Editorial: The Secret HDMI Pact

Razor05 · 06-07-2006, 09:49 PM

As per TeamXbox:

Editorial: The Secret HDMI Pact
By: César A. Berardini - "Cesar"
June 7th, 2006
The first thing I did when I got my hands on the HD-DVD drive mock-up Microsoft had on display at E3 06, was to check its back side. When I found that there was only a power socket and three USB ports, I approached a Microsoft representative to ask where the HDMI port was, or if they plan to release an HDMI Xbox 360 AV cable when the external HD-DVD drive launches. His response was:

“If Sony is not using HDMI to play Blu-ray Disc movies, neither are we.”

To which I immediately replied, “But the AACS spec demands the use of HDMI or DVI in order to playback HD content at its full resolution”. Before I finished my words, he repeated,

“If Sony is not…”

I was a little surprised that a Microsoft representative would provide such an unsubstantial explanation for the lack of HDMI on the Xbox 360. Since when does Microsoft do things based on Sony’s actions?

It is impossible that Microsoft would have decided to drop HDMI after learning Sony wouldn’t include it on its base PS3 model, since Sony announced the world-shocking news a day before the Microsoft’s Pre E3 briefing…. or did Microsoft already know, well before E3, that Sony was not implementing HDMI output on one of its PS3 models? It seems that indeed could be the truth.

A week after E3, a German newspaper spilled the beans on a supposed secret pact between Hollywood studios and consumer electronics manufacturers to disregard the implementation of AACS’s “Image Constraint Token”. This would mean that the lack of HDMI would not prevent HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc hardware from playing high-definition content over analog connections at full resolution.

But before we move onto explain what the secret pact is and understand its consequences we need to address all the technologies involved. If AACS, HDCP, HDMI and ICT sound like strange acronyms to you, we’ll explain…

The Need for Content Protection

Piracy keeps all those involved with the movie and music industry awake at night. They lose hundreds of millions of dollars every year due to several forms of content piracy. These two industries spend millions to develop new technologies that can impede the unauthorized copy of movies and music. So far, it’s been a losing battle.

After Norwegian hacker Jon Lech Johansen, aka DVD Jon, cracked the code of the technology used to protect DVD movies, Hollywood studios have been working on designing a new content protection technology that can not be decrypted (at least, not that easily).

The result of that work is a combination of software and hardware technologies that rely on digital interfaces to avoid the unauthorized copy of high-definition movies. These are:

AACS - The Advanced Access Content System is a specification developed by the AACS Licensing Administrator committee to manage the content stored in next-generation optical media such as Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD discs. The specification makes use of different content protection systems, including software and hardware technologies, such as HDCP and HDMI.

HDCP - The High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a Digital Rights Management technology developed by Intel to protect the transmission of digital entertainment content over a digital connection such as DVI or HDMI.

HDCP forces the encryption of the content using a key that can only be obtained by licensing the HDCP specification from the Digital Content Protection committee, which obviously requires paying a fee to them. In an HDCP environment, two or more HDCP-compliant devices are interconnected through an HDCP-protected digital interface that could be either a DVI or a HDMI interface. The content protected by HDCP, flows from the HDCP transmitter (ex: Blu-ray Disc player) as a digital stream to a HDCP receiver (ex: HDTV) via the digital interface (ex: HDMI). If any part of the system is not HDCP compliant, it is planned to either limit or completely block the content.

Unfortunately, researchers from Carnegie Mellon, as well independent cryptographers, have already broken the HDCP scheme and it would be a shame if after all the hard work, this technology gets cracked like its predecessors.

HDMI - Developed by Sony, Hitachi, Thomson (RCA), Philips, Matsushita (Panasonic), Toshiba and Silicon Image, the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a digital interface that combines uncompressed high-definition video and multi-channel audio in a single interface.

That means that now you can use a single cable to carry audio and video as digital streams, which makes obsolete the use of digital interfaces like DVI for video in addition to an S/P-DIF interface for audio, being that a single cable offers the same possibilities.

Content Protection

So now we have an interface upon which digital entertainment content will travel (HDMI interface), the encryption technology to protect that content (HDCP), and a specification that makes uses of the previous technologies to protect the unauthorized copy of the content (normally AACS).

