Microsoft Clarifies Vista Support for Protected HD Content in 32-bit Systems

Nick White, Windows Vista Product Manager has made an entry on the Windows Vista Team Blog addressing the issue of support for protected HD content in 32-bit systems. The entry responded to media reports concerning playback of protected high definition content in 32-bit Windows Vista. Aiming to clarify the situation, White stated that in actuality HD content playback will not depend on the operating system, and that neither 32-bit Vista nor 64-bit Vista will make a determination regarding HD support.

"The individual ISV providing the playback solutions will choose whether the playback environment, including environments that use 32-bit processors, meet the performance requirements for playback of protected High Definition content," explained White.

In this context, as Microsoft is left out of the protected HD support equation, the determination of a suitable platform for playback products will be solely determined by Independent Software Vendors. Microsoft will not shed policy aspects or development features related to protected HD playback, but instead: "to help ISVs make the playback determination, the OS will expose a list of any unsigned drivers on the system; nevertheless, it remains up to the ISV to determine whether playback will be enabled," concluded White.