Tuesday, May 23. 2006
HDTV and HDCP and DRM Questions
After our last post concerning HDCP we received some very good questions that I will attempt to answer. I hope that this clarifies some of the unclear issues.
If you are paying for digital HD-cable then yes, you are almost certainly getting HD broadcasts. I do not know how many channels you would get in HD as that will mostly depend on your subscription package. Stations like HBO and ESPN are available in HD almost everywhere. The broadcast version of HDCP is known as the broadcast flag. The broadcast flag was approved by the FCC in 2004 but the implementation was halted by a federal court on the grounds that the action over stepped the FCC charter. As of know the broadcast flag is not scheduled to be implemented; however, several bills have been introduced to congress that would either extend the FCC's power or make the broadcast flag into law. Talked to your congressman lately?
If you have HDMI connections on your television and on your player then you will get true High Definition picture. In theory, any television that has an HDMI port is also HDCP compatible. You should also be getting true digital audio also since both the video and audio run across the HDMI cable. Unlike previous analog connections you do not need a separate fiber-optic cable for digital sound.
Again, in theory, the new HD movies will come with very high quality digital audio tracks that contain up to 8 distinct audio tracks. The audio can also be protected by HDCP and down-sampled. If you are not feeding HDMI into your sound system then you probably are not getting all possible audio quality. Do you need a new HDCP/HDMI sound system? If you want to be guaranteed the best possible sound then your home theater sound system must have HDMI inputs. I think the better question to ask is "Do I have the speakers to play HD audio?". To take advantage of 7.1 surround you need 8 speakers: right front, center front, left front, right side, left side, right rear, left rear, and a sub-woofer. Very few home theaters have enough room to properly take advantage of 6 speakers and even fewer have room for all 8 that 7.1 surround requires. With that said, if you have the room and an HDMI audio system and properly placed speakers and a good sub then the experience can be well worth the effort.
Good News --err-- Good Rumors
I would like to stress that this information is not official; in fact, this information is rumor and conjecture. According to Spiegel Online, a German-language magazine, most major Hollywood studios have made a back-room handshake deal concerning the Image Constraint Token (ICT). ICT is the protection flag used in HDCP. According to this deal the studios would not implement ICT on any movie until at least 2010. The reasoning behind this thought is that Hollywood does not want to loose a large portion of its customer base over a downgraded signal. It turns out that the early adopters of HD televisions are some of the people that buy the most movies and these would be the people most affected by ICT. The second part of the reasoning is that companies like Sony and Microsoft would not be releasing HD products that could not play HD movies.
However, since none of the studios have officially announced this and none of the consumer electronics companies have announced this then I do not believe it. Why would these companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a DRM system that they do not intend to use? I am sure that there have been several meetings to discuss this potential problem; however, my guess is that most of the discussion has involved legal liability if the ICT is actually implemented. I can only imagine that there will be several law suits that come about when HDCP DRM is fully utilized.
Author: Jimmy Palmer
I have a 50" HD Plasma and the Digital HD Receiver from Comcast Cable and the receiver is connected to the television through component cables. Am I receiving "real" HD broadcasts?
If you are paying for digital HD-cable then yes, you are almost certainly getting HD broadcasts. I do not know how many channels you would get in HD as that will mostly depend on your subscription package. Stations like HBO and ESPN are available in HD almost everywhere. The broadcast version of HDCP is known as the broadcast flag. The broadcast flag was approved by the FCC in 2004 but the implementation was halted by a federal court on the grounds that the action over stepped the FCC charter. As of know the broadcast flag is not scheduled to be implemented; however, several bills have been introduced to congress that would either extend the FCC's power or make the broadcast flag into law. Talked to your congressman lately?
So if i buy the higher price PS3 and have a HDMI connection then I will have a true High Definition picture even although my television is not HDCP enabled?
I have a Pioneer PDP-1530 High Definition television that I purchased in May 2004. It has HDMI inputs will it play an HDCP protected movie or not?
If you have HDMI connections on your television and on your player then you will get true High Definition picture. In theory, any television that has an HDMI port is also HDCP compatible. You should also be getting true digital audio also since both the video and audio run across the HDMI cable. Unlike previous analog connections you do not need a separate fiber-optic cable for digital sound.
