If everything is working properly, and you insert a commercial Hollywood
DVD, the video card HDMI output must be connected to an HDMI HDCP device.
This is what's known as a protected video path (PVP). The data coming from
the video card HDMI connector is encrypted, and is decrypted by an
LCD monitor which is also equipped with HDMI (and HDCP). That's how you
get a signal from A to B, while preventing Joe Consumer from pirating
the signal.
Now, you have options:
1) HDMI (with HDCP) video card connects to HDMI (with HDCP) device.
This works, but *no* consumer recording devices are allowed to be so-equipped.
This would facilitate pirating of movie content. Only pirates own such
equipment (the illegality doesn't particularly bother them). What it
does mean, is consumers cannot record the content they purchased in
the way that you describe.
If there was some output option, that produces a low resolution
copy, such as the SVHS connector on my Nvidia 7900GT video card,
that would be a low-resolution copy, barely equivalent to 640x480.
Sure, you could try to copy that. Some video card drivers specifically
disabled certain modes (Nvidia, mirrored output mode), to make that
more difficult to do. And since you can't set up a protected video path
across SVHS, if the movie player program wants to, it can deny output
on that connector.
2) OK, you're saying to yourself, I'll just buy an HDMI to SVHS output
conversion device. For one, that won't be protected by HDCP, and when the
movie player program asks for a Protected Video Path, the call will fail.
It all depends on whatever policy is associated with the event as to
what will happen. At one time, the plan was to "de-res" the picture,
make it fuzzy. But now, the option they use, may be to make the screen
black instead.
3) You can buy HDMI recording cards, but they're *only* intended for
capture from HDMI-equipped camcorders. The camcorders, which produce
their own original, non-Hollywood content, don't need to ask for a
protected video path. As a result, a non-HDCP equipped recording
card, can transfer footage from the camcorder or movie camera.
Examples of devices, are things like the BlackMagic products.
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/techspecs/
"For legal reasons HDMI input is unable to capture from copy protected
HDMI sources. Always confirm copyright ownership before capture or
distribution of content."
If they equipped their products with HDCP, they'd be slapped by the DMCA laws.
*Always* read the reviews on these products. In some cases, operations
that should work and are legal, fail to work. If the drivers fail to
work properly, they're going to "fail in Hollywood's favor". Even if it
means you don't get the result you paid for.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100049
As an additional protection against pirating, the chips are hobbled
on purpose. Analog Devices makes at least three flavors of the same
chip. They each have a different bandwidth rating. The lowest flavor,
can only capture 1080i and not 1080p60. And the intention of
doing that, is so that if you come up with a way to "strip HDCP",
the capture device still isn't as useful as it could be. The higher
end versions, come equipped with HDCP keys internally. They're sold
to other large companies, presumably with a protocol in place to ensure
they're not "displaced, stolen, or redirected". Any useful chip, with
decryption capabilities, can only be used in things like an LCD
monitor, that doesn't re-release any outputs on its own.
There are undoubtedly HDCP strippers out there. Such a device,
would receive the encrypted signal on one side, and then retransmit
it in plaintext on the other side. You'd then connect your non-HDCP
capture device to the plaintext side. (This is possible, since the
HDCP keys were compromised a while back.)
http://copyrightandtechnology.com/2010/09/19/assessing-the-hdcp-hack/
In some ways, this is no different than the analog Macrovision era,
where Macrovision strippers or Time Base Correctors could be purchased,
to clean up the mess that Macrovision made. (In some cases, things that
should legally have worked, were ruined by Macrovision. Such as
capture devices with Macrovision protection on input, mistaking
sync levels as Macrovision, and ruining the picture.) Someone
will undoubtedly make an HDCP stripper. Take your time researching this,
as I expect it'll take hours and hours to find discussions of this. And
some over-active government, might even consider shutting down a website
that carries conversations on the subject. Anything is possible in our
modern world.
Since I don't regularly view Hollywood movies, don't have an HDCP
equipped display, I have no idea what policies exist for playing content.
And how restrictive a movie player will be, about what output devices
it'll drive when no PVP is available to protect the content. All I know
is, they have the technical means to be evil if they want. Or at the
very least, annoying.
If your DVD player would drive a decent resolution signal on the
YPbPr outputs (analog, component), and you could find a capture card
that would record such, then that might be as close as you can get to
a high resolution capture. In the BlackMagic advert, "component" is
the YPbPr thing.
http://www.eyepartner.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/05_blackmagic_intensity.png
Good luck,
Paul
