In this thread you explain HDCP in detail, to a complete moron!

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Limp Gawd
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I was just curious what in the fuck HDCP consists of? From what i understand, its some bullshit that will be incorporated into the next version release of microsoft windows. It's some type of new, high, higher definition video that you'll need a new, updated display to view it correctly?

I dont understand how much higher definition we can get beyond 1900 horizontal pixels...(not all displays support these modes, obviously). I dont understand the new advancement being made here. It seems more like an inconvenience than anything.

I dont think i have all the details, just a general understanding. Can someone shed more light on this here? thanks :D
 
It's supposedly hardware copy protection. In essense protected content will not be viewable on the monitor unless it is HDCP compliant. The demand comes from a) people wanting to see better (as in nicer looking) content on the internet and b) media people not wanting their new high definition content to be stolen. This of course goes hand in hand with HD-DVD and Blu-ray which may or may not contain HDCP to prevent piracy.

Of course regular monitors will work with Windows Vista, but protected content will not be visible, or the content will have significantly degraded visuals.
 
It has (almost) nothing to do with resolution. It's copyright protection, plain and simple. If you do not have HDCP capable software (Vista) and hardware (including monitors) then the copyright owner has the ability to either 'black' everything out or display at a lower resolution. Microsoft is not really pushing this. They are including this so that consumers can watch HD on their PC. It was developed by Intel and the entertainment industry is pushing it out.

I thought that both Blu-ray and HD-DVD included HDCP. However, a copyright owner is not required to utilitize it. I know that any TV manufactured after July 2005 must have it either as DVI-HDCP or HDMI (which always includes HDCP). PC monitors are just now being released with HDCP support including a 21" widescreen from Gateway and the new Dells to be released soon.
 
I'd also like a definitive answer to this question. Although the simple copy protection seems the obvious answer, I have to wonder about HD-DVDs. The vast majority of people out there with HDTVs right now do not have HDCP. Does this mean that a HD-DVD will not be viewable on any current (non-HDCP) HDTV. I can't really see this as being the case because no one would buy HD-DVDs. Also, no analog signal can carry a copy protected signal. My understanding is that HD satellite recievers with HDCP can be defeated simply by using a component cable instead of DVI/HDMI. Can anyone shed some light?
 
Mrswap said:
I'd also like a definitive answer to this question. Although the simple copy protection seems the obvious answer, I have to wonder about HD-DVDs. The vast majority of people out there with HDTVs right now do not have HDCP. Does this mean that a HD-DVD will not be viewable on any current (non-HDCP) HDTV. I can't really see this as being the case because no one would buy HD-DVDs.
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The copyright owner has the option to use HDCP encoding or not. Or they may display in a lower resolution like the resolution that current DVDs display. This is a marketing question and not a tech question because it depends on whether people who own those non-HDCP displays will be satisified viewing video in the current DVD standard until they are willing to upgrade to HDCP equipment. Initial Blu-ray or HD-DVD players are likely to be expensive. CES announcements have one @ $1500. So in the immediate future (12-18 months) this may be only for people willing to lay out the $$$ anyway.

Also, no analog signal can carry a copy protected signal. My understanding is that HD satellite recievers with HDCP can be defeated simply by using a component cable instead of DVI/HDMI. Can anyone shed some light?
Click to expand...

No, I don't think so. Every component in the 'chain' including PC monitors and displays must be HDCP capable. There are some code cracking devices out there but I believe HDCP has some kind of variable 'key' that will render these devices useless when the 'key' is occasionally changed.
 
The industry is going to have to provide some kind of adaptor for older monitors.. I mean, come on, it would kill a lot of the audience if everybody had to spend $3000 on all new computer equipment and monitors just to watch some movies.

Plus the fact that I use a widescreen CRT monitor, and since they bascially don't make those anymore it would force people who hate LCDs to switch to them. There is SED on the horizon, but like every other new technology, I am willing to bet the first few generations are going to be expensive and have tons of problems as they perfect the manufacturing process.

If they fail to do something like that, then they will just be inviting even more piracy by cutting off a whole segment of the population that can't afford to fork over several thousands of dollars on a whim, becuase legal copies would be useless to them.
 
UrielDagda said:
The industry is going to have to provide some kind of adaptor for older monitors.. I mean, come on, it would kill a lot of the audience if everybody had to spend $3000 on all new computer equipment and monitors just to watch some movies.

Plus the fact that I use a widescreen CRT monitor, and since they bascially don't make those anymore it would force people who hate LCDs to switch to them. There is SED on the horizon, but like every other new technology, I am willing to bet the first few generations are going to be expensive and have tons of problems as they perfect the manufacturing process.

If they fail to do something like that, then they will just be inviting even more piracy by cutting off a whole segment of the population that can't afford to fork over several thousands of dollars on a whim, becuase legal copies would be useless to them.
Click to expand...

HDMI is HDCP compatible. People primarily don't watch movies on their computers. Right now people buying televisions is a big buisness as size is increasing and price is decreasing at a drastic rate. Old DVD's aren't going to have HDCP protection, so there is legacy support. The people that don't adopt newer televisions are also probably going to be the same individuals whom would wait before buying a new-fangled HD-DVD player or Blu-ray player when their current one works just fine.

As far as piracy goes, what you're saying is true to an extent. However most piracy is handled over the internet, and most individuals aren't internet savvy enough to firstly buy a costly HD-DVD or Blu-ray burner (didn't think about that did you) or it's expensive media (which will probably be very expensive if and when they come out) and then play them on their TV's. The people that would pirate the movies and then simply play them off their harddrives is another segment that is significantly smaller than how it is now. Not to mention that in order to pirate all this stuff in the first place, Blu-ray or HD-DVD rom drives will have to exist, and some one will have to be able to crack them easily.

However this still leaves a lot of questions about how exactly it will decode the copy protection, and I'm sure there are a million things I've missed and haven't thought about.

Needless to say, for the average joe, it will be in the way and make piracy more difficult. However I'm sure eventually there will be easy ways arround it.
 
UrielDagda said:
The industry is going to have to provide some kind of adaptor for older monitors.. I mean, come on, it would kill a lot of the audience if everybody had to spend $3000 on all new computer equipment and monitors just to watch some movies.

Plus the fact that I use a widescreen CRT monitor, and since they bascially don't make those anymore it would force people who hate LCDs to switch to them. There is SED on the horizon, but like every other new technology, I am willing to bet the first few generations are going to be expensive and have tons of problems as they perfect the manufacturing process.

If they fail to do something like that, then they will just be inviting even more piracy by cutting off a whole segment of the population that can't afford to fork over several thousands of dollars on a whim, becuase legal copies would be useless to them.
Click to expand...

Not going to happen. Why would the entertainment industry go to the trouble of creating a new encryption standard only to turn around and hand out 'adapters'? These people are aggressive about rolling out copy protection. Remember, the RIAA is going around sueing grandmothers for their kiddie's music downloads.

Again..., the copyright owner has the ability to provide the content in a lower resolution. By lower, I mean current DVD resolution rather than HD. This seems likely what they will do until the market has time to switch to HDCP equipment. So people with non-HDCP equipment will still be able to watch but will not be able to utilize the HD resolution.

....or they could just 'blackscreen' you with a 'non-compliant interface' message if they want.

In the end, it probably won't prevent piracy but, like DRM seems to be doing, it may make piracy more trouble than it's worth for the 'average' viewer.
 
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