New content protection on the horizon with Microsoft Vista

August 30, 2005

ZDNet has put up an article that says Microsoft is going to prove
that the PC is a very safe platform for copyrighted content. All it's going to
take is for everyone and their brother to purchase their latest and greatest effort "Vista" when it hits the shelves in a couple years. The story goes into a little detail of how the new operating system could differ from XP. I say "could" because the OS is in beta stages now and anything can change. They may want to soothe content providers, that's for sure, but we all know who butters Redmonds bread- the consumer. So if you make too strict a platform you will lose to other OS'es. This is a double whammy for MS as the other cash cow they have is MS Office and they darn sure don't want people getting used to Linux and Open Office.

How does this work?
One of the biggest changes in Vista is a technology called "Protected Video Path." This will essentially keep video streams encrypted and inaccessible as video is being sent from a DVD (or other copy-protected source) to the monitor, TV or other display. The operating system will also check what the computer is connected to (a monitor, a TV, and so on), do another check to make sure the device really is what it says it is, and then see what kind of plug, or output mechanism, is being used to connect the computer to the device.

Vista will go much further than previous operating systems in checking devices that are several steps downstream, if several digital components are connected to each other. If it finds that there is a device that doesn't respect DRM rules, or if it finds a plug that doesn't support transmission of those copy-protection rules, it might not let the video be sent through that output at all.

Boy, that sounds lovely! I can't wait to pull out my wallet for such an awesome protection for the entertainment industry! Goodness knows they can't fend for themselves with only billions in profits each quarter to pay for their flamboyant lifestyles. It's up to us to fund such endeavors against piracy by purchasing a new operating system. I can see folks calling tech support due to a piece of hardware that discontinues to work, only to find out it's not the hardware, but rather a "feature" of their spanking new OS!

Source: ZDNet