Video cards that have been publishing HD Ready or specifically HDCP compliant specification are stretching the truth.  The GPU might be compatible but the board itself is not.  The boards are developed so they can have a Silicone Image or Texas Instruments chip added to make them HDCP ready.  But as they’re sold these are not HDCP compatible.

It’s a fine point but ATI and Nvidia have been loose with the term “HDCP compliant“.  One can expect they got away with it for so long because basically nobody cared.  Now that consumers are interested in exactly what video cards and monitors they’ll have to buy to be fully HDCP compliant the boards’ shortcomings are being illuminated. 

When Blu-Ray and HD DVD comes out Microsoft wants Windows Vista to be an HDCP compliant operating system.  But it’ll take more than that for AACS approval.  Your video card and monitor will require the AACS approval also.  There are only a small handful of truly HDCP compliant LCD monitors on the market today.  Video (from BD/HDDVD discs) seen through a pathway where any link in the chain is non-HDCP compliant will only display a maximum resolution of 950x540P.  As part of AACS authorization non HDCP compliant video outputs will be downrezzed, the 1080P resolution will be reduced by half.  This means you’ll need the playback software, video card, monitor will all have to be HDCP compliant to get the full benefit of the new high res optical formats.

ATI has been forthcoming about their lack of HDCP compliance and pulled the HD-Ready specification from the websites.  Cards from ATI’s X1000 chipset that previously touted HDCP compliance have been modified.  Originally the HDCP specification showed up as show above as simply “HDCP Ready”.  Now a visit to ATI’s website to read about this specification shows an asterisk behind the claim.

ATI now says:

*This feature is supported by the asic and can be specified by PC manufacturers for its add-in-boards. This feature is not typically enabled on stand alone cards.

It looks bad for graphic card manufacturers that exaggerated specifications.  I called ATI pre-sales support and talked to a nice lady who, after checking with the technical product specialists, ensured me that this card was indeed fully HDCP compatible.  No mention was made of add-in-boards.  Obviously ATI is still in damage control mode and still doesn't fully understand.

The bottom line is that when HD DVD and Blu-Ray discs finally hit the market, be prepared to perform some upgrades.  In light of misinformation about exactly how these specifications outlined by the AACS will work it’s probably best to wait and see how it all pans out.  You never know; this whole non-HDCP compliant graphics card issue could be fixed by an add-on card manufacturer upgrade or unforeseen fix.  It’s also possible that the AACS has no intention of approving standalone graphics cards for DIY PCs for use with HD content.  We just don’t know until it all comes to pass. 

HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) is sure to be the hardest hit by the AACS vision of end to end content protection.  To the studios that produce entertainment, a computer as a playback device is a bit like a coyote guarding the hen house.  But according to this report from ArsTechnica ATI is pretty sure it'll be supplying fully HDCP compliant video cards to the DIY HTPC builders someday.  It seems the AACS hasn't even fully defined the standards for HDCP compliants for the new HD playback devices.  The manufacturers are still waiting for keys that will allow HDCP to work.   

Editorializing: 

As much as we like to complain about DRM because it conflicts with our natural belief in the free flow of information, what the AACS has pulled off is really quite an accomplishment.  I personally don’t like any DRM, but I also like free beer.  A world where there is no DRM and has endless supplies of free beer doesn’t happen to be this one. 

However, I have to hand it to all parties involved in AACS including the studios, the body governing the AACS, and most of the hardware compliance ATI and Nvidia notwithstanding.  The industries determination for end-to-end content protection for HD formats could have been a real disaster.  But so far, knock on wood, it appears they’ve accomplished exactly what they’ve set out to do. 

A universal standard of end to end content protection rollout has almost concluded without so much of the evils that often hurt the deployment of new technology.  The industry has avoided court battles, competing standards, splinter groups forming their own DRMs and dividing hardware manufacturers and studios into separate camps.  We’ve seen it all before, conflicting interests expressed through DRM compatibility between FairPlay, PlaysForSure and the nightmare of Sony’s RootKit.  iPod’s won’t play PlaysForSure, Microsoft compliant media players won’t play FairPlay, Sony’s hardware won’t deal with either, it’s just a mess in the handheld world. 

When I look at the quagmire we endure in the format war between HD DVD and BD, I choose not to gripe about AACS.  I may be the only one but instead I breathe a sigh of relief when I see how efficiently AACS and HDCP has been implemented.  Maybe I’m just a prisoner thankful the handcuffs aren’t too tight.  But I can’t help but admire how silently and well executed HDCP has been for the CE world at large.  /end Editorialization