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DisplayPort-To-HDMI Cables May Be Recalled Over Licensing
Hugh Pickens writes "PC Magazine reports that the licensing company overseeing the HDMI specification has confirmed that existing Mini DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapters which are designed by several cable makers and sold by several PC OEMs, are apparently illegal and could be recalled. According to Charlene Wan, director of marketing for HDMI LLC, any cable that does not include HDMI connectors on both ends violates the specification. 'The HDMI specification defines an HDMI cable as having ONLY HDMI connectors on the ends,' says Wan. 'Anything else is not a licensed use of the specification and therefore, not allowed.' That apparently includes Apple's mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapters, which are sold by Belkin on Apple's Web site. However a representative for Belkin denies that the cable it sells on Apple's Web site is illegal. 'Essentially, the product you mention in your post is not out of compliance because it is just an adaptor and not a cable,' the representative wrote in an email. 'We do not sell a cable with a male Mini-DP and male HDMI port, which is what falls out of compliance with the spec. HDMI does recognize a product that has a Mini-DP connector and HDMI receptacle with an internal active circuitry as it falls into the definition of a source device.' There may also be a glimmer of hope, in that HDMI Org understands that there is a need for this type of cable: 'We do recognise that there may be a market need for a cable solution rather than a dongle solution. However, at this time, there is no way to produce these cable products in a licensed manner.'"
I don't understand what you mean with "both ways". Phillips is not crippling technology with their stance on the CD, in fact, they are doing the opposite by telling manufacturers that DRM is not a part of the CD-specification and might prevent consumers from playing those discs. Thus they are not allowed to be called CDs. The DRM is the crippling part, not the fact that the manufacturers that insist on having DRM on their discs can't call them CDs.
The HDMI specification requires both ends to be HDMI Anything else is against spec.
The CD specification required 16 bit PCA, anything else is against spec.
HDMI LLC is asking for Belkin to withdraw products that break their spec.
Phillips asked the same.
The only real difference I can see is that the HDMI spec was brain-dead in this instance while the CD specification was not.
I think he's saying that the "lawyers and IP nonsense" cut both ways. They can be used to cripple technology, or protect it.
Despite the alarmist headline, if you read the linked article carefully, you'll see that the only type of recall being considered is at the retail level. That is, retailers and distributors will have to remove the product from the shelves. There is no plan under consideration to go after consumers who have already purchased the cables for personal use. So if you already bought, paid for, and are using a cable, you should be okay to continue doing so.
If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/06/why-apples-2m-thunderbolt-cable-costs-a-whopping-50.ars
"A source within the telecom industry explained to Ars that active cables are commonly used at data rates above 5Gbps. These cables contain tiny chips at either end that are calibrated to the attenuation and dispersion properties of the wire between them. Compensating for these properties "greatly improves the signal-to-noise ratio" for high-bandwidth data transmission."
"Our telecom source noted that Intel made an unusual choice in also using active cabling for future optical-based iterations of Thunderbolt. Passive cabling is more common, but active cabling could offer some advantages. For one, active cables could combine fiber optics with electrical cabling for power transmission. Another good reason to use active optical cables, according to our source, "is that your current electrical ports can be forward compatible with future optical cables.""
Except that DisplayPort is not an Apple created or owned standard. It was produced by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) and is 100% royalty free (no licensing). Mini DisplayPort on the other hand was created by Apple, and is now part of the DisplayPort specification.
Yay for press releases that refer to things as "illegal" when they mean "our contracts don't like it." Sure, you may get sued. But you're getting sued in civil court for violating your contract with the 3rd party, and you're going to pay whatever recompense the contract specifies. You're not doing something "illegal," as what you're doing is not forbidden by law.
Contract != law
The ______ Agenda
The Cables used to extend USB Cables, which were bundled with hundreds of Consumer Devices were illegal too, according to USB 1.1
That didn't stop manufacturers like Logitech and Apple including them with Peripherals. (Apple's extension cables were slotted to prevent anything but Apple Keyboards to connect to them)
The USB-IF amended this clause in later versions once they realized that they couldn't do anything about the thousands of products already on the market that violated the license.
Hopefully, either HDMI LLC wise up too, or Display manufacturers start including Royalty-free Display Ports on their devices. Display Port supports the xvYYC colourspace and even CEC now, which almost makes HDMI redundant.
You aren't allowed to implement HDCP on anything but HDMI
You can do HDCP over DVI and DisplayPort.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
HDCP was designed for DVI. HDMI came later. The only difference DRMwise is that HDCP support is optional on DVI devices, but manditory on HDMI.
There are five HDMI types altogether (ie. A through E). In the majority of cases most people would only see the type A connector which is 19 pins, however what can be confusing are the specs which are 1 to 1.2a, 1.3 to 1.3c and 1.4 and 1.4a. Basically if you have a 1.0 to 1.2a spec you are ok on 720p but you may have trouble with 1080p. With the 1.3a on spec you should be fine with 1080p and even 1080p 3D (The first Playstation 3 had a 1.3a spec HDMI connector and works fine with 1080p 3D TV's).
The 1.4 spec has exactly the same basic spec as 1.3a to 1.3c but supports ethernet and 4k by 2k screen resolution (If these exist they won;t be cheap).
A simple guide to choosing HDMI cables for just about all HD TV's (includes 3D) is, if you have a 1.3a and above spec you should be ok although I would limit your cable length to between 1 and 3 meters. Most new HDMI cables are normally labelled as "HDMI high speed" (1.3a to 1.3c spec) or "HDMI high speed with ethernet" (1.4 and 1.4a spec). Paying more than $10 to $25 (US or Australian) for a 2 meter HDMI cable is wasting money because you won't see any difference in performance.
There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
The HDMI royalty is $0.04 USD per device and has an annual fee of $10,000 for high-volume manufacturers. The Display port cable is royalty free however it appears that Display port cables are more expensive than the equivalent length HDMI cable by between 20% and 40% (do a price comparison if you don't believe me). Yes I am sure the HDMI consortium are ripping off the public :)
There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.