New Intel Kaby Lake chip "enforces anti-piracy DRM protections as required by the major studios"

[steve2470]

Ok, this is the quote:

Finally, there's an addition to Kaby Lake: a new media-processing engine. This performs VP9 and 10-bit HEVC/H.265 decoding in hardware, as well as the usual 1080p HEVC, to reduce power usage even when viewing high-res video – meaning more internet streaming before your battery runs out. Intel calls this "All Day 4K" where "all day" means "nine and a half hours."

Kaby Lake chips are able to decode up to eight 4Kp30 AVC and HEVC streams at a time – useful for signs and surveillance gear – and decode 4Kp60 HEVC at up to 120Mbps, which is handy for watching high-quality films and TV on the internet.

This video engine also enforces anti-piracy DRM protections as required by the major studios. Hollywood bosses didn't want to stream 4K ultra high-def content from online clouds without mechanisms in place to thwart casual rippers, and so Intel gave the entertainment giants what they wanted.

"There are hardware-based protection mechanisms to make the studios comfortable with sharing high-quality content to PCs for the first time," said Regis.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/30/intel_core_7th_gen/


I've never seen this before in a chip. Am I missing something ?

[Egnever]

1. These guys never learn

How many times have they attempted this in the past in one way or another only to have it fail miserably.

The idea the drm won't be defeated immediately is ridiculous so now all you have done is throw up roadblocks for the people who actually buy the legitimate product.

Was a huge problem with DVD's a few years back.

Clearly they didn't learn a thing from that debacle.

[steve2470]

2. Microsoft made 'em do it: The latest Kaby Lake, Zen chips will support only Windows 10

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3112663/software/microsoft-made-em-do-it-the-latest-kaby-lake-zen-chips-will-support-only-windows-10.html

Microsoft is slamming the door on PC builders and upgraders who might have hoped to use the new Intel Kaby Lake or AMD Zen chips for Windows 7 or Windows 8 PCs. Sorry: Both chips are officially supported only by Microsoft’s Windows 10.

Microsoft's mandate is discreet rather than secret. In January, the company tried to shorten its support lifecycle for Intel Skylake PCs running Windows 7 and 8, a policy the company subsequently abandoned after much outcry. But Microsoft’s statements have also consistently included a critical caveat: The latest generations of silicon—specifically Intel’s Kaby Lake chip, Qualcomm’s 8996, and AMD’s Bristol Ridge silicon—will all require Windows 10.

“As new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support,” a Microsoft spokeswoman replied, when asked to confirm that that position was still in place. The goal appears to be to move forward with new features, even if it means leaving some users behind. “This enables us to focus on deep integration between Windows and the silicon, while maintaining maximum reliability and compatibility with previous generations of platform and silicon.”

Why this matters: Microsoft's push forward, however rational from a technology standpoint, robs PC enthusiasts of their choice of operating systems—a freedom this particular sector of the community has loudly defended in the past. This could have broader implications for the PC market, too: It could be the deciding factor that finally brings about the abandonment of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. (Linux is an option, too.)


Like the DRM thing, this is also silly.

[Egnever]

3. Well I get not being forced to make new hardware work on old versions of windows

and really it is nothing new. There are plenty of old printers out there for example that can't be used on 10 because there are no drivers for them. It has been the same in every version of windows. Limiting the chip support is certainly new but from an integration standpoint it makes sense.

That said I am sure other OSes will support the new chips and it might be a breaking point for Microsoft.

They are in a bad place right now. The still own the desktop but the desktop is dying and they are failing pretty hard on mobile. Surfaces are doing well but as android and Apple keep getting more versatile it is going to keep getting harder and harder to retain the market share they currently have unless they do something amazing.