Today, we get to hear the latest from someone that ought to know- one of Microsoft's key representatives to AACS, Richard Doherty. This gentleman is Microsoft's senior program manager for media entertainment and technology, he was able to take a bit of time to interview with TG Daily and try to clear the air on a few matters.
One thing that has been bandied about quite a lot, is the understanding that Blu-ray and HD DVD players would require dedicated and exclusive wired Internet connections in order to implement a key provision of AACS copy protection. Well, here is what Mr. Doherty had to say about it:
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As Doherty told us, the first Toshiba HD DVD players to be made available in April, the first Sony Blu-ray players due in May, and models released thereafter under the so-called AACS interim licensing agreement, will not require any kind of Internet connection just to be operable, as some had earlier warned. Under the terms of the interim agreement, however, these manufacturers must agree to abide by whatever the final terms of the AACS specification state, particularly with regard to how they should implement managed copy. It is this provision which will enable users to make limited backups of purchased, licensed media. "We do expect, in most scenarios, that that managed copy is going to require an Internet transaction to perform the copy," admitted Doherty. However, he added, managed copy will not be a mandatory feature of high-definition players. In other words, not only will playback of AACS-protected content not require an Internet connection, it will never require one. |
So in short, if you do not have an Internet connection, you can playback but not copy. If you are interested in the ongoing metamorphosis of AACS, you might want to read the interview in it's entirety here. There is quite a bit of valuable information contained within it.
Source: TG Daily
