digitalFAQ.com Forum - Questions about Blu-ray encryption, watching HDMI from computer

continued from email...
For tech questions, always ask in the forum, or it may be several weeks before I answer.

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a few questions about bluray if i may.

ok, i know bluray movies are usually encrypted.

but what about the bluray player, the hdmi cable and the tv?
how does each item deal with the encryption?
is each link in the chain all checking for authenticity of the bluray disc?

further...

if i have downloaded/ripped/copied a bluray movie to my hard drive, and assuming the movie's encryption has been removed, if i then playback the movie from my computer, through my graphics card, via a hdmi cable, to my lcd tv, will it work?

i want to know more about these issues before going ahead with buying
equipment only to find out things won't work.

hey, don't need to rush to reply. in your own time mate.]

Disclaimer: I'm slightly out of my depth here with questions related to HDCP, which is the copy protection implored over HDMI connections, which is one way Blu-ray works to "protect" itself from being copied. Anyway...

Sometimes I don't know the answer, or sometimes I simply forget.
I have two default sources for this kind of information: edDV at Videohelp, and Crutchfield. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-rdfdnuo...e/dvd_faq.html

I may need to reply piecemeal...

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but what about the bluray player, the hdmi cable and the tv?
how does each item deal with the encryption?
is each link in the chain all checking for authenticity of the bluray disc?

HDCP limits the resolution. If you connect a Blu-ray player by composite, s-video, component, etc -- anything not HDMI -- it will show at less than 1080p.

From Crutchfield:

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If your TV doesn't have an HDMI input, or if your DVD player doesn't have an HDMI output, then you'll want to use component video. You're not able to get 1080p with component video, but you can get resolutions of 720p and 1080i (Blu-ray only; component video connections on DVD players are limited to 480p). Component video connections can be found on all DVD and Blu-ray players, all HDTVs, and most newer standard-definition TVs.

So the limiting factor really isn't on-disc encryptiong, but hardwired encryption in the hardware. Studios and the industry gave up years ago on the software-only types of encryption used on a disc, so the gave consumers the shaft via the hardware method. On the other hand, we did need some simplicity. "Use HDMI or it sucks" is a pretty good way to set a standard that cannot be strayed from. The days of having a half dozen wiring standards, with needs for a dozen converters, did need to come to an end.

VGA can carry full 1920x1080p, and I believe component can as well. But the HDTV will be the limiter here. It may reject 1080 input and downscale it. The irony is that to display the video, it is then upscaled to 1080.

I think I may have rambled and gotten sidetracked from you question. :(

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through my graphics card, via a hdmi cable, to my lcd tv, will it work?

Yes. It should.

My Mac mini works this way. nVidia out, HDMI out/in, Sony HDTV in.
Sometimes it's nice to have a 60" monitor.