PVP-OPM And Longhorn DRM

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.microsoftmonitor.com/archives/009322.html' target='_blank'>http://www.microsoftmonitor.com/archives/009322.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"In Longhorn, Microsoft plans to introduce PVP-OPM (Protected Video Path-Output Protection Management), which is incompatible with most monitors sold today. Engadget's explanation of what Longhorn's PVP-OPM is reasonable: "What will happen when you try to play premium content on your incompatible monitor? If you’re 'lucky,' the content will go through a resolution constrictor." If "unlucky," the screen will be black. "The purpose of this constrictor is to down-sample high-resolution content to below a certain number of pixels. The newly down-sampled content is then blown back up to match the resolution of your monitor. This is much like when you shrink a JPEG and then zoom into it. Much of the clarity is lost. The result is a picture far fuzzier than it need be."</i><br /><br />In order to create some sort of protection for premium content, the folks over at Microsoft have put this process in place. The top objective for these mechanisms is to enable the Windows-based PC to play premium content in 2006 and beyond, offsetting any content-owners fears that high-value content could be pirated if played on a PC. Interesting reading.

[Jason Eaton]

This article seemed to slip by me the other day and I just got to it.

I am floored. :evil:

Just how many people are going to put in a line splice to capture video play back to strip out DRM? A few? A couple hundred? Let us say a hundred thousand. How many people will be effected by the DRM and need new monitors? Everyone that runs Longhorn in the future.

This is like getting a paper cut and then being told to cut off your hand at the wrist, or like having a bad DLL and some tech guy says to reformat the hard drive... wait they do say that...

I am angry about upgrading? No. I am angry at stupidity.

Heck why not have MS just authorize all the software you run on your computer while we are at it?

When did we as society accept that it is better to restict/punish the innocent versus punishing the people that are doing wrong? If I rob a store do the police turn around and tell the owner that he *needs* to get new doors, hire a guard, and only allow one customer in at a time at gun point when they shop? I am not even going to finish this thought... if the answer doesn't jump out at you there is nothing I can say.

This isn't about doing right, this is about the lowest cost to the 'corporations' so they can get the highest return. It might actually cost them more to do the right thing and... I don't know... go after the people stealing.

[Crocuta]

It's looking more and more like Longhorn... er Vista... will be the OS that finally sends me over to Linux. I'm just not going to put up with that crap. I'll stick with XP as long as possible, then go to some other system entirely.