From: "Rich Gauszka" 

They really put a lot of work into protecting HD content from the user

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/D/6/5D6EAF2B-7DDF-476B-93DC-7CF0072878
E6/output_protect.doc


"Rich Gauszka"  wrote in
message news:45dbd06f$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>
> >
> There was quite a bit of confusion in August 2006 over the ability of  X32
> Vista to play HD content thanks to coments made by Microsoft's Senior
> Program Manager Steve Riley.  It does appear that Vista's HD support is a
> bit confused
>
> http://www.technewsworld.com/story/52643.html
>
> Microsoft issued a statement clarifying comments its Senior Program
> Manager Steve Riley made at the conference on Thursday, which other
> publications have reported, but commotion over the issue has not yet
> abated.
>
> Riley's Faux Paus
>
> Riley told his TechEd 2006 audience Free How-To Guide for Small Business
> Web Strategies - from domain name selection to site promotion. that "any
> next-generation high definition content will not play in x32 at all. This
> is a decision that the Media Player folks made because there are just too
> many ways right now for unsigned kernel mode code [to compromise content
> protection]."
>
> Media companies asked Microsoft not to support high definition content in
> x32-bit versions of Vista, Riley explained, because unsigned malware
> running in kernel mode can get around content protection.
>
> "We had to do this," he concluded.
>
> Setting the Record Straight
>
> If Riley's comments were correct, then Microsoft Windows users wanting to
> play Blu-ray or HD DVD content on their PCs would need a 64-bit processor
> and a 64-bit version of Vista to do so. The 64-bit version of Vista
> requires all drivers to be signed to keep content protections in place and
> stop pirates.
>
> However, Enderle Group Principal Analyst Rob Enderle spoke with Microsoft
> product managers personally on Friday to clear up the matter. Microsoft
> told Enderle that Riley's comments were off the mark.
>
> "There are DVD capabilities built into the system Back up your business
> with HP's ProLiant ML150 Server - just $1,299., but there was never a plan
> to put HD DVD or Blu-ray capability into either the 32-bit or the 64-bit
> version, and there still is no plan to put it into either version. That
> will be supplied by third parties," Enderle told TechNewsWorld.
>
> Half-Baked Software
>
> That means Vista will allow users to play high-definition DVDs, but they
> will have to plug in a player from Cybermedia, Innervideo or some other
> manufacturer to do it. That scenario reflects the same approach Microsoft
> took with Windows XP, the most current available version of the operating
> system.
>
> "Part of the reason Microsoft isn't supporting high definition in Vista is
> that HD DVD and Blu-ray software isn't fully cooked yet," Enderle said.
> "Even if they wanted to drop it in, it's not stable enough to throw into
> the operating system right now. If those platforms are still around when
> the follow-on to Vista shows up -- which some of us have doubts about --
> then it might be in the follow-on product."
>
>

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