14 DAY TRIAL // HDCP stands for video and audio (through HDMI interface only) copyrights when streaming HD content. Basically, what it does is block the display of the movie if you do not possess a license (copyright) to view it. With that being said, HDCP is not a thing to love from 2 points at least. First, few boards have installed HDCP capabilities onto their board digital outputs (usually DVI or HDMI). And then there?s the problem with protecting the original content. As it was seen in the past, all attempts to protect disks from being copied or played eventually failed. And that translates into a short life for HDCP since it?s a question of time until someone will crack HDCP.
As for Nvidia boards, it was first said that G80 would support 1080p output using Dual-DVI links with HDCP content. But when it came out, we quickly noticed that it doesn?t support Dual-link DVI+HDCP and that translates into downscaling a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray 1080p movie to 720p when played through a G80 card. That?s no news since older G7x or R580 were also limited here. But we weren?t expecting this from a $600 video card. Especially since the future R600 chip coming from Ati is said to feature Dual-link DVIs and maybe even HDMI/UDI connectors.
It?s quite clear then: if you?re planning to watch a hi-resolution movie using an 8800 card, you?d better stick with an analog output. Or better, wait until R600 comes out and fixes the problem. Maybe that?s a problem since HD content is already here, but there?s no going around this problem. And since the issue is hardware related, there won?t be any solution, at least not concerning the G80 series.