Dave Horvath
22 May 2006 8:22
With the ongoing battle of HDTV standards and policies, developers had set to employ a feature called ICT or Image Constraint Token. What ICT is capable of is forcing the downgrade of video quality for players that lack the HDMI connection standard, in an attempt to thwart piracy. Essentially, this HDMI connection standard is used as part of a "protection pathway" that makes it impossible for pirates to tap into a HD video source.
Growing concerns over this token has spawned discussions that many consumers, if not appropriately equipped, may be forced to deal with a player that either displays severly downgraded quality, or doesn't play next generation video at all.
Unofficial agreements between Hollywood and some consumer electronics companies including Sony and Microsoft have been discussed to not include the ICT standard until 2010 or possibly even 2012.
Without providing more details, the report suggests that Hollywood isn't exactly happy with the situation, and could very well renege on the agreement, such that it is. But the agreement is there nonetheless, presumably to help the industry transition to HDMI. This could explain why the very same studios that pushed for HDMI and ICT have recently announced that they would not use it for the time being.
The report's claims could also shed some light on two of the more baffling consumer electronics moves as of late. Sony stunned onlookers when it announced that the low-end PlayStation 3, which will retail for US$499, will not have HDMI. This put Sony in the awkward position of downplaying HDMI as a "must have" feature for a next-generation optical disc player. Kaz Hirai, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, sidestepped the lack of HDMI by painting it as a high-end standard that wouldn't be aesthetically appreciated by many consumers.