Dual monitors, Blu Ray and HDCP

[scorchio75]

Hello all,

I'm currently using a Dell 2405 (24") LCD which I'm really happy with but, as it's not HDCP capable, I can't upgrade the optical drive(s) to blu ray as I won't get full HD on the screen, so I was thinking of adding another 24" monitor (probably something like this) for a dual monitor set-up.

Has anyone got a similar HDCP/non-HDCP set up with blu ray? If so, have you had any issues getting blu rays to play at full resolution?

Cheers,

Adi

[Elessar_VPR]

I've got one of the LG combo drives and dual screens. One's a 19" non-HDCP screen and the other's a new HDCP 24". Haven't had any issues playing Blu-Rays on them so far.

Worth noting that you can still play most HDCP content over D-Sub connections if you need to, even if the display is not HDCP compliant - which is what I did before I got my new screen (quality might not be quite as good, depends a bit on your cable, may be perfectly fine though).

[scorchio75]

Thanks Elessar! So the image wouldn't be downscaled if played over VGA?

[Hawker1986]

Well in running my media centre over VGA and ive had no problems playing Hi-def, blu-ray and HDDVD both run fine and I cant tell there is any loss of quality with the blu-ray compared with HDDVD which doesnt care about HDCP. Also you can run anydvd in the background and it should remove the HDCP problems.

Hope that helps.

Hawker

[scorchio75]

Thanks Hawker - I'll give AnyDVD a look...

Looks like I'm sorted...Thanks guys!

[Funkstar]

Other than a limited number of releases (there might actualy be just a single Germal release of some obscure film), no BluRay title has actuall enabled the secure path flag. So although everything may be HDCP compliant, it isn't being used.

There are a couple of exceptions to this. Some versions of PowerDVD (perhaps all, I can't remember) insisted on having a secure path even if the title being played didn't require it. This is not to the BluRay spec, but who in the industry is going to complain that a software player is going beyond what is required?

Also some Samsung TVs required to be fed from a HDCP compliant graphics card, even though they should technically have been happy with a DVI adapted to HDMI. There didn't need to send HDCP flagged content, they just had to respond to the HDCP queries from the screen. Thats just poor or sloppy design that is.

[Agent]

It's not just Samsung sadly Funkstar. It sounds great that the flag isn't enabled on Bluray, but so many devices simply don't work with a non HDCP path that it's just a gimmick.

Perfect example is the PS3. So while Blurays might not have the flag set, when the most common Bluray player by far forces the use of HDCP (at least over HDMI, not tested component) it's kinda mute

Bluray = Sony, PS3 = Sony.....

[Funkstar]

I wasn't aware of the PS3 enforcing it to be honest. And it's always been Sammy's that people have been moaning about.

Oh well.

Such a shame HD looks lovely!

[Mighty God]

If you are thinking of splashing out on another monitor, which you may not be if the above replies satisfy your query, I would recommend that you go for the latest replacement for your monitor; the Dell 2408WFP, this is an awesome monitor, though some have experienced it to be over-saturated when working with RAW photography, I have also noticed this when working on certain projects, however this is nothing that a monitor calibration kit won't cure! For general use though and especially the likes of what your wanting to do, watch videos, then this monitor would be excellent as it has a 1920*1200 resolution that is HDCP capable and a ton of ports, including HDMI, so you could even use an external Blu-Ray player on it or a games console like the Sony PS3, which has a Blu-Ray player built-in! This is a great monitor though quite expensive, at over £500 (Inc. VAT) from Dell's own website; but the cheapest around that I can see after just a quick look is from http://www.scan.co.uk/ - hope this helps you, although I see that you have a few other suggestions, which would be the cheaper option, saving you around £450!

[Mighty God]

Sorry - that post was quite lengthy!

[scorchio75]

Hahaha! If I had been thinking about this three months ago, I would have bought the 2408 without blinking - but my awesome contract job is coming to an end, so I'm having to be a bit more frugal - although my contract may end up being extended...



My PS3 is in the living room (attached to a 1080p TV), so all is well on that side of things, but I've been thinking about swapping one (or both) of my PC's DVDRWs for Blu ray drives...so if I can get HDCP-protected HD content from my PC onto a new monitor (and I agree, the 2408 would be brilliant), then I'm shiny.

[Mighty God]

Oh right, I see your problem?!?

Have you thought about maybe selling your 2405 for a 2408, or even a 2407? Although I'm not entirely sure that the 2407 is HDCP capable!

[Mighty God]

Just had a look and the Dell 2407 is HDCP capable.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/displa...-Widescreen/p1

[Mighty God]

Or why not consider the new Dell S2409W if money is going to be an issue as it's full HD and your not comprimising on size for the price as it's also 24".

It won't have as many ports I wouldn't imagine and may not be as good quality wise, but if it says it's full HD, it must be; it will have a cheaper panel in it but it's under £200 and it's not that bad a design either.

[scorchio75]

I'm definitely keeping the 2405: It's been a great monitor, still works well after 3 or so years and, as I'm slowly getting back into writing music, I'd rather have a second monitor so that I can have one full screen for Reaper (great bit of software) and the other screen for plug-ins, other software, etc.

Money is a consideration, so the 2409 could be a worthy winner - although my birthday is at the end of the month...

Has anyone tried Dell's E248WFP? Not really worried about gaming performance - the 2405 is good enough for me - and the 248 seems to be HDCP compatible...?

EDIT: The 2409 is out - no height adjustment, just tilt, according to Dell. I definitely need height and tilt adjustment.

[Mighty God]

Have you seen anything you like then?

http://www.aria.co.uk/ have some good deals on monitors, granted some of them are their own make, but if your not ruled by brand-names then they could be the answer, I haven't looked at specs mind so I don't know if they'll be what you're after, but I would certainly recommend checking them out, as they seem to have some good reviews.