So how does the AACS manage to protect the content? First, by using the HDCP technology, it knows the content is encrypted and if someone attempts to capture the digital streams, the content then cannot be decrypted.

Secondly, the AACS Licensing Administrator committee has developed a set of rules that use a Media Key Block. Embedded on a disc are a theatrical mark and a consumer mark, either of which can prevent playback of an unauthorized copy. Should the hardware’s Media Key be compromised by a hacker, the AACS LA can provide a new Media Key Block to the media replicator and render that player unusable to play future discs.

Image Constraint Token

Of the many restrictions and systems that the AACS LA has developed, a flag, when presented, will restrict the high-definition signal output to DVD quality on non-HDCP connections; forcing the player to down covert the high-definition video by half the horizontal and vertical lines. That flag is called Image Constraint Token.

When the flag is set to “on”, a 1080p signal will be downgraded from its original 1920x1080 resolution to 960x540, which means that the image has been reduced to a quarter of its resolution. That way, an HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disc player will output the high-definition video at a lower resolution, making irrelevant the benefit provided by a high-definition movie player.

The reason for the use of this Image Constrain Token is once again piracy. By reducing the output signal when the content is played without using HDMI (and therefore neither HDCP), the AACS avoids anyone copying that content over analog connections, such as component video.

With this move, Hollywood studios have all fronts covered; content over digital interfaces is encrypted by HDCP and analog connections are downgraded in resolution by the Image Constraint Token.

Although all high-definition movie players are required to support the use of the Image Constraint Token, its implementation is optional for content providers. That means that it’s up to movie studios to use the flag or not, and that reason alone is why we might never see an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360.

The ITC Pact

Now, guess who are the founding members of the AACS LA committee? IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita (Panasonic), Sony, Toshiba, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Studios. As you can see, there you have the inventors of HD-DVD (Toshiba) and Blu-ray Disc (Sony), and the manufacturers of the two next-generation consoles that will play high-definition movies - the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3.

As you can also see, of its eight founders, six of them are consumer electronics manufacturers, with the other two being the only movie studios on the committee. When you add to that the fact that one of those manufacturers (Sony) also owns several movie studios including Columbia, Tri-Star and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, you realize who has the ball in their court.

These CE manufacturers, whose business is to sell high-definition movie players, and in the case of Sony and Toshiba, also impose their next-generation DVD formats, know that many consumers around the world purchased HD televisions that lack HDMI interfaces. This is a fact that simply can’t be ignored, especially when they also manufacture HDTV displays! Telling consumers that their HDTV sets will not be able to play HD movies at full resolution because they lack a HDMI input, would be a total disaster.

So, if the Image Constrain Token implementation is optional, why not keep passing the buck a few more years until high-definition televisions become affordable and include a HDMI connector as a standard input? That would allow existing owners of HDTVs that lack HDMI inputs to play HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc movies using component video without having to watch a downgraded image.

Avoiding the use of the Image Constraint Token is a win-win situation for the users, all the CE manufacturers, and even if a few movie studios aren’t happy with the possibility of their movies being copied over analog connections, most of them have expressed their disagreement towards using the ICT.

The HDMI Pact

This pact between Hollywood and consumer electronic manufacturers might never be officially announced and all the parties involved will probably offer the classic “no comment” line. It’s even possible that after establishing that secret pact at the AACS LA, Sony and Microsoft had their own HDMI-related agreements.

Since the pact between Hollywood studios and CE manufacturers is rumored to postpone the use of the Image Constraint Token until 2010 (possibly until 2012), neither the Xbox 360 nor the PlayStation 3 will need a HDMI connector since consoles’ lifecycles are usually five years.

By 2010, definitely by 2012, the successor to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will have already arrived and Microsoft and Sony will have included a HDMI connector in those next-next-generation systems, but in the meantime, there is no need to use HDMI in order to play high-definition movies at their maximum resolution. That’s why Sony can offer a model without HDMI and clarify that it will still be able to playback Blu-ray Disc movies without any image degradation. Microsoft has followed suit.

If you were expecting a first-party HDMI cable for the Xbox 360, well my friend, I’m sorry to inform you that it might never happen.

Be happy for the fact that you won’t need a new HDTV to watch HD-DVD on your Xbox 360 and Blu-ray Disc movies on your PlayStation 3. As for the fact that the Xbox 360 won’t have an HDMI cable, well… welcome to the HD Era.

