Originally posted by: Robor
Originally posted by: obeseotron
Only OEM boxes will likely have real cablecard support, as the cable companies not only have to approve the tuner, but the whole PC for sale. This was reported a little while ago. Vista will do anything XP does but will also support new DRM like HDCP, which won't work at all on XP.
There already IS a work around for HDCP over DVI, a German company sells a box that strips the encryption, but it's illegal in the US.
That's good to hear. Hopefully these will be available here in the US through a friend of a friend or something like that.
They'll also probably stop working the second they start releasing commercial titles on Blu-Ray/HD-DVD. I'm sure the "DVIMAGIC" will be the first devices on the HDCP blacklists once they start being used.
Like I said, it's one thing for a company to protect their content but it's another thing to expect consumers to replace very expensive hardware in order to view it.
Almost every HDTV sold in the last five years supports HDCP. It's really only on the PC side (where LCD monitor makers have been slacking off and not supporting it until very recently) that there is really an issue of having to replace much equipment.
You make it sound like they are merely complying with zoning laws. They are a full partner in the next generation of restrictive, consumer-hostile media. Blu Ray and HD-DVD will ship with Microsoft formats/DRM as part of the standards.
To portray this as "poor poor Microsoft had no choice" is BS. No one is selling HD media today so there is no adopted standard for MS to acquiesce to. The could have easily;
A) Sat it out. Stayed in the operating system business instead of dragging all our desktops into the living room and selling them to the MPAA. Or;
B) Took a pro-consumer stance and told the media companies sorry, but if you want to market to our customers you'll have to make computing-friendly products.
Microsoft is subverting user ownership in exchange for an invitation to the Big Media Clubhouse.
Well, unless you want to go rewrite copyright law, content owners have the right to dictate (within reason) how their content can be used and viewed. MS doesn't have to support HDCP -- but if they don't, you won't be able to watch Blu-Ray or HD-DVD content (at least in HD) on a Windows-based PC or HTPC.
This is not Microsoft's decision, and in fact MS has said they are preferentially backing HD-DVD partially because of DRM issues with Blu-Ray.
If the DRM is too restrictive, people won't buy it, and the content providers will have to loosen the restrictions or come up with something else (see, e.g. the failed 'DIVX' DVD format). You want to fight them -- do it with your wallet and the wallets of your friends.
MS not building in the capability to watch DRM-protected content in Vista will not make it go away, but instead will just piss off
their customers when they can't watch the content on their computer.
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