Intel confirmed that the HDCP “master key” posted anonymously last week is indeed real. But while it’s always fun to see restrictive security measures get picked apart, this particular crack probably won’t do you a whole lot of good. More »
HDCP, the copy protection intended to keep HDMI-beamed content on lockdown, was recently cracked. The new “master key” might not be very useful to John Q. Gizmo, but it will keep torrenters frustrating the hell out of the MPAA. [Rudd-O] More »
Molex has prototyped a new miniature HDMI connector called Type D, which boasts the whole range of regular HDMI specs—19 pins, 10.2 Gbit/s bandwidth, HDCP, etc.—in a package the size of a Micro USB cable.
If you dropped $US20 on an HD movie from iTunes since they came out yesterday, but have a newer Mac and an older external display, you might not be able to watch it.
If you’ve been missing out on SFII Turbo HD Remix’s amazing soundtrack because you’re being hit by the New Xbox Experience’s audio-killing HDMI bug, don’t worry, Microsoft says a patch is coming.
One part of the new MacBook experience that didn’t exactly seem like much of an upgrade was the addition of HDCP for the new DisplayPort video connector, which left users unable to watch iTunes DRMed video content—HD or SD—on non-HDCP compliant external displays. This morning Apple released an update to ease the pain: protected SD content will now play on older DVI and VGA-connected displays. It’s a step in the right direction, but the real mistake here probably wasn’t including SD content under the HDCP umbrella—it was cramming the DRM tech into the laptops in the first place. [MacRumors]
High Definition Content Protection—the annoying DRM-y thing that’s supposed to stop people from copying hi-def stuff as it travels over a card-display connector— has apparently, and unfortunately, come to Apple’s MacBooks. HDCP is now included on new MacBooks to protect iTunes Store media, though it seems that only some of the content is actually HDCP-aware. A high school teacher was unable to play Hellboy 2 on his classroom’s projector with his new aluminium MacBook, but other purchased media (such as Stargate: Continuum and Heroes episodes) worked just fine. Perfect. Because copyright protection is all about inconveniencing those who actually bought their stuff legally? [Ars Technica]
Microsoft and Netflix are requiring that users of their swell little HD streaming service are connected to HDCP-compatible display. This potentially limits access for people who connect to older LCD screens via DVI. UPDATE: It should be noted, however, that component cables work fine in our testing. From what we can tell, the problem is isolated to digital connections only. [Format War Central]
