Boycott HD-DVD and Blu-Ray over AACS, Part 1

Boycott HD-DVD and Blu-Ray LogoI am joining Mike Evangelist, the man behind Apple’s wildly successful Final Cut Pro, in calling for a blogosphere-wide boycott of the new high-definition HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs set to appear in stores soon. As a consumer, the reasons are very simple to understand and, in this first installment, I will begin to briefly establish why a boycott must go full steam ahead.

AACS (Advanced Access Content System) has mandated that the video out from traditional HDTV interconnects (i.e. RGB and component) be degraded in quality to a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels (540p) — exactly one-quarter the 1,920 x 1,080 pixels actually available on the disk. Using protected HDMI interconnects with HDCP protection is the only way to see the picture at full resolution.

What this means, in English, is those of us who were early adopters of HDTV technology are set to have perfectly working high-definition equipment made obsolete due to the lack of protected HDMI inputs. We have a Marantz VP12-S1 DLP projector in our home theater. This several thousand dollar DLP projector is rendered useless for use with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs even though the projector has no technological limitation preventing it from displaying 720p and 1080i images. On the contrary, terrestrial broadcasts, HD cable and satellite pictures look absolutely brilliant. However, the AACS has deemed equipment like the Marantz projector not compliant with their regulations to prevent piracy.

How many others are out there with a similar situation? Estimates vary but everything from as low as 3 million to as high as 6 million such non-HDMI compliant HDTV video display equipment has been sold in the United States. As a consumer this means that buying any HDTV equipment is a risk. There is no telling when (not if) the content industry will decide to change standards again. Are consumers willing to gamble away a few thousand dollars on that new HDTV set only to have to buy another one in less than 24-36 months? As far as I can tell, the answer is no.

Analog Sunset is another term being thrown around by AACS. According to the AACS Interim Adopter Agreement (rev February 15, 2006), Exhibit F, Part 2, Section 1.7 (page 82) with respect to all Decrypted ACCS Content Analog Sunset stipulates:

1.7.1 2010 Sunset. Existing Models (as defined in Section 1.7.2) may be manufactured and sold by Adopter up until December 31, 2011. For any licensed Player (other than Existing Models) manufactured after December 31, 2010, analog outputs for Decrypted AACS Content shall be limited to SD Interlace Modes Only (i.e., Composite, S-Video, 480i component)…

What this means is that a player that is bought in the next few months will output 540p (progressive) over component interconnects for current HDTV owners. Existing players with the ability to interface with current HDTV sets will be manufactured until December 31, 2011. However, any new player designed and sold after December 31, 2010 will not output 540P any longer but will be reduced down to 480i component. Some may say that 2010 sounds far away, but in reality how many consumers tend to throw away electronics equipment in a four year span if it is still working? Personal experience has shown when upgrading a piece of equipment, the older item being replaced is moved into another room for use with another television set. Initially, many may assume the trick is to buy a player now and make sure it doesn’t break in four years so consumers can still enjoy their one-quarter resolution HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs, right? Wrong! Section 1.7.1 continues with:

… Adopter may continue to manufacture and sell an Existing Model in which the implementation of AACS Technology is a Robust Inactive Product after December 31, 2010 provided that when such Robust Inactive Product is activated through a Periodic Update, such Periodic Update results in a Licensed Product that limits analog outputs to SD Interlace Modes Only.

Before translating, Periodic Update and Robust Inactive Product need to be defined.

Periodic Update is defined as: modification of a Licensed Component, Licensed Product or Robust Inactive Product, including, when necessary, provision of or replacement of the Device Key Set, via … download of updated software from a website, so that the implementation as modified is a Licensed Product and, when the Device Key Set has been replaced, only the new Device Key Set can be used to decrypt portions of a Media Key Block in order to calculate a Media Key. (Page 11)

Robust Inactive Product is defined as: portions of a component or product, other than a Managed Copy Service or Evaluation Managed Copy Service, manufactured under license from AACS LA and the Licensors that embody a portion or all of the mandatory portions of one or more Specifications and which meets one of the following sets of conditions:
1. (i) is Connected; (ii) does not contain a Device Key …
2. (i) is a multi-purpose chip that has had its AACS Technology functions permanently disabled prior to shipment to a customer that did not elect to include such functions in its order; (ii) does not contain a Device Key (page 11-12)

The provisions of Section 1.7.1 stipulate that any AACS licensed machine such as a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player providing any analog, hence digitally unprotected, interface to be updated via a download after December 31, 2010 to degrade the signal from one-quarter 540p signal down to 480i. Even today’s DVD players output higher quality 480p signal to capable video displays. The consumer is being asked to willingly pay these companies for a model of planned obsolescence where we will have to come back to purchase another player in the future even if our current player isn’t broken. In other words, consumers are expected to pay for a set of features today that will be eliminated in short order to guarantee a revenue stream. For example, how many people would purchase a car at full sticker price from a manufacturer stipulating an artificial limit on how many miles it could be driven per day without regularly coming in for costly serve at the dealership? Not many. To call this an abomination would be an understatement.

A consumer could always choose to not update the player but the AACS has already figured out that possibility too. After December 31, 2010 any new AACS media will require a new set of keys the periodic update will provide. In other words, all the current movies you’ve bought will work on the player but new movies will not so the consumer must purchase a new player to play new movies. Section 1.7.3 sheds light on why this is important:

1.7.3 2013 Sunset. No Licensed Player that passes Decrypted AACS Content to analog outputs may be manufactured or sold by Adopter after December 31, 2013.

Studios want to be sure that no content (i.e. movies, TV shows, etc.) will be open to the perceived threat of piracy after 2013. Older players will not be able to play newer movies due to Media and Device Key restrictions after the December 31, 2010 cutoff if the consumer chooses not to update the player. If the consumer does update, then their current collection of content will output at a lower resolution than when the player was purchased until they buy newer TV equipment. Although it is not stipulated directly in the AACS document, it is possible that after the 2013 cutoff, any player with analog output may not play any movie at all until a digital output-only player is purchased effectively closing the analog hole. Out of all this, only one thing is certain: AACS-licensed content producers and equipment manufacturers win while consumers lose. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is going to require an enormous investment by consumers to purchase and having this format catch on will be disastrous because consumers will had over control of their media they purchased to an outside entity concerned with extracting a revenue stream at all costs.

Do these draconian content control measures end in the family room or home theater? No they don’t. All current computer video cards and monitors are going to be rendered useless as well. I will expand on this point in the next installment. In the mean, I am asking members of the blogosphere to openly discuss this issue and use the “No to HD AACS” image. At the very least, link back to Mike’s article or my thoughts to be sure consumers are informed of what is coming.

Update (3.5.2006): www.hdboycott.com is a domain that has been registered to consolidate the effort to educate the public about the awful Digital Rights Management (DRM) implemented into AACS-formats like HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Banners are also on the website that can used to spread the word.

March 5, 2006 | Filed Under Tech/Gadgets 

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