High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) has been around for a few years, but many Technology Managers have not had to deal with it. Will 2010 be the year that you finally have no choice but to understand HDCP and install compatible devices? We are at a time of year for predictions and resolutions. I have one of each. I predict this is the year that you will have to deal with HDCP in some way, and I suggest we all make learning about HDCP our resolution.
First, let's quickly recap HDCP. HDCP is a form of digital copy protection. Watered down, it essentially is a communication protocol, based on keys, between a video source (i.e. Blu-Ray player) and a display device (i.e. LCD projector or TV) often referred to as a sink. The source is in constant (multiple times per second) contact with the sink to ensure that nothing has been placed in line between the two devices. Essentially the source says "are you a display device that does not record" and the device responds, "yes, I am". In home installations this is a pretty smooth setup with minimum problems because most people have a direct connection from their Blu-Ray player to the their display.
It becomes more complicated in commercial or educational environments. For starters, we often have multiple sources, going to a single, or multiple displays. This requires us to put a device in that manages the HDCP keys and lets the system know that it is allowed to pass the video. So, we look at something more along the lines of a source, confirming with a video extender, that is is an extender and only an extender, and it is connected to only a display device. Obviously, there is more to the technology than this limited post can supply, but this is the basic idea.
The concern for technology managers is not just the Blu-Ray player. I think we all need to be concerned about the "other" devices that we don't think of as needing HDCP support. For example, for over a year Apple laptops have enforced HDCP restrictions on some HD movies downloaded from iTunes. So, if it was common practice for a professor to show a movie from his/her laptop in class, they are going to have problems with the newer movies.
Our school has a student run filmboard. The board gets films that are out of theaters, but not yet available on DVD. Currently, the company they deal with sends VHS tapes (seriously) of these movies. I guess they figure that no one would want to copy it! However, they are pushing to have schools purchase an online device that downloads the movie from their servers (think NetFlix On Demand). However, this device requires HDCP compatability at the projector, which we don't have in this space.
In our academic worlds HDCP may be an excellent way for academics to protect their intellectual property and companies to be sure you are not stealing from them. On occasion, we have presenters come to campus who do not want their presentations recorded. I think it would be a fair assumption that Microsoft will soon incorporate a feature that allows you to turn on HDCP protection for any video coming out of your laptop. Unless you have systems prepared to handle this, you may be stuck with a presenter who will not show their presentation. What about applications such as ArtStor or Naxos music server? Will they begin to incorporate HDCP requirements into their systems to protect copyrights? What about your classroom capture equipment? Have you considered how HDCP will affect it? What about our faculty who dutifully subscribe to fair use regulations? HDCP has killed our ability to take clips out of movies.
The change to digital systems has been a challenge for Technology Managers, but I believe the impact of HDCP is what is going to really force us to re-think our installs, and soon. We have been converting DVI to VGA for years, with no clear loss of image quality. However, as HDCP is now standard in our video out connections (HDMI, DisplayPort) that will no longer be an option, we will have to move our installs to support HDCP. This is about more than just wires and infrastructure. We need to be thinking about the devices we are installing as well. If you hang a projector this summer that does not have a digital input with HDCP, then you will be replacing it sooner than expected.
I have found a few resources for learning more about HDCP - Feel free to leave comments if you know of additional resources:
- Wikipedia HDCP - http://bit.ly/WikiHDCP
- Detailed Specs for the really techno-savy http://bit.ly/hdcpttp
- Extron White Paper on HDCP - http://www.extron.com/download/files/whitepaper/hdcp_wp.pdf
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4 comments:
You are spot-on when you say 2010 is the year to deal with HDCP. It's been creeping up, and now you'll see even more of a digital presence in the classroom (laptops w/ DisplayPort, Blu-rays).
Enter shameless plug for Crestron DigitalMedia. The product is built to handle the switching and distribution of any type of source (analog and digital) including DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and SDI.
Crestron has been developing DM and working w/ HDMI for over 6 years now and has more than 10 million invested in resources to develop and support it. Its the only solution available today that gives you the resources to troubleshoot a digital switching system.
For more info check out the Crestron DigitalMedia Blog or the Crestron DM Website.
Well, my new years' resolution is still 1024x768, and since most HDCP devices will still provide a down-res analog output that will probably end up being my first line of defense. That, and my faculty have taken a "pry it from my cold, dead fingers" attitude towards VHS; I'm not sure they are ready for DVD, let alone Blu-Ray...!
Personally, I think the whole HDCP situation is a gigantic short-term headache as we all have to figure out how to deal with it (wait a minute...you want me to replace all my expensive high-end multicore coax VGA cable with twisted pair DVI or HDMI that is actually not as good at high frequencies instead of running the digital signal down the good wire???). Then it will gradually deteriorate into a non-issue and we'll all buy some Asian black box out of the back of Popular Science that does the HDCP handshaking on one end and outputs clean YUV component at full resolution on the other. Then finally the mainstream vendors will realize that HDCP isn't worth the effort and expense because the source encryption is already broken anyway.
Trouble is, by then we will all have spent millions of dollars in making our systems deal with HDCP. Don't you just love this business?
I've tried to do the right thing, and begin to force hdcp com-pliance in all new and renovated spaces. I'm a huge fan of Crestron also, with over 100 rooms of their product, but their digital media is perfoming poorly for us...maybe it's our vendor, maybe bad luck, but rooms are dropping comm, locking up, and generally failing. I'm thinking of shelving the hdcp compliance and rolling the dice for awhile...What do you think?
tim-
I don't think you can ignore HDCP. If there are problems with a specific manufacturer, find a new one. We have to remember though, that this new system is expected to last, 5, 10 years? Not having put in HDCP compliant systems may be hard to explain in three years. Although, I also suppose that it could be thought that the equipment does not matter. Are you building an infrastructure that will support HDCP and other digital needs?
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