HDCP cards here yet?

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Whitebread

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jan 28, 2002
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While Vista isn't around the corner, its certainly comming. HDCP monitors are abundant and High Def video is starting grow in avaliability. Where are the HDCP Vid cards? I need to upgrade my card but I'm waiting for the HDCP stuff to become avaliable. This waiting sucks!
 
Sapphire has an x1600 that has HDMI output.


but I can't seem to find it anywhere
 
rayman2k2 said:
Sapphire has an x1600 that has HDMI output.


but I can't seem to find it anywhere
Click to expand...
Yeah, i saw that one. Nice for an HTPC, but useless for a regular PC setup.
 
Does a card with an HDMI output necessarily support HDCP? And does HDCP require HDMI or can it work with DVI?
 
Doesn't ATI's X1k series cards have HDCP capability built in, but requires that the manufaturers add the supporting hardware to make it work?
 
ryan_975 said:
Doesn't ATI's X1k series cards have HDCP capability built in, but requires that the manufaturers add the supporting hardware to make it work?
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ATI cards have had support for HDCP since the 8500. It's always been about lack of hardware vendor activation, and they got sued over that very issue recently.
 
mavalpha said:
ATI cards have had support for HDCP since the 8500. It's always been about lack of hardware vendor activation, and they got sued over that very issue recently.
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ATI did or the vendors?
 
Rishi M. said:
Does a card with an HDMI output necessarily support HDCP? And does HDCP require HDMI or can it work with DVI?
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Anything with HDMI supports HDCP, it's a must. HDCP doesn't require an HDMI connection and can work over DVI.
 
LittleMe said:
Anything with HDMI supports HDCP, it's a must. HDCP doesn't require an HDMI connection and can work over DVI.
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I've read a couple people on AVS Forum who have had HDMI equipment not work because it didn't support HDCP. It's supposed to be that way, but not everything is always built to spec.
 
ryan_975 said:
I've read a couple people on AVS Forum who have had HDMI equipment not work because it didn't support HDCP. It's supposed to be that way, but not everything is always built to spec.
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They'd be breaking the license which could turn out bad for the company.
 
LittleMe said:
They'd be breaking the license which could turn out bad for the company.
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True, I just brought it up as a warning to not trust that something's spec just because it has a related keyword on the label.
 
ryan_975 said:
True, I just brought it up as a warning to not trust that something's spec just because it has a related keyword on the label.
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Yea, I wish it wasn't that way but usually it's some small tiny company that doesn't produce too much of anything anyway.
 
LittleMe said:
Yea, I wish it wasn't that way but usually it's some small tiny company that doesn't produce too much of anything anyway.
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I think I read also on AVS that ones of these devices used a big name key/code to identify their hardware. So if the licensor for HDCP blocked them in the future, they'd also be blocking the major company. I think it was RCA, but I'm too lazy to look it up.
 
ryan_975 said:
I think I read also on AVS that ones of these devices used a big name key/code to identify their hardware. So if the licensor for HDCP blocked them in the future, they'd also be blocking the major company. I think it was RCA, but I'm too lazy to look it up.
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If you see it later on, post it. I'm interested in knowing.
 
LittleMe said:
Anything with HDMI supports HDCP, it's a must.
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Not true. HDMI 1.2 does not mandate HDCP. It is merely recommended.

High-Definition Multimedia Interface Specification Version 1.2
9 Content Protection
9.1 Recommendation
Content protection capability is recommended for all HDMI compliant devices. An HDMI compliant Source should protect all of the protected audiovisual data. Amongst adequate copy protection technologies that are compatible with HDMI, HDCP is available.
Click to expand...

Adrian
 
Whitebread said:
Yeah, i saw that one. Nice for an HTPC, but useless for a regular PC setup.
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Well isn't HTPC going to be the main use for HDCP cards?

Whilst it is all well and good for the high end cards to showcase the latest technology roll-out, consider:

Is the 7950 GX2 wildly expensive?
Yes (well, I think so :).

Is the 7950 GX2 a great card for 3D games?
Yes.

Is HDCP useful for 3D games?
No.

What is HDCP useful for?
Video/HDTV/HTPC.

What else is useful for Video/HDTV/HTPC?
Passive cooling or near silent cooling.

Is passive cooling or near silent cooling readily available for the 7950 GX2?
No.

What (Nvidia) GPUs are readily available with passive cooling or near silent cooling?
7600GT (just), 7600GS, 7300GT, 7300GS, 7300 LE, ...

What (Nvidia) GPUs are suitable for HD Video/TV?
All current PureVideo features supported (http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo_support.html) -- 7600GT and up.
All current PureVideo features supported, except Inverse Telecine & Bad Edit Correction -- 7600GS, 7300GT, 7300GS, 7300 LE.

In summary, until we start seeing passively cooled or near silent 7600GT cards (or similar) with HDCP, I'm not interested.

According to http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_31318.html, the Sony VAIO range now has 7600x + HDCP. But it appears to only be for the desktop models VGC-RC310G & VGC-RC320P.

Adrian
 
Ajax9000 said:
Not true. HDMI 1.2 does not mandate HDCP. It is merely recommended.



Adrian
Click to expand...


It's added to 1.3 isn't it? Where did you get the specification list, I thought you had to be a licensee to see it. You're required to register on the HDMI site to see it.
 
LittleMe said:
It's added to 1.3 isn't it? Where did you get the specification list, I thought you had to be a licensee to see it. You're required to register on the HDMI site to see it.
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I got 1.2 by simply registering on the HDMI website, licencing wasn't required. Registration is free (or it was, last time I looked).

To be honest, I haven't bothered to look at the full details of HDMI 1.3, as HDMI has design elements I dislike. I've been putting my 2 cents worth to VESA, trying to influence the design of the new DVI replacement -- DisplayPort(TM).

Adrian
 
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