[geeks] Vista is a job creator...

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 @ 10:29 -0600, Dan Duncan said:

> Does it behave somewhat like SCART where you have multiple possible
> streams on the same cable and the two ends use whichever signal
> they have in common?  (In SCART, svideo vs. composite video and
> here I guess the encrypted high quality signal vs. the unencrypted
> lower quality signal)

It's a form of public key encryption.

Here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu_ray

That can get you started, though it is low on technical details, and
doesn't cover enough.

There are big problems with this:

	- it has a lot of overhead (checking blacklists, updating, etc)
	- dedicated pirates can currently work around it
	- it softens people up for an even more severe future
	- it opens the door to further and more restrictive schemes
	  if the people accept this one

It is worth noting that Fox, Disney, and one other big distributor have
said they will not degrade the signal if you lack encryption or use HDMI
or DVD-digital cables.

Time-Warner says they will do it.

What degrading currently means is that the signal will downgrade to at
least 960x540 video, not sure about audio.  If you don't have a digital
cable at all, some devices will refuse to output a full signal on
current cables.

Here is another problem: because content creators can blacklist devices,
if a particular blu-ray drive outputs full quality on the current
DVD digital output standard, content creators might blacklist the
device, even though it is not designed for piracy.

I think you can see a number of obvious problems with blacklisting.

Imagine Sony refuses to make a deal with Hollywood.  Suddenly it finds
its players blacklisted by a vengful studio.

Maybe it isn't likely, but I'm worried that the technology makes that
sort of stupidity possible.

The loser in the end is the average joe that just wants to watch a
movie.


-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- [There is a limit to how stupid people really
are -- just as there's a limit to the amount of hydrogen in the Universe. 
There's a lot, but there's a limit.  -- Dave C. Barber on a.f.c.  ]