Ron Lowe wrote:
"John Stumbles" wrote in message
. ..
On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:26:17 +0000, Ron Lowe wrote:

But there's no point, because content providers increasingly decree that
analog HD must be disabled, and that you must go over HDMI which
supports DHCP. They flag the content to prevent analog HD output.

Er, I think you mean DRM - copy protection to you & me, Digital Rights
Management to pointed haired corporate speaks.

I actually meant HDCP ( not DHCP! )
Which is a method of implimenting DRM.
Specifically, on the link between the player and display.

ISTR reading recently that blu-ray copy protection had already been
cracked.

It's an on-going battle.
Slysoft's AnyDVD-HD has cracked the AACS protection.
Blu-Ray retaliated with BD+.
Slysoft cracked BD+.
There's currently a new version of BD+ which Slysoft's developers claim
will take a couple of months to crack.

http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?t=21985


Now finally in this long thread we get to the point.

It's perfectly feasible to send HD content over something other than
HDMI-with-HDCP. But the MPAA don't want it - they'll let the player
shove SD out over something unprotected, but not HD - not 720 whether
interlaced or not, nor (note the number Dave) 1080. (In fact, I'm doing
as I type - the monitor I have here is 1920x1200, as many pixels across
as full HD, and more vertically. A full HD picture fits quite nicely at
the full resolution, with a half-inch black strip top and bottom).

If you don't have an HDMI connector, your player is not allowed, under
the terms of the license (sic) they agreed to, to send out HD content.
And AFAIK HDCP hasn't been cracked.

Of course, in a studio that's not an issue.

The main difference between HD-DVD and Blu-ray was BD+. The blu-ray
guys worked out that James at Sly-soft and ... err... the other guys
name escapes me, something Chinese - would be able to crack any
protection with time. HD-DVD had barely hit the market when it's single
layer of protection was cracked. BD+, on the other hand, can be
updated, and is being updated. The player manufacturers are contracted
to provide updates to fix any cracks.

But enough of this technical stuff. If you want full HD, get a set which is
- 1080p capable,
- and which will play at 25 FPS(PAL equivalent)
- and 30FPS (NTSC equivalent. Ok, you need 29.97 or whatever it is).
- And don't forget 24FPS, which is commonly used in film production.

And a PS/3.
*And an HDMI CABLE*!

Andy