HDCP, short for High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
and also known as High Definition Copy Protection, may be one of the worst
technologies ever conceived -- never mind brought to market and forced on
consumers.
As virtually all forms of media changed over from analog to
digital, a lot of benefits came with the new format including better quality,
longer lasting content, and easier duplication. It's just too bad the companies
who own the content see these new features as liabilities.
If the content lasted longer, consumers wouldn't need to
replace it as often and easier duplication also means lost profits. That is why
HDCP was invented by the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) as a copy
protection scheme for digital media. The idea behind the concept was valid.
Copyright holders wanted a way to protect their intellectual property from
being pirated. It's a shame that their execution of HDCP was extremely flawed,
and the only thing it does is cause major headaches among consumers trying to
watch their legal content.
The HDCP authentication process checks to make sure all the
devices connected are HDCP-compliant, while preventing non-licensed devices
from working properly. If the receiving device passes the authentication
process, the source device then encrypts the data being sent so that only the
receiver can access it.
 HDCP Security Keys
& Key Selection Vectors (KSVs)
Each HDCP-compliant device has a unique set of 40 security keys with each
one being 56 bits long. During the authentication process, the keys are
exchanged and validated. These keys are secret and failure to keep the security
key private can result in the revocation of the key. If this happens, new discs
and content that are produced may no longer work in conjunction with the
blacklisted device. One notable video player, Corel WinDVD had its security key
revoked.
Analog Signal
Handicap
OK, this is where things get even shadier. HDCP will only work with digital video sources such as HDMI and DVI. Analog video sources like Component
and VGA are fully capable of accepting 1080p high definition signals just like
their digital counterparts; however, since HDCP can't be used on these analog
signals, electronics manufacturers got together and agreed to limit the video quality
of signals sent over these connections to 720p, or in some cases all the way
down to standard definition.
Older HDTVs that have DVI inputs instead of HDMI will also
lack the HDCP decryption key and could be forced to downgrade the video signal
as well.
Increased Cost
Even with absolute zero benefit to actual consumers, it's still considered
a "must have" feature. This means you must have it to use your equipment and
no, it isn't free. Between the HDCP licensing
fees and the added cost of building the technology into electronics, consumers
end up paying extra at the cash register for all HDCP devices.
HDCP Cracked - The
Illegal Number
Even with all the time, money, and effort put into this copy protection
scheme for high definition content, in the end it failed just as miserably as
virtually every Digital Rights Management (DRM) method that came before it.
One hexadecimal number was all that was needed to
bypass most HDCP encryption. The AACS considers 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41
56 C5 63 56 88 C0 to be an illegal number that can't be printed or repeated.
They started issuing cease and desist orders to websites posting the number in
2007, most notably to Digg.com, but the revolt against this became incredibly
over whelming. Thousands upon thousands of websites posted the number, at which
point it became apparent the cat was out of the bag.
 This number won't do much good in the hands of an average
consumer, but in the hands of a coder it could be used to circumvent DRM protection
-- and that is exactly what has been done. There is a nifty little program by
SlySoft called AnyDVD that will strip the HDCP protection from any DVD,
Blu-ray, or HD DVD inserted into your computer's optical drive. This software
gives the average consumer the ability to not only to play discs on non-HDCP
compliant devices, but also provides the ability to rip a DRM-free version of
the movie to your computer's hard disk. Needless to say, HDCP has been a
complete failure in stopping piracy or the duplication of discs.
The one thing HDCP has had success in stopping is average
consumers from watching their legitimate discs due to "handshake issues" and
older hardware that is not HDCP compatible. Have any of you ever had problems
with HDCP? I sure have and I'll post my story next week along with a review of
a product that helped me find a solution.
More Info:
Making and Breaking HDCP Handshakes
DRM Group Vows to Fight Bloggers
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection Licensing Info
| 
Re: HDCP Handshakes (Part 1)
