-HDCP monitors) or to not play it at all.
1. Load gun. (Score:5, Funny)
3. Pull trigger.
Re:1. Load gun. (Score:5, Funny)
5. Profit!
(Sorry. Couldn't resist.)
correction (Score:5, Insightful)
about 30 days after the first piece of media is released I'll be able to watch it under linux and BSD in full resolution as someone will have foundand released a crack/hack/mod/whatever.
They are wasting their time trying to "protect" this stuff. all they are doing is finding new ways to piss off the legit consumer.
Re:correction (Score:3, Informative)
DVDs came in 1997, and DeCSS was released in 1999. I believe that it took so long to ensure that the market was entrenched, they couldn't just retract and switch formats. Imagine a crack shows up practicly at launch, they'll pull it from the market because all the movie companies won't release on an already cracked format, unless there's such a big market there that they can't afford not to.
So don't buy their crap (Score:5, Insightful)
But it won't happen spontaneously. An organized boycott is the only solution. --M
Component (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Component output will be down-rexed to 480p (Score:3, Insightful)
If these bozos think they're going to force me to shell out another grand or two for a new set, they've got another thing coming.
I will personally break the protection if I have to (I'm a pretty smart cookie), but I will not participate in a scam of these proportions. If you have
Re:Component output will be down-rexed to 480p (Score:3, Interesting)
However, you can't copy anything via Firewire if it's copy protected - so there's really no point in wasting money on a D-VHS.
Over The Air channels I can already record on my PC using an HDTV Tuner, so that's not an issue. The issue is premium channels, PPV and Movies On Demand. I
Re:So don't buy their crap (Score:5, Insightful)
I would be more willing (note, more willing does not mean willing) to believe the line of mp3's hurting music sales, because mp3's sound (to most people) to be pretty good. Screeners, etc, of movies, not so good quality, and why would I watch it on my monitor in my office when I have my TV in the living room?
I agree that the largest part, by far, of Hollywood's slide is Hollywood itself, and they have no one to blame but themselves. They don't see it that way, so the lawmakers don't see it that way (Money talks, after all). They will paint an organized boycott as an organized piracy ring, with the lawless hackers trading music and movies amongst themselves.
We can't control their spin (Score:4, Insightful)
Boycott is the only effective counter to their power (even given the problems you present) because to do nothing is even less effective as a consumer strategy to corporate abuse of power. Or can you recommend a better alternative? --M
Re:So don't buy their crap (Score:3, Interesting)
For $2000 worth of cameras, lights, and duct tape an RTF major on summer break could shoot something good. His CS-major roommate can upload it
What this will cause (Score:5, Insightful)
2) Pirates won't care, as always, ripping to DivX or whatever and then watching as usual.
3) Ordinary people will discover DivX rips (family, friends of pirates) and watch HD content, not knowing that they're not supposed to. The pirates will mumble something about bad big corporations but they won't really care as long as they can watch the latest episode of Lost.
When Will These Idiots Get It?
That's OK, I wasn't going to pay for it anyway... (Score:5, Interesting)
That's OK, I was planning on boycotting and/or stealing and/or disabling the DRM on any such protected content anyway. If they don't want me to see it, I'll avoid buying it, thanks anyway. I'd download or create ripped DRM-less versions if forced too.
Spending a lot of time and effort downloading or ripping content will still be a lot cheaper than buying a multi-thousand-dollar monitor. Besides, most NTSC content is acceptable anyway...
Re:That's OK, I wasn't going to pay for it anyway. (Score:5, Insightful)
Content should be free then! (Score:5, Insightful)
I ain't spending any money on a HD movie if all i'm getting is lowdef. If I already paid for it, why should spend even more? I just hope someone declares DRM to be inconstitutional or something...
It's getting to be time (Score:4, Interesting)
What if they threw a Hi-Def party and nobody came?
Or to put it another way, just how many times are you going to let these people pick your pocket? We could just say that what we all have today is already good enough! .
Re:It's getting to be time (Score:3, Insightful)
If they throw a HD party, everyone will.
Remember, it's the pr0n industry that drives computer video tech.
score! (Score:5, Funny)
And by "little guy" I mean "multinational media conglomerate."
Brilliant! (Score:5, Insightful)
And thus prompting people to search for ripped/pirated HD content that is free of HDCP. Brilliant!
Oh The Humanity (Score:3, Funny)
"..won't be able to watch protected HD content.." (Score:5, Insightful)
C'mon, there has to be someone in Hollywood smart enough to figure out that copy protection this draconian is going to seriously encourage cracking? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to do everything possible to make it easier for their paying customers to get to their content rather than making it more irritating, unreliable, and expensive?
Oh, right. Oh well, not much worth watching anyhow.
