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AMD Intentionally Added Artificial Limitations To Their HDMI Adapters

Posted by timothy on from the market-segmentation-works-best-on-the-sly dept.

An anonymous reader writes "NVIDIA was caught removing features from their Linux driver and days later Linux developers have caught and confirmed AMD imposing artificial limitations on their graphics cards in the DVI-to-HDMI adapters that their driver will support. Over years AMD has quietly been adding an extra EEPROM chip to their DVI-to-HDMI adapters that are bundled with Radeon HD graphics cards. Only when these identified adapters are detected via checks in their Windows and Linux Catalyst driver is HDMI audio enabled. If using a third-party DVI-to-HDMI adapter, HDMI audio support is disabled by the Catalyst driver. Open-source Linux developers have found this to be a self-imposed limitation and that the open-source AMD Linux driver will work fine with any DVI-to-HDMI adapter."

8 of 256 comments (clear)

  1. I'm glad we got competition! by Elbart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If companies would dedicate only 1/10th of their let's-screw-with-our-customer-resources to actual improvement of their products, *gasp*, I would be so happy.

  2. How much revenue are they really protecting?? by ZorinLynx · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's crazy that companies go through all this trouble to protect a revenue stream from something as inexpensive and generic as a DVI to HDMI adapter.

    Really, if they want to make a little more money, why not charge an extra dollar for the card itself and be done with it?

    DVI/HDMI don't even carry power, so you can't use the "it might fry the device" excuse that Apple uses with their lightning plugs.

    1. Re:How much revenue are they really protecting?? by h4rr4r · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That is the first explanation that makes any sense.

      Force the OEMs to buy these DVI to HDMI chips from AMD vs another competitor.

  3. Re:Why? by Hypotensive · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because scumbags.

  4. Re:Why do this? by Brit_in_the_USA · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm also struggling to see a reason for this.

    The only thing I can think / guess is that some patent, licence and/or DRM limitation was identified by AMD that restricts (in legal terms) audio over DVI, but allows it over HDMI. Again, my best guess at this time.

  5. Re:Why do this? by Nerdfest · · Score: 5, Insightful

    With the rise of tablets and consoles for gaming, I'm thinking those Linux/Steam installs are starting to look a little more profitable.

  6. Re:Why? by jonsmirl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why do you assume that AMD did this voluntarily? Much more likely that this is caused by some idiotic DRM requirement for for HDCP 'protected audio path' or working around some idiotic patent. Likely reason - a DRM requirement to stop people from plugging in devices that strip HDCP.

  7. This! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is exactly what's happening. Reading the summary, my first thought was that it was incorrect and my second thought was that the writer was clueless. After all, DVI doesn't support audio so how can DVI out provide audio to a DVI - HDMI adapter? The answer is; only by breaking the standard.

    So, if you break the DVI standard and send audio out what happens? There are no adverse effects, at all, ever, even when the connection is DVI - DVI? It seems to me that they are simply adding a safety feature to their non-standard implementation. 'If we don;t know for absolute certain that the end point is HDMI, don't send audio out the DVI interface.'