Due to fears that pirates would create high resolution copies of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs via unsecured analogue outputs, the Blu-Ray disc specification includes the ability to forcibly downscale a disc's output where it is sent over analogue outputs, rather than copy protected digital.

However, in a move to encourage the uptake of Blu-ray hardware, Sony has reportedly now decided not to down-convert the resolution of the HD signals coming out from analogue connections so early adopters of HDTV will be able to enjoy high definition video titles at full resolution.

Don Eklund, SPHE's senior vice president for advanced technologies, said that Sony's initial Blu-ray discs "and all of its Blu-ray titles for the foreseeable future" will be free of the Image Constraint Token (ICT) that's built into the Blu-ray and HD DVD standards.

The ICT is a digital flag within the AACS (Advanced Access Content System) that determines how Blu-ray and HD DVD players output high definition video signals through the player's component outputs. This controversial digital flag instructs the player to scale down the resolution of the video signal from its analogue component-video outputs to a standard-definition image to prevent high-resolution recordings – but at the same time prevents viewing of HDTV images on any TV or device not equipped with a copyright-protected HDMI digital input.

That would eliminate any gain in image quality for HDTV early-adopters who bought displays prior to two or three years ago, when DVI and HDMI digital inputs were introduced. Video output through HDMI is unaffected by ICT since the HDMI output is copy protected by High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP).

According to Eklund, Sony's key piracy concern isn't with analogue HDTV signals but with the digital HDTV signal coming off the disc, which both Blu-ray and HD DVD are protecting with the robust AACS system endorsed by the Hollywood studios. If analogue copying does become a problem down the road, the policy could change, he said, but for now, "we have no plan to implement the Image Constraint Token. All of Sony's titles will come out of the analogue output at full definition." He added that other studios still have the discretion to activate the token for all or individual titles.

Toshiba, the main backer of the rival HD DVD format, has not made any official announcement regarding the use of the ICT function.

Story filed 20.-3.06