HD box tech specs

sanderton said:
No, you're wrong on that. ALL content on Sky's channels will be available on component at full res. They have stated this repeatedly, time after time.



Having HDCP enabled on HDMI and the component outputs being available or not are COMPLETLY SEPERATE AND UNRELATED THINGS.

A film can be HDCP protected on HDMI AND be viewable in analogue on component, no problem. And indeed that will be the case.

This misunderstanding keeps on coming up. It's been specifially queried with Sky who have given an unequivocal answer.

I think someone here is a bit confused. HDCP is something that is decided by whoever owns the material.
Like with the HDDVD/Bluray debate, the studios decided that all the movies (or most, anyway) will be copy protected. That means that the same movies will also be protected on SkyHD like they are on Telewest.
It's not up to Sky or Telewest to decide whether we can get HD movies thorugh component disregarding the HDCP completely, like it's not up to Sony or Toshiba to have HDCP in Bluray/HDDVD movies. It's up to Universal, Sony/MGM, and all the production companies making the movies.

In the circumstances, i'm sure SkyHD will allow component output for a while for some material just to "be nice" so to speak, but not all material will work. Maybe (MAYBE) initially some movies will still work, but it's all to be seen.

Allowing analog output on copy-protected material would go against what the owners of the movies want, and i'm sure there would be huge problems if that happened.

Hell, the HD-Ready standard that IS required for SkyHD as per terms and condition, was largely based on what SkyHD would require, and HDMI is the most important addition to the HD-Ready logo, and has been for months.
 
sanderton said:
By that time of course, virtually all HD TVs sold for the previous x years will have been HD Ready and have HDMI. People with "legacy" HD TVs with component only inputs or non-HDCP compliant HDMI/DVI need to make sure they get one of these early boxes.


People with early boxes running only on component will have to upgrade their TVs to HDCP compliant ones, as sooner rather than later, they'll start missing on HD material, mainly movies, though BBC will probably always work with component.
 
Does anyone know if there will be a HDMI connection lead included in the Sky box?
 
DanDT said:
I think someone here is a bit confused.

Indeed, but I'm afraid it's you. :)

HDCP is something that is decided by whoever owns the material.
Like with the HDDVD/Bluray debate, the studios decided that all the movies (or most, anyway) will be copy protected. That means that the same movies will also be protected on SkyHD like they are on Telewest.

True, no argument on that.

It's not up to Sky or Telewest to decide whether we can get HD movies thorugh component disregarding the HDCP completely, like it's not up to Sony or Toshiba to have HDCP in Bluray/HDDVD movies. It's up to Universal, Sony/MGM, and all the production companies making the movies.

Aha, the source of the confusion.

I've tried to explain this before. HDCP is a copy protection system for digital outputs only. It encrypts the data stream and adds tags telling the reciving device what it may or may not do with the data. It's a low-level digital protocol. It has nothing whatever to do with any analogue outputs.

The stuff you've read about component outputs being disabled on BluRay players is not about HDCP, it's about AACS.

AACS is a copy protection system for disc based content which specifies which outputs are allowed. It can and does control analogue outputs, and insists that digital outputs are protected with HDCP before it enables them.

But AACS is about discs, not broadcast.

So I'm entirely sure that the movie companies will insist on having HDCP enabled on their films (actually I'm pretty sure Sky will have HDCP enabled24/7 on all their channels). But that has no effect whatsoever on the component outpuuts, whose status is controlled entirely independently of HDCP status.

In the circumstances, i'm sure SkyHD will allow component output for a while for some material just to "be nice" so to speak, but not all material will work. Maybe (MAYBE) initially some movies will still work, but it's all to be seen.

Please stop saying that; it's just not true, Sky have said time and again its not true and you're just confusing newcomers by repeating it.

Hell, the HD-Ready standard that IS required for SkyHD as per terms and condition, was largely based on what SkyHD would require, and HDMI is the most important addition to the HD-Ready logo, and has been for months.

HD Ready is not required it is recommended. If you read the Sky installers Powerpoint, you'll find they have all the instructions for setting up SkyHD with an non-HD Ready display.
 
THERAAAVEN said:
so the answers is NO no-one makes a hdmi audio.video spliiter - good thought i was going mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if they did surely that would get around the whole piont of the cable - mainly being a digital one

Yes they do:

http://sewelldirect.com/hdmi-compone...deo-switch.asp

But as I said in my post above, it costs more than a decent screen.
 
DanDT said:
the thing about requiring HDMI

Hmm, someone seems to have enabled HDCP on this page cos I can't Copy & Paste


Except it doesn't have to.

As for HDCP forcing component to be disabled (or downscaled), I know that's a feature of AACS and will be optionally included in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray content, but most studios are now saying they won't enforce it.

