Blu-ray and HD DVD struggle to contain DRM 11:41AM
Some major movie studios and consumer electronics manufacturers have decided not to restrict access to high-definition content on Blu-ray and HD DVD players, according to a report.
Der Spiegel [in German] does not specify which companies have dropped support for the Image Constraint Token (ICT) feature of both next-generation optical disk players but says that they have committed to disabling it until 2010 at the earliest.
Sony, which has a hand in both the CE and movie industry camps, is believed to have been the major influence behind the decision, with strong backing from by Microsoft.
The ICT causes image quality to be degraded when played on devices that do not have HDMI connectors. These use Intel's High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) technology to prevent the capture and copying of high-definition content by streaming it to a PC. Both Blu-ray and HD DVD include this and the AACS DRM technology to prevent unlicensed copying of discs and their content (Blu-ray also has another layer of protection).
Without the HDMI connector, HD content is played at a 480p resolution, the same as a standard TV picture , not the full, high-definition 1080i.
CE firms were not keen to include a technology that would add to the cost of players with no discernible benefit to the consumer. They have shipped thousands of high-definition TVs that lack an HDMI connector, since they were built before HDCP had been finalised. Microsoft's external HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 also lacks the connector while Sony is only fitting one to the high-end PS3.
Having demanded the strictest DRM, Hollywood is having to accept the, albeit temporary, scrapping of HDCP because it does not want all the hype around HDTV to dissipate amid piles of unplayable content.