Market forces (Score:3, Insightful)
Market forces won't let this one stick. People need lee-way, something that DRM systems don't do, so they are forced to go around them. Once that's done, they keep going around them.
--Mike--
Capitalism sees Capitolism as damage, and routes around it
Re:Market forces (Score:3, Interesting)
There's an increasing amount of expensive home cinema out there - plus other infrastructure like digital projectors in cinemas and workplaces. When that big expensive water cooled three tube projector that can easily do the resolution and has years of tube life remaining won't work because of copy protection then people are going to be pissed off. I suggest that people import the non-US version of the software to get their gear to work, since there is no w
Protected? (Score:3, Insightful)
So, we'll just have to settle for unprotected HD content, then?
Isn't this just another instance of the entertainment industry not getting it? They're sabotaging their own business. How many people do they expect to be interested in downloading HD content? Probably not that many. Now, how many of those people do they expect to go and shell out an obscene amount of money for a new HDCP-compliant monitor that offers no additional benefit to the end user?
Essentially, what they're doing here is presenting consumers with a rather lopsided decision: spend more money on a monitor just to have the privelage of spending more money to view paid-for HD content that may or may not actually materialize, or don't spend any extra money and continue to download what you want off of BitTorrent/eMule/usenet.
Tough call, eh?
Dear MPAA/RIAA (Score:5, Insightful)
If it is something that has to be audible to the human ear, your DRM can be broken.
Welcome to the age of computers, have a nice day.
Re:Dear MPAA/RIAA (Score:3, Informative)
Get a full-res monitor. Do a proper color calibration of the monitor. Grab a bunch of cameras/sensors, place them in front of the TV. Make sure you get pixel-accurate images (in total) and color calibrate these too. Capture the uncompressed output, frame accurate & recompress. Sure, you will get one more round of artifacts from reencoding, but you have a HD stream extremely close to the original. It only needs to be done on
I Want My HDCP ... (Score:3, Funny)
He's got a box and hooked up his HDCP.
Tries to turn it on and all he gets is static.
So he throws it back in his hovercar.
refrain I want my, I want my, I want my HDCP.
I want my, I want my, I want my HDCP.
He can't use it to watch his microwave oven.
It won't show Showgirls in wide-screen full DPI.
But he don't worry cause he's really stupid.
So he shalls out another $1000 for an extra day.
refrain I want my, I want my, I want my HDCP.
I want my, I want my, I want my HDCP.
Can't watch anime from Japan cause he's in North America, can't watch Italian soap operas if he's in Germany, can't even watch the Olympics in High Def, cause they won't let you see the CBC in DC
refrainI ditched my, I ditched my, I ditched my HDCP.
I ditched my, I ditched my, I ditched my HDCP.
.
.
.
can you say refund?
Dell 2005FPW Users Already Effected (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Dell 2005FPW Users Already Effected (Score:5, Informative)
Link: fully comprehensive guide to windows DRM... (Score:5, Interesting)
microsoft is incorporating a lot more than HDCP restriction requirements in their winhec standards. They are also building in encrypted "protected media path", allowing revocation of components in vista based PC's and requiring hardware and driver based DRM for "windows logo testing approval" [eff.org]
They are also requiring a new form of device ID which is designed to prevent any emulation without contacting the emulated device's originator [eff.org]
I tried to give slashdot the heads up on this over a month ago and, like a fellow poster, my story was rejected.
There's a reason Vista took so long to develop, and that reason has nothing to do with consumer-centric design
I'm so disappointed. (Score:3, Funny)
HDCP on DVI/HDMI is stuipd (Score:3, Informative)
Re:HDCP on DVI/HDMI is stuipd (Score:3, Informative)
Re:HDCP on DVI/HDMI is stuipd (Score:3, Insightful)
Uncompressed video is unheard of and irrelevant. Even losslessly compressed video is very rare; I'm sure professional processing uses it, but the consumer gets lossy compressed video from every form of digital input, be it DVD or BlueRay or satalitte.
DRM is not the issue (Score:5, Insightful)
Why was the CD a big success? It offered enormous convenience over the existing forms (records and tapes) and an enormous leap in quality - cracks and pops gone. Wow and flutter gone from tapes. No rewinding necessary.
Why was DVD a big success fairly quickly? It wasn't just the improved quality over VHS. Mostly it was the ease of use. A small disc that doesn't have to be rewound, doesn't snag, doesn't have tracking that goes out of alignment, and the quality was much much better.
But for most people, DVD is good enough. A new format will offer no extra convenience, and will cost a lot to buy - certainly for a fair while (high quality displays have always been expensive). Therefore, high definition disc formats will probably be relegated for years, perhaps decades, to the audio/videophile segment - a very small fraction of the market. Just like LaserDisc really. For everyone else, normal DVDs are cheap and good enough.