GLOW · 06-08-2006, 01:40 PM

if there was a pact, why would they keep it a secret? what can they possibly gain from keeping it secret? the truth is no one wants to commit to saying there won't be downscaling b/c they need to cover their bases in case a studio decides to do it

ESchine · 06-08-2006, 03:01 PM

I talked to a microsoft rep about releasing an HDMI connection just for the regular console (the 360 pro model... not just the DVD player I mean). He read me an article that said "If the market should create the need for an HDMI connection then Microsoft will release one"... so it sounds like they really are waiting for someone else to take the first step.

godson · 06-08-2006, 03:51 PM

Sure it only makes sense for them to wait for someone else to make the first move,they dont wanna alienate anybody.......YET

Cygnus · 06-08-2006, 03:55 PM

meh...If you want HD-DVD, hedge your bets and buy a standalone one instead of the 360 add-on.

ESchine · 06-08-2006, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by godson

Sure it only makes sense for them to wait for someone else to make the first move,they dont wanna alienate anybody.......YET

Release an HDMI extension for their console wouldn't alienate anyone... it would use the existing output in the back of the console except on the other end instead of having component it would have an HDMI (I assume at least)... so it wouldn't alienate anyone, it would just be another option.

GLOW · 06-08-2006, 04:57 PM

i was just thinking... if the 360 hd-dvd add-on uses usb 2.0 and the ps3 has usb 2.0 ports... could the 360 hd-dvd player be used with the ps3? the ps3 could be the world's first hd-dvd/blu-ray player

EddieDZ · 06-08-2006, 05:48 PM

i guess again idiots are forgeting that the sony PS3 DOES HAVE a HDMI output.. jeezzzz, everyone is soo focus on the basic model without the HDMI, they overlook the unit that has HDMI, and yet when it comes to talking about prices, everyone focus's on the unit that HAS the HDMI out for $600.. c'mon cut me a break.

i dont know why the rep would say "If sony is not using HDMI".. i guess he was misinformed and doesnt know about the 60GB unit then.. boy oh boy..

Razor05 · 06-08-2006, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cygnus

meh...If you want HD-DVD, hedge your bets and buy a standalone one instead of the 360 add-on.

Heh, yep been saying that all along no matter which console.

IMpoor · 06-08-2006, 06:41 PM

The HDMI option is such a small thing in my opinion. Granted most of us in this forum require it, but in reality most parents buying a console for thier kids don't even know what HDMI is or don't even own a TV that is capable of it. We, me included, seem to dwell on the HD player capabilities of the 360 and PS3 and forget what they are mostly going to be used for and whos going to mainly use them. Its the gamers. The people that play games not the people that are trying to get a HD player. Realistically how long do you suppose the PS3 or xbox360 w/HD-DVD add-on is going to be the cheapest way to get a HD player (although HD-DVD player is equal in price to 360 w/add-on when it is released). I say less than a year.

The quote that they will include it if the market calls for it rings true. I think Microsoft did an ok thing for most of society. They did not force a virgin format on them. They stuck with DVD and will release an add-on for HD-DVD. If you just wanted to buy a next-gen console for your kids to play games or you are the majority of the US that does not have a HDTV, then microsoft saved you a bunch of money by not adding a HD drive in the system. Sony on the other hand is forcing a virgin technology on those casual buyers.

I just want to add that fact that I can afford the PS3 $600 model if I really wanted it. And I do like Microsoft and Sony and do want a HD player. I also had both a xbox and PS2. I have not bought either next-gen conole yet. My point is for most of the people out there HDMi and HD players are not even in thier vocabulary. At least not yet....So if you want a HD player don't buy a gaming console. Hold out 6 months and get a standalone one for cheaper than either console.

Razor05 · 06-08-2006, 09:00 PM

Exactly. Kudos to MS for not forcing a HD drive on you. I want a gaming console strictly for gaming, period. Down the road if the add on HD drive is worthy, maybe I'll buy. But in the meantime I want the choice.

06-08-2006, 03:01 PM	#3
ESchine High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 48	I talked to a microsoft rep about releasing an HDMI connection just for the regular console (the 360 pro model... not just the DVD player I mean). He read me an article that said "If the market should create the need for an HDMI connection then Microsoft will release one"... so it sounds like they really are waiting for someone else to take the first step. Last edited by ESchine; 06-08-2006 at 03:04 PM.

