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Parasound's Zhd HDMI switcher
HDMI is all the rage right now and will be for some time thanks to HDCP and AACS, so we're expecting to see more of these switchboxes. Parasound is the latest to jump on the bandwagon by adding the Zhd HDMI Switcher to their Zcustom line earlier this week. The Zhd will set you back $600 (MSRP), but how else will you connect up to five HDMI sources to a single HDTV set? We don't own five HDMI-enabled devices just yet, but we're working on it. In the meantime, you can rack mount the svelte half-width Zhd in your A/V closet for future use. HDCP compliant and HDMI 1.3 certified, the Zhd includes an RS-232 port and IR remote, making it handy for home control products too.
What if the DRM on your DVD player didn't work?
Yeah that might make you happy, but it could be a real problem for the manufacturer. Enter Samsung's DVD-HD841, an upconverting DVD player sold in 2004; it didn't sell well until a key "feature" was uncovered, you could hack it to turn off region coding and HDCP protections. The player has long been off the market, but now several movie studios have brought lawsuits against Samsung for their failure to protect content.But we all know that there have been ways around the CSS encryption practically since DVDs launched, so why sue now? Ars Technica supposes that this is more about setting an example for the next generation of DVD players, and I tend to agree. If/when someone finds a way around AACS and HDCP expect the lawsuits to come hard and heavy.
Copy-protection on next-gen DVDs is killing the future
More doom and gloom today on the DRM front as we get closer to HD-DVD and Blu-Ray launches. CNET's take on the situation hit the web today and they're warning consumers about the necessary evils brought about by HDCP and the yet to be completed AACS standard. When will Hollywood and other related industries realize that by not working together, all of their time and money on the new formats will be wasted? If they're not sure what we mean, just go talk to the folks behind SACD and DVD-Audio. All of the confusing terms and the "will this disc play in my house?" questions are simply going to kill what could have been high-definition heaven. When the general public starts to truly understand the limitations of the DRM strategies and hear that their new content will only play at half of the best resolution, do you really think they're going to shell out hundreds of dollars for new gear? Why should they? At this point, we're thinking of renewing our subscription to the Columbia House DVD club just for spite.
AACS still not finished: is this intentional?
That's the word according to German mag heise; apparently disagreement from within the Blu-ray Disc Association over how AACS and BD work together means no high definition DVD formats yet. Beyond just noting the delay, they also dropped a few dimes on what we can expect from managed copy: the content holder gets to decide how many copies can be made and any device they are copied to requires an Internet connection for verification. Microsoft's COPP (Certified Output Protection Protocol) makes sure you're actually watching a movie and not dumping the video to a file, after which that HDCP-compliant videocard that doesn't exist yet finally lets you play HD-quality content on your monitor.I really have to wonder, is the BDA that far apart on the DRM issue, or is there any possibility that this is intentional to delay the launch of HD-DVD, which was supposed to debut last year but can't until AACS is finished. Being the first mover was part of HD-DVD's advantage in the face of Blu-ray's greater storage capacity but that continues to shrink and may even be nonexistent by the time they launch. I'll tell you what though Toshiba, how about we just forget the whole AACS, DRM thing? We won't tell if you won't.
Got HDCP? Think again
You know, we hate Chicken Little as much as the next person, but man the sky might be falling. Everyone here at HDBeat knows you're going to need HDCP to watch HD on your PC, but now it appears that alone won't be enough to enjoy the disc you bought for your computer, since every PC will have to pay a license fee for HDCP. The fee is $15,000 annually with a per device cost of $0.005, which of course seems like nothing until you consider this means no white boxes. We know that not all of you build your own, but it's still nice to have the option, and of course this goes for those who hope to upgrade their video card to support the new standard as well. So it appears with this fee anyone who wants to watch the next generation HD on their PC will need to buy a new PC from one of the big boys.