Re:DRM is not the issue (Score:3, Insightful)
So? The cost of HD capable displays is dropping at a dramatic rate, and the available sizes have been increasing too. Now one can get a flat-panel ~30" 720p display for about what it cost to get a 30" 480i screen five years ago, a little less than $1000. That's quite a leap, IMO. LCD panels of many kinds and sizes have been dropping in price too, two years ago a 17" LCD monitor was $500, a better
Re:DRM is not the issue (Score:3, Insightful)
It's only good enough until you actually see HDTV in action. I don't have HDTV and have never seen HDTV outside of Best Buy. Most of my friends don't have HDTV. Except for one. I was at his house this weekend and watched a movie in full HDTV glory. As he readily admitted to me, he can barely stand to watch DVDs or SD broadcasts now because the quality is so much lower than HDTV.
/giggle (Score:4, Interesting)
Yes, it is possible to go through life without TV. I do, everyday, and I'm not some kind of weird recluse or anything. I have friends, and a girlfriend *gasp* (yes, she thinks slashdot is super-nerdy), and I spend a lot of time playing video games. That's my replacement for crap TV.
Movies? I go and see them at the theater. Yes, I'd like to watch more at home. But I can't buy DVDs that I can do what I like with, so I don't buy them, period.
2. Pirate it. This is where the
You can either a) use a spatzbox (linked elsewhere in this conversation) to convert the HDCP content to HD component analog or digital DVI, or b) grab the HD-DVD that was burned unprotected using said spatzbox in some copyright-loving area like, say, Hong Kong.
The up market leather goods brands (Gucci and above) have been trying to stop pirate manufacturing of their products. In Iran, you can get any software you could possibly want for $1 a disk.
Do you *really* think that the MPAA will be able to stop this? What magic powers do they have the all the other companies don't have? It doesn't matter if the Blue-Ray or HD-DVD content protection can be broken. All you need is a HD-DVD/Blue-Ray player, and a spatzbox, in order to produce 1 digital master, HD, no content protection.
Its already avaliable!
Then it'll go through the usual distribution channels. Wholesale pirates->streets of hong kong->american tourists->usenet/limewire and CO.
And it's only going to get better and better as internet connections get faster. Think Windows Vista is going to DRM its way out of that? Nonsense-> You're forgetting that these will be unencrypted streams.
The only thing that this nonsense does is economically punish those who do the valid thing and actually purchase the disks.
For those like me, who will abstain, it does nothing.
For those like many others, who will pirate, it does nothing.
And I see *nothing* wrong with pirating. Copyright is an economic right (not a system of ethics) designed to promote the arts and sciences. Once someone abuses Copyright (like, say, by eliminating fair use/controlling playback through the DMCA), they are actively stopping the promotion of the arts and sciences. As I see it, the *only* reason to respect copyright is the promotion of the arts and sciences, and once they stop doing that, they forfeit their government-sponsored monopoly.
That's all it is, you know. Copyright was not handed down by God to Moses as a command. The Buddha did not tell us about Copyright, and evolution did not cause Copyright to evolve as inherented human behavior. Copyright is a government-sponsored monopoly, established for the *sole* purpose of promoting/protecting artistic and scientific economic activies.
And contrary to what you learned in grade school civics, what the government tells you is not always the definition of 'good and right'. Don't call me a deviant--> If I was a weird, social outcast, and the only one who thought like this, then 50 million Americans (sayeth the RIAA) would not be participating in illegal P2P activities. While those Americans may not directly communicate their beliefs they way I am able to explain my own, it is most likely because they simply haven't though about it at any length, and if they had, would agree with me.
But, I don't bother to pirate. Instead of paying attention to one-way content, I prefer to interact with two-way content, and I see enough value in that interaction that I purchase it. I vote with my dollar--> I buy things (read *games*) that I think are good. And between Guildwars, Half-Life 2, Eve Online, and World of Warcraft, I have my hands full for the indefinite future.
Three questions about HDCP (Score:5, Insightful)
-
Why bother protecting DVI? Have any prior DRM systems been attacked through DVI?
-
About key revocation (part of HDCP afaik): What is the benefit of being able to revoke keys known to be compromised?
-
A little revocation scenario: Company X sells 10 million HDCP-enabled devices. Someone devises a crack that theoretically compromises the key on all those devices (e.g. by finding a flaw in X's key generation). Media companies consequently block all 10 million devices. Does X have to replace 10 million devices for free, or are 10 million customers stuck with a useless device?
