HDCP

[dfccbn]

I was recently about to buy a couple of 20" dell monitors from ebay here in the UK, but was quickly stopped by a friend saying that i should wait for HDCP, i did a bit of reading about, figured what hdcp was about and how irritating it's going to be! But i was wondering, should i really wait and buy an hdcp monitor? i plan to watch a lot of hdtv and hopefully get a ps3 sometime in november 2006(?!), but i mean will every machine(dvd player, console, pc etc) require me to use hdcp?

[Neod101]

You won't be required to yet... maybe in another 5-10 years it'll just be considered plain TV. But untill then you won't need it. Although if you have the money you may aswell buy an hdtv for a PS3 and stuff.

[cooper]

Don't wait for it. If you want to get a new monitor, get a new monitor. Vista will support this technology, but that only means that it will continue working even with this technology present. It will not REQUIRE it.

Basically, this technology is a solution to the wrong problem. The problem is people making illegal copies of DVDs and potentially the new HDDVD or BlueRay disks once they begin shipping them. The assumption being made is that the format will be bullet proof, so the only way to get at the images then is to tap them from the connector coming out of your computer, and this technology aims to prevent that.

I'm saying it's the solution to the wrong problem because it will be easier to break the encryption again. It's the easier solution to the problem at hand. I mean, check out the Wikipedia article on HDCP: THEY CRACKED THE SUCKER ALREADY! Back in 2001 no less!

And seriously, do you want to buy a monitor that allows the media companies to bind and gag you as you watch their precious (PRECIOUSSSSSSSSS!) drivel, or do you simply want to do whatever you want to do with the hardware you bought?

Even if this technology ever becomes required (which I'm not buying into) it's still many, many years away.

Just go buy the monitor you intended to buy.

[Rocold]

I've been wanting to get a Flat Panel LCD Monitor for sometime now. Since I started my new job I have one in front of me all day long, now when I come home I can't stand using my regular monitor.

I've been looking at this UltraSharp 1907FP 19-inch Flat Panel LCD Monitor http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/Product...uctlisting.aspx

Anyone had any experience with a Dell Flat screen? Or any flat screen? What should I look for, and is this monitor a good one, for a good price?

[Rocold]

Ok one more thing.....

I was looking at the Dell and it has

Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type: 5 x USB 2.0 Ports / Analog/DVI-D Connectors

I have an ATI 9600 All In Wonder card with two VGA connectors.

I looked at a couple places and found DVI to VGA adaptors, but some say they wont work with DVI-D and some don't say anything.

My brain isn't working correctly right now, so does anyone know if I can connect this monitor to my video card???

[edit] or does the Analog in the connector type mean VGA???

[edit 2] I was bored so I called Dell, got someone rather quickly and yes the Analog means VGA.

[Sparda]

I have (and will continue to use) my LG FLATRON F900P, it is a most excellent monitor. Yes it is a CRT meaning it's more cumbersome then LCD monitors, but the picture quality is far grater. I'm personally waiting for SED monitors to arrive on the market (preferably cheaper).

Additional: Media encryption is a waste of money and discerns me from wanting to buy any digital film format. I'm happy to buy audio CDs.

[dfccbn]

i read the wikipedia article, and it means that if i buy a monitor with no HDCP and hook it up to my PS3 i will only get 540p res out instead of 1080p!! Ah man, that sucks so bad.

[cooper]

Aren't you supposed to hook up your PS3 to your TELEVISION rather than a computer screen?

Let me put it this way:

Any HD-capable TV more than likely supports HDCP. They won't advertise it however, because who wants to tell the customer you're supporting technologies that will take away capabilities from the customer?

Any monitor (computer screen monitor I mean) on the market today lacks the resolution to even display 1080i. The biggest I've found so far was an Iiyama 21" CRT that could do 1880 by something. 1400 or thereabouts. 1080 means 1920x1080 resolution.

In other words, if you want HDCP, you want HD. If you get a HD Ready screen, it's pretty much guaranteed to support HDCP. These screens however aren't monitors. They're TVs.

While you can hook up your computer to your TV, you can get better quality from an actual monitor as it will support better resolutions.

I realise this might sound a bit weird, but you can get 1600x1200 resolution in a 20" screen. Picture or calculate for a second just what size a pixel on there will be. That' s pretty damned sharp. I'm in the process of buying a high-end Plasma TV (Pioneer PDP-506 XDE) that can nicely display 1080i but it will only display 1280x768 when displaying a computer signal according to the specs on the site. This however is on a 50" screen. Calculate the size of a pixel again. Chances are it won't even be half as sharp as a monitor. But this is to be expected, since TVs are designed to be pleasant to look at from a much larger distance than a computer monitor.

[dfccbn]

It's just i'm a student moving from flat to flat and i don't really want to lug around a massive tv screen with me everytime! where aas with a monitor it serves dual purpose, for computer and console. BUt thanks for all the info everyone, still haven't decided what i'm gonna do, mull it over for a while.

[Shaun]

Any monitor (computer screen monitor I mean) on the market today lacks the resolution to even display 1080i. The biggest I've found so far was an Iiyama 21" CRT that could do 1880 by something. 1400 or thereabouts. 1080 means 1920x1080 resolution.

What? There are plenty of monitors that can display 2048x1536.

[cooper]

It's just i'm a student moving from flat to flat and i don't really want to lug around a massive tv screen with me everytime! where aas with a monitor it serves dual purpose, for computer and console. BUt thanks for all the info everyone, still haven't decided what i'm gonna do, mull it over for a while.

Okay, then maybe you should check out this article:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/window...dup/default.asp

This article was written early february of this year. The quick and dirty was that there are HD capable (and HDCP-supporting) monitors out there. A grand total of 12 of 'em.

Prices start at 600 bucks. Display sizes start at 20" (but apparently the 21"ers are cheaper) and max out at 24".

If you're gonna watch movies on this (and honestly, that's ALL HDCP is aimed at protecting) I still say it'll be too small to be even remotely enjoyable.