Got HDCP? You might need it
What is HDCP and why would we want it? HDCP is the solution provided by the IT industry for the movie industry that convinced them to allow us to have HD movies on our computers. The good news is that we will be able to watch HD movies on our computers. The bad news is that it will require a supported Player (Blu-Ray?), video card and monitor, which don't exist: yet.
Engadget Podcast 064 - 01.20.06
We promised an all listener-voicemail Engadget Podcast, and that's exactly what you're gonna get this Friday, January 20th. Today's listener questions run the gamut of topics from BitTorrent and movie piracy to CableCard and (HD)TV on your computer, and we do our best to answer 'em with our usual brand of gadgety back-n-forth. If you haven't already blown us up at 1-888-ENGADGET to leave a voicemail, why not start now? Who knows, you may make it on next week's regular Podcast, or if we have enough callers we can always work another voicemail episode of the show. What's that number again? 1-888-ENGADGET. Get the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). [RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3). [MP3] Download the show (MP3). [AAC] Download the show (enhanced AAC). [OGG] Download the show (OGG). [Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley! Hosts Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Producer Randall Bennett Music J J J - 'Suits' in Japan Format 46:48, 21.4 MB, MP3 Program 01:23 What's the best way to use GMail Mobile? 05:20 Internet Downloads and sweet home theaters ruining theaters? 17:25 Do computer monitors support HD input? 20:56 Will Apple release another PDA? 27:10 Will they ever announce the Motorola Q? 31:58 Does the Nokia 770 support stereo Bluetooth profiles? 33:00 What's up with CableCard? 40:15 Why do cellphones interfere with so many electronic devices? LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Call up the Podcast at: 1-888-ENGADGET
HDMI to add more features
They're not stopping at version 1.2, HDMI's Licensing group today announced that they plan to add more features to the specification in the coming year, while maintaining backwards compatibility with existing devices (believe it when I see it). In addition to the tighter relationship with PC's via the newly announced UDI connector, they expect to support greater color depths (30, 36 and 48 bit), higher speed connections, a new mini connector for cameras, a/v synchronization and new audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD.
What's with all the collaboration lately? Say goodbye to VGA, UDI is coming
In retrospect, it's really not fair that computer monitors are stuck with that old VGA connector while HDTV's get all the exciting new DVI and HDMI connectors, but never fear, as is seemingly all the rage lately, a consortium has been formed to develop a new spec and implement it. The new connector, UDI (Unified Display Interface) will be fully HDMI and HDCP compatible, because everyone knows how much you love DRM.Intel, Apple, Samsung and SGI are among the companies heading up the initiative, with others like Microsoft and NVIDIA joining to pledge support, so you can expect this to be pretty standard on new computers buy this time next year. My question is why DVI wasn't good enough, it supports HDCP too, they mention lower cost in the article, but my gut tells me they're plugging some DRM holes and we get to pay for it by buying new equipment.
ATI's "Avivo" specification pulls PC's, HDTV's closer
ATI has already shown their flexibility by partnering with JVC to put their chips in TV's, are now spreading the benefits of that technology across their product line with their newly-announced "Avivo" technology. Simply put, Avivo is a set of image enhancement, display, and connection specifications that you'll be able to find in many of ATI's future products. MPEG-2, H.264, HDCP or otherwise, if it is high def and you want to play it or output it to a TV, you will be able to with full hardware support on Avivo compatible products. Video cards equipped with the technology will support progressive scan output and hardware-assisted video encoding so you can convert for other devices without wasting precious CPU cycles. I'm glad to see this, as my home PC currently has an ATI Radeon 9200SE that is great, however setting everything up to work properly and output to my monitor and/or TV when and how I want has been more difficult than necessary. Now that they are designing such connectivity in from the ground up, it will be good for everyone. Expect Avivo labeled products to be available in the next month or so.Will it do your laundry, dishes and homework? No, but it will let you play that high-definition movie you just downloaded on your big screen TV with no loss of quality and leave you with CPU power to work with at the same time.
