Intel Core Hardware Anti-piracy

[GarretSidzaka]

Intel's upcoming Core chips to secure streaming movies
By Agam Shah
January 3, 2011 12:10 AM ET

IDG News Service - Intel on Monday said that it was building a hardware security layer in its next-generation Core chips to prevent streaming movies from being copied.

The chip feature, called Insider, includes an end-to-end protection layer and management feature to unlock high-definition movies from online streaming services, said Karen Regis, consumer Consumer Client Marketing Manager at Intel.

Insider is a part of Intel's enhanced graphics offerings in its next-generation Core processors, which will be officially released on Jan. 5, ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

With Insider, users will get access to more 1080p high-definition streaming content, which is not yet mainstream on the Internet, Regis said. Movies with the 1080p high-definition -- in which images are shown in a 1920 by 1080 pixel resolution -- can also be found on Blu-ray discs.

Studios are also worried about pirating, which discourages them from making premium 1080p content available via streaming, Regis said. Insider provides a security blanket that could encourage more studios to make high-definition movies available, Regis said.

Intel has partnered with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, which will make 300 high-definition titles available from its WB Shop or Best Buy's CinemaNow service. The movies can be played only on systems with the next-generation Core processors, Regis said.

The feature in time will trickle down to Intel's other consumer chip offerings, Regis said. Intel is also partnering with more studios and announcements will be made in the upcoming months.

Beyond Insider, the company is also building many new graphics technologies into the Core chips to speed up creation and rendering of video. Intel for the first time is building a graphics processor and CPU inside the same chip, which will improve application and graphics performance while consuming less power. The Core chips are based on a new microarchitecture code-named Sandy Bridge.

Intel is adding specialized hardware accelerators to quickly encode and decode video. The feature, called Quick Sync, allows users to transfer high-definition video into a format suitable for smartphones in a matter of seconds. The hardware accelerators are faster than software, which could take minutes to transfer video.

Intel is also upgrading its Wi-Di technology, which enables users to wirelessly transmit images and video from a PC to a high-definition TV. Users will now be able to stream 1080p content, an improvement from the previous 720p resolution. Users will also be able to stream protected movies from the Intel Insider feature, Regis said.

But the Core processors won't support DirectX 11, which makes graphics more realistic on PCs running Microsoft's Windows 7 OS. Intel is a step behind Advanced Micro Devices, whose upcoming Fusion chips include graphics processors that support DirectX 11.

"We have tested applications -- we don't see a huge number of applications that use features in DirectX 11 today. We will have that capability built into our processor graphics before it's in the mainstream," Regis said.

In the consumer segment, DirectX 11 is more relevant to high-end gaming, where discrete graphics cards are heavily used, Regis said.

Intel will initially ship quad-core Core chips in January, followed by dual-core chips in February.

I switched to AMD years ago and now im very glad i did so. im hoping that intel shoots themselves in the foot with this.

 

[MobBoss]

Having built computers with processors from both, I will simply say I do prefer Intel and have for awhile....and since I dont pirate anything, I dont see the big deal.

 

[Riffraff]

Deliberately engineering an inferior product, nice idea.

 

[GarretSidzaka]

Having built computers with processors from both, I will simply say I do prefer Intel and have for awhile....and since I dont pirate anything, I dont see the big deal.

i dont pirate streaming videos either. but we are all adults we dont need a new Nanny Intel. we already got obama and the other republicans to do that

 

[cardgame]

Why would knowledgeable consumers willingly purchase this product?

 

[bhsup]

I like AMD, but not because of some anti-piracy whine. I just happen to prefer them. Hopefully, AMD will also introduce this so as to help open up legitimate digital online viewing to the masses.

 

[MobBoss]

i dont pirate streaming videos either. but we are all adults we dont need a new Nanny Intel. we already got obama and the other republicans to do that

How are they being nannys if they are taking measures to stop piracy?

Thats like accusing a good maker of an anti-virus software being a nanny and saying we dont need it.

If it does help with piracy I am all for it.

 

[Riffraff]

anti-virus software actually helps the person buying it, this does not.

