Microsoft Answers More HD-DVD Drive Issues

The coming of Microsoft‘s HD-DVD drive invokes in us a weird curiosity akin to children opening a gift. What will it look like? How will it sound? What happens if we plug it to the adapter? Can we still use it if some new schemes are implemented on the HD-DVDs, such as copy-protection?

Well, we do know how the HD-DVD drive already looks like from here. According to a Microsoft rep, the drive makes as much noise as something spinning a disc 12 times per second should make. And as for the copy-protection scheme, Microsoft says, “The image constraint token feature of AACS is an optional flag for the [motion picture] studios and several have publicly stated they have no plans to invoke [the copy-protection flags]. Therefore, the copy protection scheme is fully implemented in both HD DVD and Blu-ray today.”

What does this mean? The content flow over non-HDMI devices won’t really be impeded because the HDMI/HDCP isn’t yet an industry standard in the copy-protection scheme. For now, all the consumers should worry about is the HDMI connectivity (an alternative to component connections it’s an all-digital audio/video interface capable of transmitting uncompressed streamS). Microsoft remains mum about this, although they are looking at it as a possibility.

Via IGN

The coming of Microsoft‘s HD-DVD drive invokes in us a weird curiosity akin to children opening a gift. What will it look like? How will it sound? What happens if we plug it to the adapter? Can we still use it if some new schemes are implemented on the HD-DVDs, such as copy-protection?

Well, we do know how the HD-DVD drive already looks like from here. According to a Microsoft rep, the drive makes as much noise as something spinning a disc 12 times per second should make. And as for the copy-protection scheme, Microsoft says, “The image constraint token feature of AACS is an optional flag for the [motion picture] studios and several have publicly stated they have no plans to invoke [the copy-protection flags]. Therefore, the copy protection scheme is fully implemented in both HD DVD and Blu-ray today.”

What does this mean? The content flow over non-HDMI devices won’t really be impeded because the HDMI/HDCP isn’t yet an industry standard in the copy-protection scheme. For now, all the consumers should worry about is the HDMI connectivity (an alternative to component connections it’s an all-digital audio/video interface capable of transmitting uncompressed streamS). Microsoft remains mum about this, although they are looking at it as a possibility.

Via IGN