Analog HD from Blu-ray isn't going anywhere
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted March 18th 2010 7:26PM
posted March 18th 2010 7:26PM
People just love to hate on DRM and honestly we understand, in fact we hate DRM as much as anyone. But like we've said in the past, as much as we hate it, we aren't willing to lie to paint it in a bad light -- the facts do a good enough job by themselves. The latest from a few chicken littles is that after December 31st 2010, Blu-ray Discs won't play in HD via analog outputs. Now anyone who's followed Blu-ray and AACS knows that the analog sunset is nothing new and is not good news. But the fact is it only applies to new Blu-ray players released after said date. So in other words it does NOT apply to all the players currently on the market. This of course means that the Blu-ray player you installed today will continue to work the same ways it does today for years to come. Now to make matters worse, some have confused the AACS's analog sunset policy with the Image Constraint Token. While both are bad for consumers, they aren't related. The analog sunset defines the types of outputs a Blu-ray player has, while the ICT is per title and affects all Blu-ray players no matter when they were manufactured. The other important point about the ICT is that studios have had the ability to implement since it since the first HD DVDs shipped, but has never been used. Each studio announced its plans not to use the ICT for the foreseeable future, but the rumor is that the ride might be over this year, or next. The only good news about the ICT is that the outside of the box must be marked if its used, so at least you know before you buy.
Bottom line is that any player or disc you buy today will be playable as long as you own it. So as long as the player doesn't break, it'll continue to output HD via its analog outputs and any Blu-ray disc will continue to work the same way it did when you bought it. Everyone knows that analog will die one day -- and for good reason -- but lets not run around and pretend that the Blu-ray players and discs we buy are going to somehow self destruct any time soon.
Using the BDP-83 for the article image, nice! Still my favorite BD player.
Does this effect the analog 7.1/5.1 audio outputs.
@buck11772
Definitely need to know this. I use the analog outs for sound on mine, 5.1. HDMI for video. I have an old surround processor and can't play the new sound codecs without the analog outs.
Analog Sunset sounds so pleasant
Wow am I confused. I've been reading this site since the early days of the Format War, and can't say I've ever heard of ICT before.
-Brian
I really don't understand the push to get rid of the analog so soon. Sure it should keep the prices down and make it easier to manufacture, but it seems like the industry is in some kind of rush to get all these new products out and expects everyone to keep up and ditch the older electronics. (3-4 years is old?)
I use digital optical and next year that will now be the 'bottom-of-the-line' way to connect your audio. Scary.
Are receivers now going to do away with analog inputs?
@LarryL It has nothing to do with manufacturing costs or even forcing the rapid advancement of technology. It's simply about control.
Analog outputs are "dumb". They will always send out signal. Weather something is connected or not, they will output. Which is great for troubleshooting and, unfortunately, great for pirating.
Digital, or specifically, HDMI, is "smart." Because of it's two way communication, it can do things like verify what kind of device is on the other end of the wire. Sounds silly, but in practice, allows manufacturers, and more prominently, movie studios, the control to decide what is done with the content. Most specifically, ensure that the content is not copied.
This is a nice idea in theory, but presents all sorts of problems in practice.
I have no problem, in fact I encourage the advancement in signal types like this. But you can not kill analog signals until you have a suitable replacement and HDMI is not that.
It is SO finicky, only manufactured cables (no custom length ones,) no runs over 50' without power, sync issues. All sorts of problems prevent HDMI from being an analog replacement. When there is one, I will welcome it.
@walljordan
Except NO ONE pirates from analog. Why would you try to manually record an analog signal, when just breaking the DRM gives you a clean digital copy faster and easier?
So disabling analog is just... random. It achieves nothing, except inconveniencing a few people with odd setups. But chances are... if you're on HD, or specifically Bluray... you've got the cash to upgrade if necessary.
It's as pointless to worry about as it is for them to do it in the first place.
It's a whole lotta nothin.
Does this effect AnyDVD HD?
@matthelm This is talking about disabling analog HD signals. I am fairly certain that AnyDVD is just cracking the digital encryption. So, the short answer is no. From my understanding, that is.
I believe it is just a way to move people to new a/v equipment. Plus, there are still scared of analogue anything
The title of the article and the content was totally contradictory!
Title: Analog ain't goin' nowhere.
Article: Analog Sunset IS coming next near (no more analog out). ICT is *probably* coming next year.
So Analog is CERTAINLY going away. Especially if ICT gets implemented, so us with Analog TVs won't be able to play certain discs with our existing players.
Yeah, I understand the "you're current player will still do analog," but NOT on ICT-enabled discs. So WTF. :(
-Pie
@EatingPie
Limited analog HD via Blu-ray isn't equal to none. Any disc you buy today will continue to play the same way it always does. The ICT can't be retroactively set on a title and the component outputs can't be retroactively disabled.
Besides, with AACS cracked, I'd be shocked if Hollywood ever turned on the ICT as most prefer to rip the disc than to capture a second generation copy.
actually it's not lg analog era, so many products on the market have been using a digital system, but this lag was a good article ..
http://www.binzou.com
Nice article
This is so stupid. The movie industries are too dumb to understand that their content will be pirated, regardless of technology, and this BS just makes it harder for legitimate consumers. If manufacturers want to put analog HD out on the higher end models, like 7.1 analog audio out, they should be allowed to- indefinitely. The market will decide when the outputs are too old to produce for, without the content industry sticking their grimy little noses in there and interfering.
Component isn't great for Blu-ray since it doesn't support 1080p, but if you have an older TV, its a great way to get the highest quality content in that the TV can handle.