HDCP making HDMI unusable?

troy evans · 09-18-2007, 10:20 PM

So, a good friend of mine came to me today telling me his HD cable box is displaying an error screen. He tells me he called Comcast and they informed him that the "error" in question has to do with his RCA DLP display not being compatible with HDCP. Apparently his tv does not have this feature. When hooking up with component video the set works fine, but, who want's to downgrade after the HDMI experience. He's had the tv for 2 years and feels now it is obsolete. Considering he bought it for the express purpose of watching HD content in the best possible resolution, it would seem if he can't get his HD channels through the cable company to show using HDMI he truely got screwed on the deal. Anyone else hearing about this? Mabey I'm late. Also, what does this mean for people buying into HDTV and buying an older model? The way things are going only flat screen plasmas and LCDs are going to survive. I doubt many people on average are even aware of this.

Gregg Loewen · 09-19-2007, 10:57 AM

yes, it is an issue on some of the older stuff and definitely some of the cheaper / older stuff. Some manufacturers have done firm ware upgrades to address this issue.

Most installers are still connecting with component to avoid this issue.

Kevin C Brown · 09-19-2007, 07:34 PM

From what I understand, people like Comcast, Dish, and DirecTV didn't used to piggyback HDCP with their HD signals. But supposedly some of them are "playing around" with it now, and maybe it will become required.

This was a big issue when HDMI first appeared, because owners of legacy equipment without HDCP could, yes, unfortunately get screwed.

He should talk to RCA to see if there's any way of updating his display.

Steve Schaffer · 09-19-2007, 09:14 PM

If the connector on the set is actually HDMI and not DVI, it should have HDCP on the set. If it's DVI and he's using an HDMI-to-DVI cable and the set does not have HDCP on the DVI connection (not all sets with DVI had HDCP) he will have to use component. Some cable boxes have problems even if the set does have HDMI with HDCP, and it's not the set's fault.

SethH · 09-19-2007, 09:30 PM

I agree with what the others have said. In addition to those, I would submit that your friend will most likely not notice any difference at all between the component and HDMI connections. They both pass the same resolution when you're talking about a cable or satellite box -- since nobody's broadcasting in 1080p now (or anytime soon) -- and I doubt his set even displays 1080p, so that's not really a concern anyway.

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ChrisWiggles · 09-20-2007, 04:48 PM

There are also, I believe some HDCP stripper device options out there that you may want to explore, though I agree with Seth above that there likely is not going to be any meaningful difference in going with component out anyway. Theoretically there should not be.



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