Am I going to have to have an HDCP compliant stereo?
Again, in theory, the new HD movies will come with very high quality digital audio tracks that contain up to 8 distinct audio tracks. The audio can also be protected by HDCP and down-sampled. If you are not feeding HDMI into your sound system then you probably are not getting all possible audio quality. Do you need a new HDCP/HDMI sound system? If you want to be guaranteed the best possible sound then your home theater sound system must have HDMI inputs. I think the better question to ask is "Do I have the speakers to play HD audio?". To take advantage of 7.1 surround you need 8 speakers: right front, center front, left front, right side, left side, right rear, left rear, and a sub-woofer. Very few home theaters have enough room to properly take advantage of 6 speakers and even fewer have room for all 8 that 7.1 surround requires. With that said, if you have the room and an HDMI audio system and properly placed speakers and a good sub then the experience can be well worth the effort.
Good News --err-- Good Rumors
I would like to stress that this information is not official; in fact, this information is rumor and conjecture. According to Spiegel Online, a German-language magazine, most major Hollywood studios have made a back-room handshake deal concerning the Image Constraint Token (ICT). ICT is the protection flag used in HDCP. According to this deal the studios would not implement ICT on any movie until at least 2010. The reasoning behind this thought is that Hollywood does not want to loose a large portion of its customer base over a downgraded signal. It turns out that the early adopters of HD televisions are some of the people that buy the most movies and these would be the people most affected by ICT. The second part of the reasoning is that companies like Sony and Microsoft would not be releasing HD products that could not play HD movies.
However, since none of the studios have officially announced this and none of the consumer electronics companies have announced this then I do not believe it. Why would these companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a DRM system that they do not intend to use? I am sure that there have been several meetings to discuss this potential problem; however, my guess is that most of the discussion has involved legal liability if the ICT is actually implemented. I can only imagine that there will be several law suits that come about when HDCP DRM is fully utilized.
Author: Jimmy Palmer
Comments
Just bought a $2,500 Sony Grand Wega 50 inch HDTV. I am fuming mad that the $200 HDMI cables that I bought for it do not work with my HD DVR box when I plug them in. The cable company's website states that "your tv must be HDCP compliant in order to use the DVI/HDMI interface"!! Who actually owns an HDCP compliant HDTV? 99% of all tv's sold today are NOT HDCP compliant. What do I do now?
#1
Joseph Russotto on Jun 10 2006, 22:35
Joseph,
It is my understanding that your TV should work with HDCP. According to a press release by Sony in October 2004 there Grand Wega series of televisions that have HDMI support HDCP.
---------From Sony-----------
HDMI ™ technology with HDCP (High Definition Multimedia Interface with High Definition Copy Protection) technology, which is the latest interconnect between digital sources, supporting both uncompressed high definition video and multi-channel digital audio through a single cable. HDMI is an enhanced version of DVI-HDTV and is backward compatible;
KDF-42WE655
KDF-50WE655
KDF-55WF655
KDF-60WF655
----------------
These are 2004/2005 models and I can't imagine that any newer models are not HDCP compatible if they have HDMI inputs. I would double check with my Sony dealer and see what they say. I am going to email Sony and ask but I do not know your exact model number.
It is my understanding that your TV should work with HDCP. According to a press release by Sony in October 2004 there Grand Wega series of televisions that have HDMI support HDCP.
---------From Sony-----------
HDMI ™ technology with HDCP (High Definition Multimedia Interface with High Definition Copy Protection) technology, which is the latest interconnect between digital sources, supporting both uncompressed high definition video and multi-channel digital audio through a single cable. HDMI is an enhanced version of DVI-HDTV and is backward compatible;
KDF-42WE655
KDF-50WE655
KDF-55WF655
KDF-60WF655
----------------
These are 2004/2005 models and I can't imagine that any newer models are not HDCP compatible if they have HDMI inputs. I would double check with my Sony dealer and see what they say. I am going to email Sony and ask but I do not know your exact model number.
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