HDCP and me

[pat_smith1969]

I am looking into getting a new HDMI switching reciever. I am finding that most of them have a little blurb about how if you are not using HDCP components you will get no video. How does that affect us HTPC users? I assume that our SageTV PCs don't emulate HDCP. So should I spend a lot of money upgrading to a HDMI switching Reciever only to find out that I must bypass all of it's video abilities?

Currently I am taking my PC DVI out and using a DVI to HDMI converter straight to the TV.

[Crashless]

Well, some video cards are HDCP compliant. I chose an nVidia 8600GTS and it outputs DVI w/ HDCP. I bought a DVI->HDMI cable and everything seems OK. I don't have an HDMI switching receiver, so I can't confirm/disprove that statement.

[nebulink]

What you need is one of these.
http://www.hdfury.com/

[pat_smith1969]

I looked at that HDFURY. It is a great device but I am not sure it will work for me. It will make your display be HDCP compliant, I think what I need is my SOURCE to be HDCP compliant.

I might need to look into a new vid card. The problem with that is that the PC I am using is only AGP (currently using a 6600LE Nvid card). I doubt they make a hdcp compliant vid card that is HDCP.

[Jesse]

Hi,

I built my family room client about a year ago and boy do I wish I had spent the exta $45.00 or so it would have cost to get an HDCP compliant vid card. No you don't need it for sage, but eventually you will want to do something that will require it. I have not directly compared pricing but I don't think there is that much of a premium for HDCP compliance these days.

AGP and HDCP compliance is not a problem. There are numerous choices from ATI that range from $75.00 - $200.00. Should be no problem if you do not mind an ATI card.

HTH

Jesse

[pat_smith1969]

I suppose if I am going to buy a new vid card for say $100 I might as well buy an HD extender instead. I think they are HDCP compliant.

[jpwegas]

Originally Posted by pat_smith1969

I am finding that most of them have a little blurb about how if you are not using HDCP components you will get no video. How does that affect us HTPC users?

I think they are erring on the side of caution - implying that everything you own needs to be HDCP compliant in all cases might be a little misleading.

I thought HDCP only matters when the source was sending out the HDCP codes saying there were restrictions?

So if your video source (Video card, Cable Tuner, HD-DVD player, etc) is sending video out via an HDMI cable, and it's not saying there are restrictions, then the receiver and/or display should be able to display the video.

In SageTV's case, I think the HDCP would only come into play if you were somehow playing a HD-DVD or BluRay disc on your PC via Sage. In that case, I would expect the playback library would try to turn on HDCP restrictions on your video card. For any other case (playing videos/shows you've recorded), I don't think it would be an issue.

Could anyone with more experience in this area confirm?

--John

[GTwannabe]

Originally Posted by jpwegas

I think they are erring on the side of caution - implying that everything you own needs to be HDCP compliant in all cases might be a little misleading.

I thought HDCP only matters when the source was sending out the HDCP codes saying there were restrictions?

So if your video source (Video card, Cable Tuner, HD-DVD player, etc) is sending video out via an HDMI cable, and it's not saying there are restrictions, then the receiver and/or display should be able to display the video.

In SageTV's case, I think the HDCP would only come into play if you were somehow playing a HD-DVD or BluRay disc on your PC via Sage. In that case, I would expect the playback library would try to turn on HDCP restrictions on your video card. For any other case (playing videos/shows you've recorded), I don't think it would be an issue.

Could anyone with more experience in this area confirm?

--John

You don't "need" a fully compliant HDCP video path unless the HD media you are trying to watch requires HDCP. You can still watch the media, but it will be downsampled to 480P.

[vividweb]

Is your TV HDCP compliant? If it is and you have no problems viewing anything I would not expect a big change just by adding an HDCP compliant switch.

I was concerned about this as well, but I can output just fine from my Sage PC using DVI that is not HDCP compliant to a TV that requires it (42" Panasonic Plasma)

Definitely would be nice if some with similar experience could shed some light on it though.