The Great HDCP Fiasco

[TransformX]

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdcp_support/

Want HDCP? Going to upgrade to Windows Vista? Want to watch HD-DVD? Did you just spend many hundreds of dollars for the best and latest hardware which claims to support HDCP?
Well, seems like somebody was fooling around with your hard earned money...

[Dr Mordrid]

And you're suprised? Not me....

Dr. Mordrid

[DukeP]

It will have to break.
If people cant use their existing hardware, bought 2006 to run windows vista, it will have to break.

To hell with HDCP. It contains nothing that improves my computer, only stuff that makes it do less.

Im pretty darn sure everybody is interested in selling stuff.

Eventually they will have to meet the buyers.

Otherwise the only video I will be seing, is piratedm with the hdcp requirement removed.

~~DUkeP~~

[Gurm]

Yeah, I love hearing all the rumors about all the different protections that will be in Vista, or that will be in next-gen equipment.

Here's the situation.

Right now, if I go and spend $2000 on a DLP or Plasma TV, the next player I buy had DAMN WELL BETTER work with it, without restrictions.

And it will.

Because at SOME point the marketing people are going to get ahold of this. So far it's just been the technical people and the business people with their heads together saying "how can we protect our content?" but soon enough, the marketing department will conduct a study and discover that NOBODY WILL BUY a HD-DVD player that requires them to buy YET ANOTHER HDTV.

Similarly, Microsoft will eventually soften their stance, because NOBODY WILL BUY a new $500 video card and a new $1000 monitor just to run their operating system. I just bought Julie a perfectly nice LCD, the last monitor I'll buy her for the next 5+ years. Someone somewhere will figure out that restricting DVD playback on that monitor is counterproductive and will simply lead to lost sales.

So I laugh whenever I hear these rumors, because spin it all they like NOBODY WILL BUY THIS CRAP.

[Jessterw]

On people will buy it, but it definitely won't be enough to make it profitable. I've heard from an increasing number of people voicing their concerns over such things, whereas just last year they wouldn't have cared or even known.

The controversy with Sony and the DRM stuff made the news enough times that it actually sank in. So I think people are going to generally be more tuned in with the restrictions companies are trying to place on their products.

[rylan]

I hope the movie studios and get screwed from backlash due to this whole HDCP and DRM crap.

[Technoid]

Yeah, I love hearing all the rumors about all the different protections that will be in Vista, or that will be in next-gen equipment.

Here's the situation.

Right now, if I go and spend $2000 on a DLP or Plasma TV, the next player I buy had DAMN WELL BETTER work with it, without restrictions.

And it will.

Because at SOME point the marketing people are going to get ahold of this. So far it's just been the technical people and the business people with their heads together saying "how can we protect our content?" but soon enough, the marketing department will conduct a study and discover that NOBODY WILL BUY a HD-DVD player that requires them to buy YET ANOTHER HDTV.

Similarly, Microsoft will eventually soften their stance, because NOBODY WILL BUY a new $500 video card and a new $1000 monitor just to run their operating system. I just bought Julie a perfectly nice LCD, the last monitor I'll buy her for the next 5+ years. Someone somewhere will figure out that restricting DVD playback on that monitor is counterproductive and will simply lead to lost sales.

So I laugh whenever I hear these rumors, because spin it all they like NOBODY WILL BUY THIS CRAP.

You said the same thing about the WPA rumors before WinXP

[Marshmallowman]

I wonder how linux is going to deal with this, could be the media OS to use by default.

[Gurm]

You said the same thing about the WPA rumors before WinXP

See answer below.

[DukeP]

I wonder how linux is going to deal with this, could be the media OS to use by default.

If Hollywood gets its way, then Linux will not be able to play HD-dvd
or Blue-ray discs.

Just as they wouldnt like to have linux play DvD's (Thanks Jon!).

~~DUkeP~~

[schmosef]

I can see the riots and US embassy burnings now...

[Technoid]

And it's been softened. How many videos out there ACTUALLY use WPA that aren't porn? Relatively few. Its acceptance has been limited. Most sites make things available as unencrypted WMV, MPG, and Quicktime.

Videos???

WPA=Windows Product Activation

[TnT]

People are already unhappy that their equipment becomes relatively obsolete because the technology outpaces them. I think what needs to happen to combat this lunacy is make it well known to the masses that their equipment is obsolete because of restrictions and not due to the new stuff being any better. Otherwise people will buy a component (Vista or HDDVD/BluRay Player or whatever) and not actually notice they are missing anything. How many will actually know their resolution is lowered? Of those that do know, how many will know it is because of content restrictions?

[Gurm]

Videos???

WPA=Windows Product Activation

Sorry. People are STILL upset over that. MS has done its misinformation duty though! People think that buying XP Pro will get them out of having to do activation.

Actually MS did soften their stance SUBSTANTIALLY. Far and away the largest percentage of XP machines have been OEM machines, which the end-user NEVER needs to activate until/unless they do a major upgrade - and that pretty much guaranteed that the ill-will it generates is nicely spaced out and nowhere near the product launch date.

Corporate customers didn't have to activate AT ALL - also as predicted.

Pretty much the only people that had to activate were the upgraders... which while a substantial percentage are in the distinct minority overall.

[AlgoRhythm]

HDCP will be cracked...

http://www.macfergus.com/niels/dmca/cia.html

AlgoRhythm