Bonus question: why would I want this crap? I tend to like movies for their storytelling, and am quite happy with the quality that DVDs offer me. If this stuff ever takes of, I'll just be happily buying used DVDs from suckers who upgrade their collection to HD.No, because cracking CSS was easier. And chances are the next generation will be cracked in a similar manner. I have not yet seen any DRM research suggesting otherwise. But any measure against hacking makes sense only if you make all other possible attacks equally difficult. (Why have a steel door if there is an open window?) Why the inconvenience for your customer, if you know it will have almost no positive effect?
Yes, you can prevent a hacked player from playing back a legally purchased copy on a unprotected device. But apparently most piracy today comes from P2P networks. How will you be able to tell which key was used to decrypt a DRM-free copy that shows up on a P2P-network? Release groups would probably just keep their cracked key secret. (Watermarks? Not robust against removal afaik.) Revocation can neither prevent spreading of content to P2P, nor playback of unprotected files obtained from P2P.
If you sell HDCP-enabled products, make sure that you know your cryptography very, very well. Or you might go out of bussiness soon.
HDCP, DRM, and why we should chill. (Score:4, Interesting)
Long and short... DVIX and all it stood for died. Died hard. Died ugly. Died and left customers holding useless garbage that, AFAIK, they can no longer play. So much for trust. This is a very abbreviated description of DVIX I know; however, I believe I have the essential points more or less correct. To this day I have never bought anything in a Circuit City store. To me DVIX, it's completely dishonest representation of value and functionality, and Circuit City are irrevocably maligned together. And I didn't even get burned by them.
My son just learned that he cannot play Windows Media Player files on his new iPod. Some time ago I'd tried to him into ripping his CDs to MP3 using CDex. However, Microsoft made Windows Media Player so EASY to use. So my lazy, instant gratification, boy learned a hard lesson about DRM and industry standards. CDs, $85. Refurbished iPod, $200. Look on his face when he tried to rip the newest DRM protected Foo Fighters album he'd bought. Priceless!
So, what about the new methods of DRM? I believe everyone needs to take a deep breath. Step back. Relax. With DVIX, DRM was relatively new. It is not as new any more. The only hope for DRM in the entertainment industry is for Congress, et al in other countries, to enact laws requiring it. On the other hand I think the only hope for Congress is that they don't. The people are actually fairly slow to learn collectively and the world does seem to be changing pretty fast these days. However, collectively, given time, a majority of people will come to realize that they are being lied to and will assert their rights. And when they do? I believe all hell will break loose and both Congress and the entertainment industry will fall victim to an electoral enema.
Re:Dongle anyone? (Score:3, Insightful)
The idea of HDCP in the first place is to make it nearly impossible to put a recorder anywhere behind the actual screen.
Re:Dongle anyone? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:no (Score:4, Insightful)
TFA mentioned revoking the keys that such a device would use, but it seems to me that it would be easy enough for someone to give the passthru a flashable firmware. I don't see it being impossible to read a key off an existing device, either.
And imagine if someone got the key from a Viewsonic (or even better, a Dell) monitor and it got put n everyone's dongle....the only way to stop that would be by cutting off everyone who bought that monitor. And that might open us up a nice little class action lawsuit.
Re:Crack (Score:3, Funny)
You don't seem to have much faith in us...
Re:funny thing... (Score:4, Informative)
no hardware save almost all HDTVs made these days, as well as the HD-DVD and (rumored) BluRay. this is much bigger than just PCs - your TVs, cable boxes, cable cards, etc, will all include HDCP of some sort (and most TVs with HDMI input already do support it.)
of course, you could go shopping [engadget.com] before the MPAA starts with the lawsuits...
Re:Until High Def is below $300 (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyways, your $600 figure exists for 27 inch Samsung HD set. Actually, according to Sears the tv is $449.
HDTV got a lot of bad press; Most people still dont' know what it is, how to get it, and what it means for them.
Re:I bought this awesome VCR a while back... (Score:3, Insightful)
I heard of this upcoming thing called DVD... supposed to be a lot better than VHS, but it will require an entirely new player! I can't even play my existing tapes on this new hardware!
Funny thing is DVD recording is relativly new. That old VHS VCR to this day is still useful for recording video. It remained a viable standard for 20+ years and this is a very good run.
In this 20 years, we had a ton of options including super vhs, 8
Let's try that again! (Score:3, Informative)
I heard of this upcoming thing called DVD... supposed to be a lot better than VHS, but it will require an entirely new television/monitor!
It's crap if you ask me! Down with these evil companies trying to force me to buy a new television/monitor!
You can make a DVD player work with a 20 year old TV, no sweat. This standard, on the other hand, obsoletes every display currently
Re:No new monitor needed: get a HDMI - DVI convert (Score:3, Informative)