Slashdot Mirror
2010 — the Year AACS and HDMI Kill Off HD Component Video
For home theater buffs who want (or already have) a high-def system using component-video connections, time may be growing short. Audiofan writes with this story, which begins: "Digital HD (high definition), like that enabled through HDMI and Blu-ray, is awesome. It offers amazing picture and audio quality. It allows you to conveniently connect one single cable to provide both picture and sound. It is royally going to screw up a lot of homes next year. Wait, what was that last part? After December 31, 2010, manufacturers will not be 'allowed' [to] introduce new hardware with component video outputs supplying more than an SD resolution (480i or 576i). Should this go through as planned, it's going to disable or throw a wrench in a lot of existing custom installations as soon as the end of this year." The AACS in the headline stands for Advanced Access Content System, the industry scheme to block "the analog hole" by controlling content from storage media to eyeballs.
Or use a media PC as the center of your entertainment setup and rip content to remove protections that would require HDCP.
From the article:
Lest you think that this won't affect existing players, note that after January 1, 2011, the manufacturers of Blu-ray discs will be able (at their option) to insert an Image Constraint Token into any Blu-ray disc. This is a sort of "digital flag" that will turn off the high-definition component video output in the player (effectively turning it into a low-resoluton 480i/576i output). The goal is to make sure that all high-definition video will only be made possible through "secure" digital connections like HDMI.
The Wii can still put out whatever they want over RGB and there is no law stating your device (TV) can't accept RGB as an input and still be included..
It states anything playing licensed MPAA content over RGB will be forced to be artificially limited to 480i.
Now what if you have your own video over 480i on say a camcorder or on a BR and would like to use RGB? That I do know if the law or the technology will differential that from "protected" content.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
They already do, HDFury being the most popular one. Google for "HDCP stripper".
None of this says HDTVs have to abandon analog inputs. There will continue to be models that feature them. It's more about Blu-Ray players and other devices that decode AACS protection on video not being able to output analog signals. The HDTV is the receiver, not the sender.
I doubt that this will be met with much resistance due to the fact that component only give you 1080i, and HDMI delivers 1080p.
Component video can do 1080p too.
Purely FYI: AC means this cable. Thanks for the tip on monoprice, had not heard of them before. Geek fail.
Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
Everywhere. This is a licensing requirement to be able to play protected content, not a US regulatory requirement.
Wrong. HDFury is legal and sanctioned.
It's downgrading the digital connection to an analog connection. It has legit HDCP keys.
It does NOT give you a digital output, and does not crack HDCP.
If the new rules get adopted, then the manufacturer of HDFury will be unable to manufacture any more of them.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_Constraint_Token#Operation
Hands in my pocket
Indeed.
There's just no standard for it yet. I stand corrected.
VHS to DVD was an obvious improvement in both quality and convenience. DVD to BR is meh at best.
You obviously don't watch many movies. In some rare cases, if the DVD is done just right, yes, it's hard to tell the difference between Blu-ray and upconverted DVD. However, if you're talking standard definition DVD and Blu-ray, the difference is incredibly noticeable. Even upconverted DVD and Blu-ray normally has a pretty noticeable difference in quality.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Most businesses in which need to run a signal a long distance need to use a Cat5 to Component system. My family owns three businesses and they all use a system in which cat5 is ran to all three of our TVs and converted to component right before reaching the TV.
As much as HDMI is great it simply is not as good as component for running an HD signal over a long distance. Component is much better with cat5 because it is split into 3 cords. That way you Cat5 can easily handle the signal. However Cat5 is insufficient for carrying the entire signal if your using HDMI.
The AACS should not have the authority to break so many people's installations. We certainly can't afford to take out our nearly one thousand dollar system of splitters and converters and I'm sure many businesses can't either.