No Full HD Playback for 32-bit Vista

snafu109 writes "Pity the Vista user with a 32-bit CPU. Senior Program Manager Steve Riley announced today at Tech.Ed Australia that full HD content shall only be played at the full resolution where only signed drivers are used — only in the 64-bit version of Vista. From the article: '"Any next-generation high definition content will not play in x32 at all," said Riley. "This is a decision that the Media Player folks made because there are just too many ways right now for unsigned kernel mode code [to compromise content protection]. The media companies asked us to do this and said they don't want any of their high definition content to play in x32 at all, because of all of the unsigned malware that runs in kernel mode can get around content protection, so we had to do this."'"

Comments

Re:Bullshit

[Reapman]

Saw this coming right when they started talking about "Trusting Computing" and it's ilk. I'll wait for a 3rd party program that runs BD or HD even if it has to run it at a lower res, these guys have to realize that if nobody can use their stuff, that NO FORMAT is going to win. DVD is probably going to trump both HD and BD anyways, and this is just another nail.

Another Brick in the Wall

[Prototerm]

I, for one, use my computer to watch all my existing DVD's. I've got a large screen, a good sound system, and a comfy chair. I can't remember the last time I used my TV to watch them.

And, while I have an AMD64 machine, for the most part, I don't see that a 64-bit OS buys me anything except problems with older drivers, and possibly software, too, I don't know.

So, why do I want to upgrade to a Blue Ray or HD-DVD again? I have a nice collection of DVD's, the resolution looks just fine on my LCD monitor, and they play in Linux as well as Windows XP. Vista (a.k.a. "Windows DRM Edition") issues aside, it seems to be that the movie studios are killing both HD formats with their greed and paranoia.

You know what they say: "Pride cometh before you're eaten by the lions". Or something like that.

Re:Will it play DVDs? CDs?

[w33t]

I'm right there with you.

I honestly have not heard anything that makes Vista seem appealing, at least from a feature standpoint.

The only motivators for 'upgrading' to Vista seem to be the lock-ins. Take for example directX 10 being only for Vista. This means that I will have to buy Vista to play newer video games. And of course this is not because there is something inherently better about Vista - it is simply an artificial constraint.

The one technology that had me interested was the databasing file system, but it was announced that this was pulled from Vista long ago.

It's as if Microsoft is an automobile manufacturer from whom you must by the newer model car to be able to use the newly built highway. Not because the new car is better, any safer, or indeed really any different from your current car. But simply because it is a Microsoft brand.

I wish I could believe that the consumer will not stand for such blatant charades - but technology is merely magic to the lay, so they have no choice but to accept what they are told, and they will buy Vista because they 'need' it to watch new movies, and I will buy it because I 'need' it to play new games.

Re:Media companies are ruining innovation

[Toby_Tyke]

Now, to be fair to MS (shocking idea on slashdot I know, but bear with me) you can play just as much HD content on XP, and presumably Vista, as you can on Linux, regardless of what kind of CPU you have.

You see, the article is talking about HDCP DRM protected content, specifically blue ray and HD-DVD. To the best of my knowledge, there are no Blue Ray or HD-DVD players for linux, or OS-X for that matter, so even if windows only supports them on 64-bit CPUs, that will still be better support than any other OS has at present.