 

[MobBoss]

anti-virus software actually helps the person buying it, this does not.

If it paves the way for companies to produce products to support the chip it will. More competition, more selection = better for the consumer.

The story did say:

With Insider, users will get access to more 1080p high-definition streaming content, which is not yet mainstream on the Internet, Regis said.

Studios are also worried about pirating, which discourages them from making premium 1080p content available via streaming, Regis said. Insider provides a security blanket that could encourage more studios to make high-definition movies available, Regis said.

Sounds like it helps to me.

 

[GarretSidzaka]

How are they being nannys if they are taking measures to stop piracy?

Thats like accusing a good maker of an anti-virus software being a nanny and saying we dont need it.

If it does help with piracy I am all for it.

yeah this doesnt fight piracy and anyone who thinks this wont be circumvented in a couple of days after release is a moroon

once again the customer is punished for what some 1337 pirates do. 99% of users IMO do not record streams. there are WAAAAAY better ways to pirate (and faster)

 

[MobBoss]

yeah this doesnt fight piracy and anyone who thinks this wont be circumvented in a couple of days after release is a moroon

Well, thats a different point tho isnt it?

Will it stop all piracy? No.

Will it help against it? Of course it will.

I still dont see why you would want them to fail in pursuing this.

 

[Riffraff]

The ability to stream higher resolution is unrelated in this case, it could have been implemented without restriction aswell. A cartell between intel and the studios is also not in the interest of the consumer.

 

[GarretSidzaka]

i dont like to buy products with reduced functionality because of the RIAA's MPAA's childish ways of fighting piracy. i can think of legitimate uses for recording streaming video.

 

[Bill3000]

yeah this doesnt fight piracy and anyone who thinks this wont be circumvented in a couple of days after release is a moroon

?

 

[Rik Meleet]

How are they being nannys if they are taking measures to stop piracy?

Thats like accusing a good maker of an anti-virus software being a nanny and saying we dont need it.

If it does help with piracy I am all for it.

If there is a CPU that blocks virae and advertising I'd be far more inclined to buy it than a CPU that blocks storing streams.

 

[MobBoss]

once again the customer is punished for what some 1337 pirates do. 99% of users IMO do not record streams. there are WAAAAAY better ways to pirate (and faster)

How is this 'punishing' the customer?

Seriously...I get you dont like Intel. And for someone who says they dont pirate, apparently you know of waaaay better ways to pirate?

Ok.

If there is a CPU that blocks virae and advertising I'd be far more inclined to buy it than a CPU that blocks storing streams.

Well, my big turn-off would be that it doesnt support directx 11. That would be a no-go inofitself. I dont think thats a good move on Intels part at all.

 

[Zelig]

This isn't really targetted towards the end user, people who want pirated movies just torrent them or grab them from usenet, they don't pay for a streaming service and then save the stream.

If there is a CPU that blocks virae and advertising I'd be far more inclined to buy it than a CPU that blocks storing streams.

They have that type of thing: Data Execution Prevention

 

[.Shane.]

How are they being nannys if they are taking measures to stop piracy?

Thats like accusing a good maker of an anti-virus software being a nanny and saying we dont need it.

If it does help with piracy I am all for it.

They are putting themselves in the position of:
A. Telling me how to use my system.
B. Determining what is pirated and what isn't.

Like most DRM it will probably break things its not meant to. It will most likely frustrate and cause problems for legitimate and legal users. Scofflaws and hackers will find a way to get around it. It will add cost and burden.

Lastly, its not their place to police this.

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Moderator Action: Since this is a discussion more about piracy and not hardware, I'm not going to move it to the PC section. That said, please be careful about piracy discussions. Thanks

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Why are they doing this instead of making a chip that can stop viruses? Oh wait. 'Cos of big business. Of course.

I thought DEP was an operating system feature, not a chip.

 

[illram]

This is just a silly excuse to make people buy new Intel chips and continue the trend for hardware exclusivity in the PC market under the guise of piracy protection.

As Zelig pointed out, this does nothing to stop downloading 1080p movies. Streaming clients are usually the law abiding/paying clients.