Apple TV DRM makes iTunes rentals incompatible with many TVs

Cory Doctorow 11:49 pm Mon Feb 25, 2008

Fred sez, "Those who rent videos from iTunes to play back on their Apple TV units may discover that they can't watch them unless their displays support HDCP — the DRM technology that infects most Hollywood digital video these days."

When I attempted to watch the movie, however, the Apple TV displayed an error message: "This content requires HDCP for playback." HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a form of digital rights management (DRM) that prevents you from playing video over
DVI and HDMI connections (in my case) if you don't own compatible hardware that can decode the signal properly. (In other words, HDCP is more crap DRM that does nothing but irritate legitimate
customers.)

Of course, people who use the Pirate Bay to get the same videos for free have no such problems. Hollywood only punishes paying customers. Smooth.

Link

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