Nvidia Will Release the 7900-series in a HDCP-Compliant Edition

And if you aren't already stuffed with so many undisclosed sources, I'll give you some more. It seems that several Taiwan graphics card makers said that Nvidia will release on the retail market, in July or August, several upgraded editions of its famous graphic cards - the GeForce 7900 GTX and the GeForce 7900 GT, which will support HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), according to Digitimes.

The undisclosed sources added that Flextronics will be, in fact, the manufacturer, let's say supplier, of the Nvidia labeled graphics cards, as it has been up until now.

In order to understand the modifications that will be made on Nvidia's products, let's talk first about HDCP. HDCP is, in fact, a standard, part of the already well-known HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) connector and cable format, which is meant to synchronize both audio and video signals.

Consequently, the low-end 7300 model, the G72 to be more specific, will not feature any modifications, but the high-end 7900, the G73-B1, will provide audio mixing. However, if you will opt for the low-end, then you will have to add a transmitter chip which will support the HDMI.

"For mid-range and entry-level graphics processing units (GPUs), Nvidia will offer HDPC support as an option, indicated the sources. Nvidia announced the GeForce 7950 GX2 with HDCP support in early June, said the sources, noting that the vendor highlighted HDCP implementation as a requirement of HDTV (high-definition TV), Blu-ray and HD DVD applications. Graphics cards that don't support HDCP will degrade the resolution of HD signals from 1080P to 540p, the sources indicated" informs Digitimes.

The sources revealed the fact, already known, that several other manufacturers, including the worldwide leaders - Sony, Toshiba, Philips, Panasonic and NEC - will launch Blu-ray and DVD PC compatible disc drives. As you know, all these companies previously released such products, so it is no wonder that they will continue to do that in the future.

Furthermore, both Sony and Toshiba are the main backers of the battling formats - the Blu-ray and the HD DVD, and the latter tried to pursue others into a challenging project - the development of a hybrid, a new format which will be compliant with both standards.