http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20000217S0039
Copy protection proposed for digital displays
By David Lammers
EE Times
(02/17/00, 7:02 p.m. EST)
PALM SPRINGS, Calif.-At the Intel Developer Forum here, Intel
Corp. unveiled a copy protection scheme that will add a layer of
encryption between the system and the digital display.
The High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection (HDCP) approach encrypts
each pixel as it moves from a personal computer or set-top box to
digital displays, such as digital flat panels and high-definition
televisions.
HDCP is an Intel-developed specification that will complement the work
developed with the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG), said Mark
Waring, an Intel technology initiatives manager who is the DDWG
secretary.
While the Digital Transmission Content Protection approach provides
encryption for digital content as it moves over a 1394 interface, the
HDCP is complementary.
"HDCP encrypts the final link, from the device to the display, that
has been the missing link" in the various copy protection schemes
developed thus far, said Waring, who earlier worked as a display
engineer at Sharp Corp.
Intel will release a draft version of the license agreement by Monday,
Feb. 21, at the Digital Content Protection web site. Also, individuals
can go to the site to request a copy of the specification.
At IDF's product demo pavilion, Silicon Image, Inc. (Sunnyvale,
Calif.) demonstrated what it said was the first implementation of
HDCP on its digital video interface (DVI) silicon. Transmitter and
receiver silicon performed the HDCP authentication, encryption, and
decryption functions, while supporting the DVI digital transmission
rate of 5 G-bits/sec between the host and display.
HDCP uses a 56-bit key, with individual keys distributed to the
various vendors. A violated key could be tracked down and revoked over
a satellite broadcast network, for example. Waring said he expects the
major silicon vendors to have HDCP-compliant silicon ready by the
July-August time frame.
