High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection

[Peter Aretin]

How can you tell if a monitor is HDCP compliant? This spec is rarely given. Certain streaming sources refuse to play some (not all) content if one of my monitors is connected (an Acer) but find my other monitor (ViewSonic) fine. This requires a lot of awkward workarounds. ITunes will play some content if both monitors are connected. Other times I have to boot up in SnowLeopard, from which the movie will download and play fine. For others, I must boot into High Sierra and use Safari, and so on. I'd like to avoid such hassles in future (I don't want to scrap an otherwise fine 27" monitor). Any other workarounds?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Normally, HDCP compliance requires a resolution of at least 1920x1080, and an HDMI or DVI connection.

-Which model Mac?
-What are the exact models of the Acer and ViewSonic monitors?
-How are you connecting them?

C

 

[Peter Aretin]

Hello,

Normally, HDCP compliance requires a resolution of at least 1920x1080, and an HDMI or DVI connection.

-Which model Mac?
-What are the exact models of the Acer and ViewSonic monitors?
-How are you connecting them?

C

Mac mini mid 2010

ViewSonic VX2250 Connected to DVI port from the computer HDMI port with an HDMI > DVI adapter This monitor is the one that seems to be compliant

Acer S271HL Connected to HDMI port from the computer minidisplay port with a minidisplay > HDMI adapter. This is the monitor that causes problems. I have switched the mode of connection between these two, but it seems to make little difference

In Mavericks (main boot drive) General Internet content, over the air live and recorded, YouTube, NBS Sports Gold, etc., all display fine on the Acer. iTunes will display most content, Game of Thrones, many movies, as long as BOTH monitors are powered up. Some movies, however, it puts up a dialog that one of my displays is not HDCP compliant, and will only play if the Acer is turned off. Since I got the larger 27" display for couch viewing, this does not please. If I boot up in a SnowLeopard partition on an outboard drive, I can download and play iTunes protected content on the Acer just fine. The rub is, you don't know there's a problem until you try to play the movie,and if I rented the movie in Mavericks, iTunes will not find it in SnowLeopard, even though I cleverly made the iTunes library on my internal drive the library for iTunes on the Snow Leopard partition. It's a different computer, as far as protected content goes. So I have to rent the movie again, unless I want to sit in front of the computer to watch.

Hulu will play content if I use Safari and both monitors are on, but some features only work right if I boot from a High Sierra partition. Amazon puts up a dialog that if my display isn't compliant, it will serve a lower res version, but if both monitors are on, it seems to supply HD. Kanopy seems to be fooled if I start playback with only the ViewSonic and then turn on the Acer.

Needless to say, one would want to know before buying if a display is HDCP compliant, but this spec is rarely given.

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks for the additional information.

I am thinking it may be the Mini DisplayPort > HDMI adapter you are using with the Acer, since some content will play with it powered off. What brand/model is it?

C

 

[Peter Aretin]

OK, thanks for the additional information.

I am thinking it may be the Mini DisplayPort > HDMI adapter you are using with the Acer, since some content will play with it powered off. What brand/model is it?

C

I wondered the same thing, so I swapped the connections around, hooking up the adapters differently, and connecting the problematic monitor at one point directly to the HDMI port and chaining the two adapters to connect the ViewSonic. Alas, it does not change the problem.The ViewSonic was accepted and the Acer caused some content to be blocked. I believe both adapters are Apple.