ATI releasing HDMI-HDCP card soon?

We're not sure if this should be seen as ATI mending their dodgy ways, or as them cashing in on the suddenly discovered lack of HDCP-compliant cards, but it looks like ATI has a HDMI-HDCP card on the way. There's mainly just this leaked pic to go on so far, but the purported card has no DVI connection, just HDMI, and also has a S/PDIF pass-through jack to add the audio to your HDMI signal. No word on when this card will be announced, but let's just hope they'll be giving them away with breakfast cereals or they're going to a have a few disgruntled customers on their hands.

[E71 @ Feb 23rd 2006 7:42PM]

I really want 2 x X1900 XTX cards, I hope they add these HDMI-HDCP specs to that card.

[Chris @ Feb 23rd 2006 7:50PM]

I wonder if the HDMI port can pass audio and what types of audio, DD, DTS, SACD, DVD-A, DD+, DTS-HD? I suppose it depends if they enable the audio and which version of HDMI they use, e.g. it would need to be 1.3 to get the latest HD sound formats (DD+, DTS-HD).

[Persian @ Feb 23rd 2006 8:00PM]

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=851


Nope, they are fake and unready.

[Travis Bell @ Feb 23rd 2006 8:01PM]

Shweeeeeeeeet.

[Revrant @ Feb 23rd 2006 8:20PM]

Great job Engadget, nice way to represent the majority and sell yourself to a crippling middle man standard, you go from this to Apple ass kissing to smacking Sony for rootkits, boggles the mind.

Ah, another company falls in line to the Anti-Consumer standard, so, consumers, I guess you should, oh, "Rejoice", over this victory.

[Steve @ Feb 23rd 2006 8:21PM]

Quote "and also has a S/PDIF pass-through jack to add the audio to your HDMI signal."

Doesn't the whole HDMI standard include audio.....I think so.

[BC @ Feb 23rd 2006 9:02PM]

I have absolutely no idea what this article's about...

TOO MANY ACRONYMS!!!!
wtf!

[threEchelon @ Feb 23rd 2006 9:13PM]

To 3.

You're completely wrong. This is a new and unreleased card and it must support hdcp because it has a physical hdmi port. To be compliant with the hdmi spec, you must support hdcp.

Note: This is different from dvi-to-hdmi. Hdmi is backwards compatable with dvi but to put a physcial hdmi port on anyting it must support hdcp. I hope that makes sense.

[STEVE RYANING @ Feb 9th 2007 7:34PM]

IF IT'S HDMI/HDCP IS IT 1080P ?

[tiuk @ Feb 23rd 2006 11:08PM]

I'm not usually one to judge the looks of hardare on anything, but that's the ugliest freaking card I've ever seen.

[boe @ Feb 23rd 2006 11:25PM]

Not sure if you could configure this thing to work with those dell dual DVI 30" screens.

[Serg @ Feb 23rd 2006 11:29PM]

To #2 - What the hell is HD sound? HDMI passes 5.1 over DTS and DD. I don't think you'll need much more than that at a desktop. Even for HTPC, I wouldn't know how much more "definition" you can get out of sound....

HDMI on video cards is a slanted issue. The future will show that the majority of DVRs will be HTPCs and cablecard solution, after ViiV, Vista, Cablecard 2.0 and plenty of other acronyms. The point is that HTPCs will need to have sound and video integrated onto the MOBO so that one can get the benefit of 1 cord output, to an AV receiver....

HDMI on a video card, imho, is USELESS. We already have HD monitors (it would be hard to disprove that 99% of LCDs aren't atleast 720p) Since there is little HD content out there to be viewed on a desktop, HDCP and ultimately HDMI is USELESS. DVI has copy protection and DVI works fine. M$, NVIDIA and ATI are going to be in deep shit if people find out they need to purchase a new monitor that is HDCP compliant just to use them as they had before.

HDMI is for the HTPC/AV receiver combo and no more. Please prove me wrong.

[me @ Feb 23rd 2006 11:48PM]

Please read the link below

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdcp_support/

and

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060214-6177.html

All current monitor/videocard will not properly display HD content or, HDDVD or Blue Ray when Vista is released. Read the link above to find out Why. And then thank M$, Intel, and HOLLYWOOD!

[Jeff @ Feb 24th 2006 12:29AM]

"HDMI is for the HTPC/AV receiver combo and no more. Please prove me wrong."

You apparently have never heard of Windows Vista. See, Vista won't even *play* high-definition copy-protected content if it doesn't detect an HDCP-compliant connection to an HDCP-compliant screen. That includes upcoming HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs.

A lot of people watch DVD's on their PC's now, whether they've got an HTPC or not. You won't be able to do that with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray unless you've got HDCP. (Whether that hurts consumers or the companies promoting HD-DVD and Blu-Ray more is up for debate, but the fact remains.)

It's not just the two new optical disc formats, though. It's going to be pretty much all copyright holder-sanctioned downloadable video at some point. Once Vista is ubiquitous, you will need HDCP to watch pretty much anything.

Will it piss people off that they need to upgrade their video cards, motherboards and monitors? Yep. Does the DRM industry care? Nope. They're all about pissing off average consumers, if you hadn't noticed.

[threEchelon @ Feb 24th 2006 12:33AM]

Hdcp really has no value anyways because dvi, hdmi, and component signals can't be recorded by any consumer device and if the disk protection isn't cracked it's not likely that distribution of pirated media could reach any significant level. Really, how many people recorded DVD's by composite or s-video before the disk protection was cracked?

[Chris @ Feb 24th 2006 5:14AM]

To #11 - DD+ and DTS-HD are the new sounds formats for blu-ray and HD-DVD, given the rise of HTPC and the fact that many consumers will have their first taste of these new formats via their PCs (as with DVD and CD) I think it�s going to be an important issue.

