Talk Back: The Impeding Dilemma of Component Video

[dang]

Checkout our latest Talk Back: The Impeding Dilemma of Component Video (http://news.designtechnica.com/talkback102.html)

[jtfields]

I am so tired of copy protection.

[ECA]

REALLY...?
Really?
FOR SURE, are you Deffinatly SURE..

[neuroking]

Engadget has a blurb on some Hollywood studios sueing Samsung because a DVD player that has been discontinued for 2 years can be hacked to make it region free.

I really never care to pay for any content again now. The whole issue makes me feel physically ill. If the RIAA and the MPAA would stop being a**holes, I would probably return to the way I was 3 years ago, buying music and movies when I felt like it. Now I feel like I'm supporting the biggest jackasses in the world. Christ, i know oil comes from countries that support Al Quaida and and feel better filling up my gas tank than buying a CD/DVD.

[Ioman]

Engadget is probably full of crap, 50% of what they post is rumor garbage designed to get traffic. I am not sure Hollywood would go that far, there are a ton of Chinese companies that are selling products here in the states that bypass HDCP alltogether.

Here is a good example: http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review3327.html this DVD player will play back movies in 1080P format and even upconvert older movies to the new resolution. They bypass HDCP alltogether: http://www.neodigits.com/new/body/products/HVD2085/specs.asp

HDCP is not required for playing copyright DVD title in high definition mode they obviously could care less about Hollywood or protection.

[neuroking]

Here's the link to the story - looks legit to me... (but yeah too many rumors there)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200602/kt2006021919273711910.htm

Yeah, but the whole HDCP thing isn't in place for DVDs. They have a backup watermarking system that even if you could play the high def content on a TV, if the TV has HDCP, it can drop the resolution on its side. Besides, DVDs are only 480P anyways.

[Ioman]

My guess is that Sony and Toshiba are letting the movie studios pretend to have input, but will eventually convince them to layoff all for the sake of sales. I just can't see component video not being able to produce 1080p...

[ECA]

WITH 5 component input, I CAN SEE IT... But NOT 3, or even 4

[jtfields]

My guess is that Sony and Toshiba are letting the movie studios pretend to have input, but will eventually convince them to layoff all for the sake of sales. I just can't see component video not being able to produce 1080p...

Sony IS a movie studio. That's Sony's biggest problem these days. They can't make good products any longer because they have so many concerns about protecting their video and audio content.

[Ioman]

Sony IS a movie studio. That's Sony's biggest problem these days. They can't make good products any longer because they have so many concerns about protecting their video and audio content.


http://blog.hometheatermag.com/markfleischmann/012706constrain/

"Image Constraint Token." A piquant phrase, yes? Roll it around on your tongue a few times before I tell you what it is. OK, ready? It's the name of the flag that will down-res HDTV in the soon-to-debut Blu-ray and HD DVD formats under the rights management scheme known as AACS (Advanced Access Content System). The restriction will apply only to the player's component video outputs, because they're analog, and therefore give the studios security nightmares. If your HDTV has HDMI, you needn't worry. HDMI is digital, easier to protect, and will work at full resolution. But if you're an early HDTV adopter and component is the only HD input on your set—ouch. The Image Constraint Token will halve resolution from 1920 by 1080 pixels to 960 by 540. It is an option, not a requirement. Studios likely to use it reportedly include Disney, NBC Universal, Paramount, and Warner. Fox has argued against it and Sony hasn't taken a position. The logic behind the ICT is staggeringly faulty: Does anyone really believe that cutting resolution in half will stop pirates in their tracks?

Apparently Sony has not decided yet. What a shame if this goes through.

[ECA]

EITHER ONE...
IF HDMI dont get a signal, it WONT play in HD...
ANd how can you select it, on the CURRENT players..you WONT, on the NEW DVDs..
It will FAIL to lower format, on current player with component HD.. YOU WONT get the option.
UNLESS you copy OFF the HD format to another DVD.. BUT, a HD quality copy...MAY NOT fit on a STANDARD DVD.. $$$$$ WHO wants to PY $1000+ for a HD format DVDR

[Ioman]

Sony Will NOT Downconvert HD Movies On Old HDTV's

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_id=1324

In an important aside, Don Eklund, SPHE's senior vice president for advanced technologies, said that Sony's initial Blu-ray discs — and all of its Blu-ray titles for the forseeable future — will be free of the "Image Constraint Token" that's built into the Blu-ray and HD DVD standards. This controversial digital flag instructs the player to down-res the video signal from its analog component-video outputs to a standard-definition image to prevent high-resolution recordings — but at the same time prevents viewing of HDTV images on any TV or device not equipped with a copyright-protected HDMI digital input. That would eliminate any gain in image quality for HDTV early-adopters who bought displays prior to two or three years ago, when DVI and HDMI digital inputs were introduced.

Eklund noted that Sony's key piracy concern isn't with analog HDTV signals but with the digital HDTV signal coming off the disc, which both Blu-ray and HD DVD are protecting with the robust Advanced Access Content System (AACS) endorsed by the Hollywood studios. If analog copying does become a problem down the road, the policy could change, he said — but for now, "we have no plan to implement the Image Constraint Token. All of Sony's titles will come out of the analog output at full definition." He added that other studios still have the discretion to activate the token for all or individual titles.

Yay for Sony.

[neuroking]

I almost crapped myself when I saw that. But note the words "forseeable future".

Still, Sony is dead set on not having another BetaMax fiasco. Except with minidiscs. And memory sticks. And their MP3 players. And SonicStage. Hey, for a while they OWNED the market on root kit installing music CDs...