“High Definition Content Protection (HDCP)—you can’t live with it, but you practically can’t buy an HD-capable device anymore without it. While HDCP is typically used in devices like Blu-ray players, HDTVs, HDMI-enabled notebooks, and even the Apple TV in order to keep DRMed content encrypted between points A and B, it appears that Apple’s new aluminum MacBook (and presumably the MacBook Pro) are using it to protect iTunes Store media as well,” David Chartier reports for Ars Technica.
Chartier reports, “When my friend John, a high school teacher, attempted to play Hellboy 2 on his classroom’s projector with a new aluminum MacBook over lunch, he was denied by the error: [This movie cannot be played because a display that is not authorized to play protected movies is connected. Try disconnecting any displays that are not HDCP authorized.]”
Chartier reports, “John’s using a Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, plugged into a Sanyo projector that is part of his room’s Promethean system. Strangely, only some iTunes Store movies appear to be HDCP-aware, as other purchased media like Stargate: Continuum and Heroes season 2 play through the projector just fine. Attempts to play Hellboy 2 or other HDCPed films through the projector via QuickTime also get denied.”
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Markim” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: DRM only inconveniences paying customers while the thieves just laugh, then strip it off and start copying. Don’t hurt yourself kowtowing to Hollywood, Steve.*
“It’s better to be a pirate than to join the Navy.” – Steve Jobs
*Of course, as Disney’s largest shareholder, Jobs is a major part of Hollywood, so he must do his kowtowing in the mirror.