This is going to be fascinating. It has CSS written all over it.
I wonder if they'll learn the lesson of CSS and do decent crypto,
rather than resist the temptation to do yet another half-baked
LFSR? If they release the cipher, I certainly look forward to
reviewing the design.
I am also forced to note that this won't stop physical duplication,
eg. by photographing the screen. Anyone familiar with real-world
piracy will know that many (if not most) bootleg video tapes and
Video-CD's of recently released movies are produced by video taping
a screen. This won't affect that, and the market for those
piracies seems insensitive to the quality loss.
Ian.
Disclaimer: personal opinion only.
> From: Eugene Leitl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 17:43:14 -0800 (PST)
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Copy protection proposed for digital displays
>
>
> 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.
>
--
Ian Farquhar
Senior Systems Engineer
Sun Microsystems Australia Pty Ltd
Level 5, 33 Berry St
North Sydney, NSW, 2060
Australia
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Phone: +61 2 9466 9465
Mobile: +61 409 601 028
