Lockdown, winter, Friday evening … How about a “show today” to get other thoughts? So I start my new Macbook, go to the media library and, in anticipation, plug in the HDMI cable from the home theater (with the HDMI-to-USB-C adapter I bought as a precaution!) While the familiar opening melody plays badummbummbumm *. But the sound goes silent and only an error message about HDCP appears on the screen.

What the fuck?

Meanwhile – a few hours later – I even understand what is happening. But that doesn’t make it any better. On the contrary!

Jürgen Schmidt – aka ju – is the managing editor of heise Security and Senior Fellow Security at heise. Graduated physicist by profession, he has been working at Heise for over 15 years and is also interested in the areas of networks, Linux and open source.

Behind the scenes Short and slightly simplified : My Macbook and the AV receiver coordinate within the scope of the HDMI handshake:

Mac : “I can do 4K Ultra-HD”

AVR : “Cool, me too”

Both : “Great, let’s do it for us ”

Small side effect: For Ultra-HD, the two must activate High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) 2.2 according to the specification. Since both support copy protection, that’s not a problem yet. But when the AVR tries to output the image, it realizes that the projector is only talking to the older HDCP 1.4. That’s enough for Full-HD (1080 p) and the projector can’t do more anyway. By the way: I’ve never had the feeling that I was missing something. With HDCP 2.2, however, each device must play along in the entire chain. So there is the error message:

This content is not displayed because your TV does not support HDCP 2.2

Unfortunately, neither the Macbook nor the AV receiver can be convinced that Full HD is completely sufficient for me and you can therefore confidently do without the HDCP 2.2 frills. With the Playstation 4 Pro that was still possible: You could limit it to HDCP 1.4 and Full HD in the BIOS. With the Macbook I only have the following options:

1) I sell the new Macbook Pro and buy a used, older device that only supports HDCP 1.4 (ran on my friend’s older Macbook today’s show without any problems – but of course with some malice).

2) I throw away my fully functional projector and buy a new, 4K-capable device that I don’t need.

3) I buy a so-called HDMI-HDCP converter like the one here from Assmann. It costs around 30 euros and, according to the description, converts HDCP signals from 2.2 to 1.4 and vice versa.

4) I buy an HDMI splitter with a so-called “HDCP Bypass” for around 15 Euro. It pretends to be an HDCP-capable device to the AV receiver and still plays the video signal on the connected devices without HDCP. Problem solved.

At least the last option with the HDCP bypass is illegal in Germany. Yes, you read that right: I only want to look at content that actually does not have to be subject to copy protection, such as self-made presentations or material from the public media library co-financed with my fees. But it would be illegal to buy and use equipment that enables me to do so. Do such laws actually prevent criminal pirates from doing their illegal activities? Or rather, are there to persuade stingy consumer refusers like me to finally buy the latest hot shit?

A legal way out means that I throw even more money down the throat of the manufacturers of the copy protection infrastructure with the acquisition of new devices. Something is going terribly wrong. These are protection money methods, as we know them from organized crime, known as the Mafia. This is exactly how blackmail Trojans work: “If you want to see your data, you have to pay.” Copy protection, which prevents me from legally viewing content on my devices to which I have all necessary rights, is unfortunately not illegal – but in any case extremely anti-social.

What do you think for which of the options I have decided? Tell us in the comments about your experiences in which copy protection got in the way of very legal activities.

(ju)