By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
Planning on adding a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive to your PC? Don’t bother if you plan on running Vista and you have a 32-bit CPU. Microsoft Senior Program Manager Steve Riley announced today during Tech.Ed 2006 in Sydney, Australia that “Any next-generation high definition content will not play in x32 at all.”
This is a decision that the Media Player folks made because there are just too many ways right now for unsigned kernel mode code [to compromise content protection]. The media companies asked us to do this and said they don’t want any of their high definition content to play in x32 at all, because of all of the unsigned malware that runs in kernel mode can get around content protection, so we had to do this,†said Riley. Source:
We Say: Most likely not an issue for anyone buying a new PC, but this will mean new hardware is required if you want HD content, for folks with powerful 32-bit PCs (and despite everything, for example, my P4 is still pretty good). And do they really think folks aren’t going to get around protection, if they really want to, I mean, on 64-bit systems? 
Update: They really have to keep these execs in the loop. Apparently Riley was incorrect. However, any ability to play protected content in Vista would come from third-party software makers that create DVD playback software, such as CyberLink and InterVideo.
I do think this struggle is both pointless and hurtful to the legitimate customers. It’s pointless because you can be pretty certain that HD-DVD and Bluray will be cracked just as normal DVD’s were. It’s hurtful to legitimate consumers because they won’t be able to play HD content on their machines without using the cracks that will probably come out for it. In the end, big piracy operations will still continue relatively unhindered and individuals will get screwed…at least, that’s how it looks to me.
At least the industry is making it easier for most of us to ignore HD content for a while longer. Regular DVDs with a good DVD player looks very acceptable on a 50″ plasma TV. Satellite and digital cable providers aren’t providing a lot of high quality HD channels yet. We can probably ignore the HD content — and the associated DRM — for at least another year at this rate.
I’m personally wondering how long it’ll take for Blu Ray or HD DVD blank data disks to become affordable. It would be nice backing stuff up on a 30 GB or 50 GB disk.
Is it my imagination or is Microsoft both trying to persuade to buy AND discourage people from buying Vista?
We all know that they’ve missed the selling period prior to Christmas.
I have recently read that they’re going to put upgrade vouchers for Vista in with new PCs available for purchase up to the Vista release.
And now you report that a senior Microsoft person is saying “forget HD content with Vista on the most prevalent type of PC on peoples’ desks and still being sold”. OK so the statement was hastily retracted once its potential impact on Vista sales was realised but I reckon the damage has already been done on this one.
Of course conspiracy theory says that Microsoft has done a deal with PC manufacturers, Intel and AMD to get people to buy shiny new 64 bit PCs and junk their perfectly useable 32 bit PCs.
I don’t think Intel would be going for a deal like that because many of the processors they’re currently selling (in machines that are labeled “Vista-Ready”) are 32-bit only.
I think the age of blogging allows everyone to see what’s been there all along — varioius sub-groups within Microsoft’s development teams aren’t all in sync and don’t good grasps on what is really dumb to say about their product.
I read a blog saying how the Vista experience is supposed to be very awesome and brandable. That a lot went is going into look, feel, and sound. This bend over for the content companies without acknowledging what an unacceptable, confusing pain it’ll be for endusers is really dumb.
As for Vista launch, rumor has it that RC1 is coming and that it’ll be a *lot* better than beta2. I remember the Windows XP RC versions. Hopefully we are within a year of launch. I want some excuses to upgrade my main computer by tax return time next year.