HDCP

Owned by BrightSign TechDocs
Last updated: Sept 24, 2024
3 min read

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), which protects content from duplication, can affect customers using the HDMI® input on XT1144, XT1143, 4K1142, XD1132, XD1230, and Series 5 BrightSign players listed in HDCP Support. BrightSign hardware can not violate HDCP key rules, so users can be affected if they try to use content that is protected, or use a box that strips HDCP from HDMI signals.

There are two versions of HDCP. HDCP 1.x is content encryption for standard, high-def, 1080K content and is supported on BrightSign players. HDCP 2.x is content encryption for 4K (high-resolution) content. HDCP 2.2 may work but is not yet officially supported by BrightSign players.

HDCP Compliance

Any HDCP-protected signal must remain HDCP-protected through the entire HDMI chain. If the HDMI input signal is protected by HDCP:

  • BrightSign players cannot encode the HDMI input for streaming or saving to file.

  • BrightSign players cannot display the HDMI input if any device in the HDMI chain is not HDCP-compliant or refuses a HDCP-protected handshake/connection. This includes HDMI splitters/DAs, media converters/transceivers (HDMI-over-Cat5, etc), A/V receivers, TVs/displays, analog output (on XD1230 and XD1132), and display encoding. In this case, BrightSign players will still play the audio (barring bugs or incompatibility) from the HDMI input, but the area where the HDMI input video should be will be empty/gray.

  • For more details on how streaming and HDCP work in the BrightSign system, see HDCP.

Forcing HDCP On

BrightSign offers roVideoMode, a BrightScript function that will force HDCP on all the time. This prevents issues of compatibility because in at least some versions of the OS, HDCP won't be applied on the output until the HDCP content is displayed.

Here is an example of how to use this function:

mode = createobject("roVideomode") mode.ConfigureHdmiInput({MaxHdcpVersion:1, EdidFilename:0})

 

HDCP Content and Analog Video Output

Devices that play HDCP content are required to authenticate the display endpoint (i.e. a compatible television) over an HDMI, DVI, or DP connection. Set top cable, satellite boxes, and streaming devices all enable HDCP on their output. HDCP authentication will occur among the source device, the player, and the display device when an HDCP device is connected via HDMI input to a BrightSign player that supports HDCP. If HDCP authentication is successful, the player will disable analog video output and send the protected content to the display over the HDMI output.

HDCP authentication requires a digital video signal; if the player is only connected to a display device via the analog video port (VGA), the display will not communicate with the player, and authentication will fail after timing out. In other words, HDCP content is never supposed to play over an analog video connection.

In some cases, content from an HDCP source successfully plays over the analog video output of a player. In such cases, the HDCP source device is incorrectly sending content even though the HDCP authorization process has failed. Since the display endpoint has not been authorized, the player does not disable the analog video output. Since this scenario exhibits unexpected/incorrect behavior on the part of the HDCP source, we don’t recommend building a digital signage setup that relies on this use case. 

Additional Notes

  • The player only enables HDCP on the HDMI output if HDCP is detected on the HDMI input. 

  • Most game consoles enable HDCP on their HDMI output, though it may depend on the output mode or software being used.

  • Some MacBooks will enable HDCP on the output if the destination device reports it supports HDCP, regardless of whether protected content is being displayed or not. 

  • Some computer DVI graphics cards can support HDCP over DVI, as can some DVI AV devices like certain projectors and DVD players with DVI output, however, most DVI-HDMI conversion will lose HDCP.

  • Many early displays don't support HDCP over DVI and some early HDMI displays don't support HDCP over HDMI either. If it's not specifically mentioned, it probably isn't supported on the device.

  • There is an allowance in the DMCA for a HDCP-protected source device to allow SD (Standard Definition) analog output, but in practice this is rarely seen/used.

  • There are some instances where an HDCP-protected source can end up being output via analog on devices with both HDMI and analog outputs, but these should not be relied upon. This doesn't apply to current models without analog outputs.

  • HDCP 1.x and HDCP 2.x (available in HDMI 2.x) are separate entities. While HDMI 2.x devices are generally supposed to fall back to work with HDCP 1.x devices, it isn't always a smooth process.