So they certainly won't (possibly can't) force Sky either. It's not component they're that worried about really, it's digital piracy.
 
As i said at the beginning, i could be wrong and i'll admit if i am, and i probably am! :D

Anyway, if what you're saying is true:

AACS is a copy protection system for disc based content which specifies which outputs are allowed. It can and does control analogue outputs, and insists that digital outputs are protected with HDCP before it enables them.

But AACS is about discs, not broadcast.

So I'm entirely sure that the movie companies will insist on having HDCP enabled on their films (actually I'm pretty sure Sky will have HDCP enabled24/7 on all their channels). But that has no effect whatsoever on the component outpuuts, whose status is controlled entirely independently of HDCP status.

Then i either missed something huge, which is totally unlike me, or you're wrong... Personally, i have HDMI so i don't really care :rotfl:
It's just very uncoherent from the movie studios if that was the case, as it is just as easy to record HD movies from component, than through anything else...
If component output is enabled for movies, then it makes no sense disabling it on HDDVD/Bluray as they are the same movies.
That's probably why i'm confused, and apart from you telling me, all i've seen around (and i read a lot) leads me to believe my case is the right one... :)
 
DanDT said:
It's just very uncoherent from the movie studios if that was the case, as it is just as easy to record HD movies from component, than through anything else...

And just how, pray, would you go about recording an HD component output? Unless you have a pro editing suite at your disposal of course!

If component output is enabled for movies, then it makes no sense disabling it on HDDVD/Bluray as they are the same movies.

Chances are it won't be, unless the movie companies like committing financial suicide and making their disks not work with teh 95%+ of US systems which are analogue component only. It's there as an option, but they won't use it - and I think some have already announced that.
 
choddo2006 said:
Oh right! Thanks! I feel like i've just woken up from a 2 year long coma!!

Sorry for the confusion sanderton, i guess i was wrong afterall. :)

Now the next question is... What's the point of HDCP, after months and months of studios telling us that basically nothing we have will work unless there's HDCP in every piece of equipment...?
 
It protects the DIGITAL perfect copy. Which is ultimately their greatest fear.

Just like record companies stress about digital copies of music and keep adding new DRM methods, when no copy protection precenets you plugging your CD player into the audio in on your PC.

All your kit will have to be HDCP enabled to use features like Managed Copy from HD-DVD disks or streaming legal downloaded HD video from a Vista PC.
 
sanderton said:
HD is 160Gb of user usable space.
Does anyone know what this translates to in actual time as HD recordings will obviously use more memory.
 
So, I'm guessing that a First Gen Sky+HD box is likely to be in high demand on places like eBay once Sky move to their second gen box without component outputs. Any idea how long Sky are going to be selling the first gen box for?
 
I've read the SKy HD training material, presumably sent to all installation engineers. They specify that HDMI is the best connection method, but component should be used in absense of HDMI/HDCP-DVI.

It also says that if a display device supports 720p/1080i, the Sky HD box should be configured to 1080i. Presumably this means that any content broadcast in 720p wll be scaled and converted to interlace by the box?
 
That seems odd given the poor job some displays do of rescaling 1080i to 768p (basically upscaling 540p and giving little better than SD).

I'd have thought letting the sky box do the rescaling would be a better be as the output would be consistent.
 
Meeko said:
I've read the SKy HD training material, presumably sent to all installation engineers. They specify that HDMI is the best connection method, but component should be used in absense of HDMI/HDCP-DVI.

It also says that if a display device supports 720p/1080i, the Sky HD box should be configured to 1080i. Presumably this means that any content broadcast in 720p wll be scaled and converted to interlace by the box?
It can be, if the box is set to output 1080i but you can just as easily choose to output 720p

I have NO idea why they're telling the installers to choose 1080i (but I've also read it) - it's madness.

I'd love to know how they're scaling 1080i to 720p inside the box, but suspect it won't be great.
 
I need to get digital audio to my TV in the lounge and my home cinema 10M away I cant find an optical lead this long Keene and lectropaks only do up to 5M I also need a splitter the same is true for HMDI. What am I going to do?
Dave:lease:
 
AVdavid said:
I need to get digital audio to my TV in the lounge and my home cinema 10M away I cant find an optical lead this long Keene and lectropaks only do up to 5M I also need a splitter the same is true for HMDI. What am I going to do?
Dave:lease:
Get two HD boxes.:)

Jerry
 
AVdavid said:
I need to get digital audio to my TV in the lounge and my home cinema 10M away I cant find an optical lead this long Keene and lectropaks only do up to 5M I also need a splitter the same is true for HMDI. What am I going to do?
Dave:lease:
Can you use HDMI to the TV?

If so then component to the home cinema and optical to the amp via something like this; http://www.sjgreatdeals.com/pet10-5618.html
NO idea how it affects signal.

Will that work?
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom