• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Technipages

Smart phone, gadget and computer tutorials

  • Topics
    • Android
    • Gaming
    • Hardware
    • Internet
    • iOS
    • MacOS
    • Office
    • Software
    • Windows
    • Definitions
  • Product Reviews
  • Downloads
  • About

What is HDCP?

Posted on July 24, 2020 by Mel Hawthorne Leave a Comment

Most video connection interfaces such as DVI, HDMI, and Display Port, include support for a technology called HDCP. HDCP, or High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, is a copyright protection protocol that is used to encrypt data as it is being transmitted and to prevent copyrighted content from being played on unauthorized devices. By doing so it is intended to make it much harder to pirate copyrighted content. To make use of this, copyrighted content, such as movies on DVDs, instruct the playback device to utilize HDCP when playing their content. If an HDCP connection fails, the device will refuse to play the content.

HDCP was developed by Intel and requires device manufacturers to pay an annual licence fee and comply with a set of conditions. For example, an HDCP enabled device must not be designed to copy HDCP protected data, it must not transmit HDCP content to non-HDCP receivers, and it must “Frustrate attempts to defeat the content protection requirements”.

Weaknesses have been known to exist in the HDCP protocol, since the early 2000’s. In 2010 a master key was publicly leaked that could be used to create valid HDCP device keys. The master key was discovered through a reverse engineering process that exploited design flaws. If used the master key could allow the creation of apparently valid HDCP devices that implement HDCP in such a way that the protections are removed. Using the key, however, is considered to be complex as it would be necessary to be implemented in a custom silicon chip.

Issues with HDCP

A number of issues have been caused by HDCP. One issue is that it creates a way for an otherwise simple wired connection to fail. Each device is supposed to be configured with 40 keys so it can connect with up to 40 devices at once, unfortunately, not all devices do so. Some signal receivers implement a limited number of encryption keys which means that when configured in public environments such as bars, they can only be connected to a much smaller number of TVs.

Another issue is that HDCP incurs a small input delay due to the encryption and decryption processing. This negatively affects the experience when playing interactive media such as video games. The HDCP implementation on Apple laptops is always enabled, even when not required. This makes it unnecessarily difficult to record non-copyrighted content, including for example, simply using an external display for a presentation.

Filed Under: Hardware

Reader Interactions

Did this help? Let us know! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Bitwarden: How to Manually Autofill a Login Form
  • Bitwarden: How to Copy the Username and Password of an Entry
  • Bitwarden: How to Open the URL Associated with an Entry
  • How to Increase the Size of Text on Any Website on iPad
  • Chrome: How to Fix Can’t Scroll Using Scrollbars
  • Samsung Galaxy S 21 Plus: How to Check How Much Memory Is Left
  • Google Photos: How to Export Your Albums
  • Bitwarden: How to Deauthorize All Sessions

Who’s Behind Technipages?

Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

Follow me on Twitter, or visit my personal blog.

You May Also Like

© Copyright 2021 Technipages · All Rights Reserved · Privacy