Why on earth does it need to be integrated into the mobo, those who use their HTPCs for gaming will need to be able to upgrade their video cards. The one cable solution is either HDMI straight to the screen, in which case you�ll just get basic stereo (depending on your screen) or via an HDMI capable receiver which will let you enjoy full HD surround sound.

[MadaMadaDane @ Feb 24th 2006 7:20AM]

I don't know if engadget is "selling out" by posting descriptions that read like HDCP is our manifest destiny and an inevitability for next gen cards, but it sure isn't very responsible.

Engadget, you are a consumer site, and it would be nice if you would at least acknowledge that many consumers have legitimate complaints about the entire HDCP spec in any story that is going to discuss it's adoption.

[Guy Via @ Feb 24th 2006 8:15AM]

To the disgruntled reader, you are welcome to go back to /. where I can give you a -1 (troll) and be done with it.

Q:"Doesn't the whole HDMI standard include audio.....I think so." Yes - but although you could route the audio over the PCI-X bridge, it would skip over the audio processor and would be unfinished (ATI would have to add audio procession to their GPU). This way, you can let the audio processor do its magic, then pump it back into the g-card so it goes to your tele over HDMI.

I personally hate HDCP and think its a core violation of my user rights, and would gladly buy from anyone not supporting it. But the fact is, our Congressmen do not understand why we should be allowed to view what we buy how we want. So, if you want HD content or Vista Aero (please remember Aero is the GUI, Vista is the OS) you need HDCP.

[Eric @ Feb 24th 2006 8:32AM]

To #5

the media is fickle, just think engadget is like that. They're going through phases like the media, ur either with it or against it.

[GRAH @ Feb 24th 2006 9:31AM]

So this will connect to montiors via VGA, correct? COnsidering 99.999999999999999999999999999999% of monitors dont have DVI, HDMI, or anything other than a VGA plug.

[zombieflanders @ Feb 24th 2006 9:34AM]

You people are pretty damn misinformed. HDMI allows for the passage of high-bandwidth audio and video. The soundtracks for next-gen HD will be uncompressed or lossless, and bitrates many times higher than current DD/dts. SPDIF is just not capable of passing those signals, and HDMI combines the aduio and video into one cable. I don't know about you, but not having a tangle of cables is a good thing.

[College Student @ Feb 24th 2006 12:17PM]

I really want 2 x X1900 XTX cards, I hope they add these HDMI-HDCP specs to that card

[clicclic @ Feb 24th 2006 2:35PM]

The only way this could be more confusing is if you knew more.

If the HDCP/DVI/HDMI/HTPC technology train wreck isn't simplified exponentially this year, the media whores won't even get on board.

HDMI *should be* simple, but this HDCP dependency screws that possibility. It's friggin audio/video together! That's pretty cool. But - wow - they managed to really REALLY screw that up.

The smartest thing you can do these days: wait 12 months before upgrading ANYTHING. Use your DVI monitor/flat-screen TV, hook up a mac/pc to it, and stream/watch DVDs. This HD crap is still such a mess...

[Bill @ Feb 24th 2006 4:49PM]

This is just one bullet in the high capacity magazine the media cartels load in their HDCP machine gun which they are shooting themselves in the foot with.

[Serg @ Feb 24th 2006 8:50PM]

#15, HTPCs in the future (ie next five years) will be used PRIMARILY for HT as in watching movies and DVR functions. There will still be some that use them for gaming, but will not be a majority. Once HTPCs are refined and the ability to record and broadcast (protected) HDTV and other HD sources (throughout the home) becomes perfected, you will see the demise of TIVO, STB's and the other major DVR possibilities in the long term. I wouldn't predict this happening for another few years easily. Just too much work to do.

But it doesn't change the fact that people want digital media and they want control of it. This is why DVDs and CDs exploded - they were major paradigm shifts from the analog age.

As for getting the CDs and DVDs first for PCs, again you are wrong. There were standalone units MUCH earlier than CD and DVD drives.

As for watching Blu Ray or HD DVD movies at your computer, go for it loser. Most people are going to digest HD goodness sitting their fat ass on a couch, in front of a TV.

My point about having the HDMI on the mobo is that the HTPC will be the HUB of the digital house. To enjoy content, only HDMI can pass both the audio and video to an AV receiver, which will power the HT speakers and shift sources. This will need to be on a MOBO - not a video card that will only pass video.

As I stated earlier, HDMI on a video card is pointless for now. We are already able to view HD resolutions on our computer through VGA and DVI. DVI has HDCP. To protect the content (HD DVD and Blue Ray) that is viewed on a computer, it is not through a monitor. It is through the encryption AACS, which will enivitably be broken...

Prove me wrong!

[eas @ Feb 25th 2006 9:39PM]

Add me to the voices saying that this is anything but good news. I'd rather that everyone participating in this conspiracy against consumer rights (the software companies, the hardware companies and the entertainment companies) bleed red ink for a while. Instead all the fools who've paid too damn much for their HDTVs, only to find that there is hardly any content available are happily cheering on the very people who are screwing them, and all the rest of us.

I am all for intellectual property rights, but things have swung way to far away from the interests of consumers, and society as a whole, and it shows no signs of improving anytime soon.

[Techylah @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:06PM]

Stop the whining and buy an HDCP monitor!
(I love my Samsung 244T). Great for HighDef cable or satellite box use and you're covered for MS Vista buy just buying a video board.
The nation's economy, our balance of trade with Asia, our quality of movies/videos/music, and the pay level for artistic and software jobs will all improve once we stop the BIG copying ripoff. Pay for what you use - stop shoplifting - you'll feel a whole lot better about yourself!