06-08-2006, 03:51 PM	#4
godson Mr. Bill Belecheeeeek. Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: philadelphia Posts: 2,592	Sure it only makes sense for them to wait for someone else to make the first move,they dont wanna alienate anybody.......YET __________________ Breakfast, shmreakfast. Look at the score, for Christ's sake. It's only the second period and I'm up 12 to 2. Breakfasts come and go, Renee, but Hartford, "the Whale," they only beat Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime.

06-08-2006, 06:41 PM	#10
IMpoor High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 312	The HDMI option is such a small thing in my opinion. Granted most of us in this forum require it, but in reality most parents buying a console for thier kids don't even know what HDMI is or don't even own a TV that is capable of it. We, me included, seem to dwell on the HD player capabilities of the 360 and PS3 and forget what they are mostly going to be used for and whos going to mainly use them. Its the gamers. The people that play games not the people that are trying to get a HD player. Realistically how long do you suppose the PS3 or xbox360 w/HD-DVD add-on is going to be the cheapest way to get a HD player (although HD-DVD player is equal in price to 360 w/add-on when it is released). I say less than a year. The quote that they will include it if the market calls for it rings true. I think Microsoft did an ok thing for most of society. They did not force a virgin format on them. They stuck with DVD and will release an add-on for HD-DVD. If you just wanted to buy a next-gen console for your kids to play games or you are the majority of the US that does not have a HDTV, then microsoft saved you a bunch of money by not adding a HD drive in the system. Sony on the other hand is forcing a virgin technology on those casual buyers. I just want to add that fact that I can afford the PS3 $600 model if I really wanted it. And I do like Microsoft and Sony and do want a HD player. I also had both a xbox and PS2. I have not bought either next-gen conole yet. My point is for most of the people out there HDMi and HD players are not even in thier vocabulary. At least not yet....So if you want a HD player don't buy a gaming console. Hold out 6 months and get a standalone one for cheaper than either console. Last edited by IMpoor; 06-08-2006 at 06:44 PM.

06-08-2006, 09:00 PM	#11
Razor05 HD = 65 beautiful inches Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 3,274	Exactly. Kudos to MS for not forcing a HD drive on you. I want a gaming console strictly for gaming, period. Down the road if the add on HD drive is worthy, maybe I'll buy. But in the meantime I want the choice. __________________ Panasonic TH-65PZ850U Sony KDL37XBR6 Panasonic TH-37PX50U Cambridge Audio Azur 640R & 740C Paradigm Studio 60's, 20's, CC-590 & Seismic 12 Panasonic DMP-BD35 Toshiba HD-XA2 & A35 Motorola VIP1200 Monster HTFS1000, PB2100 AA 1154a Xbox360 Prem(2) & Halo3 LE + HD-DVD GT: Razor59 Sony PS3 slim GT:Razor_59 Sony PSP

06-08-2006, 01:40 PM	#2
GLOW IN-THE-DARK Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 7,600	if there was a pact, why would they keep it a secret? what can they possibly gain from keeping it secret? the truth is no one wants to commit to saying there won't be downscaling b/c they need to cover their bases in case a studio decides to do it

06-08-2006, 03:55 PM	#5
Cygnus The Bringer of Balance Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 6,766	meh...If you want HD-DVD, hedge your bets and buy a standalone one instead of the 360 add-on.

06-08-2006, 04:57 PM	#7
GLOW IN-THE-DARK Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 7,600	i was just thinking... if the 360 hd-dvd add-on uses usb 2.0 and the ps3 has usb 2.0 ports... could the 360 hd-dvd player be used with the ps3? the ps3 could be the world's first hd-dvd/blu-ray player

06-08-2006, 05:48 PM	#8
EddieDZ PSN is Free Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Saint John, NB Canada Posts: 4,696	i guess again idiots are forgeting that the sony PS3 DOES HAVE a HDMI output.. jeezzzz, everyone is soo focus on the basic model without the HDMI, they overlook the unit that has HDMI, and yet when it comes to talking about prices, everyone focus's on the unit that HAS the HDMI out for $600.. c'mon cut me a break. i dont know why the rep would say "If sony is not using HDMI".. i guess he was misinformed and doesnt know about the 60GB unit then.. boy oh boy..