Intel's SGX deprecation impacts DRM and Ultra HD Blu-ray support

[Jimmy2x]

The big picture: Today's technology has made high quality video available at the push of a button. But while streaming provides the ultimate in convenience, factors ranging from superior A/V quality to a need for physical media due to poor connectivity has kept the Blu-ray community alive and well if only niche. Unfortunately, Blu-ray enthusiasts using modern Intel hardware just received some not-so-great news regarding 4K UHD Blu-ray support.

A datasheet released by Intel this month provides an in-depth look at the changes behind Intel's Core processor lineup. The sheet details the most recent technologies and performance behind the new family of processors as well as a short list of deprecated features. The latter list includes the removal of Software Guard Extensions (SGX), a requirement for protected 4K UHD content.

Digital rights management (DRM) solutions, such as those used in Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, rely upon SGX to facilitate secure communication and computation within a user's system. The removal of SGX in Intel's 11th and 12th-gen series CPUs means that Intel-based users leveraging their PC for 4K UHD Blu-ray content will no longer have the ability to display the expected 3840x2160 resolution offered by the high definition format.

Introduced with Intel's Skylake line of processors, SGX is a specific set of security-related instruction codes designed to support secure computing, browsing, and DRM. SGX-enabled trusted hardware creates a secure container, or enclave, designed to protect the confidentiality and integrity of any data sent to that secure container. A cryptographic hash is used to prove the authenticity of any interaction with the container and computational data within it. Based on this requirement no data can be processed through this enclave if a matching cryptographic hash is not provided.

Though the removal of SGX means that UHD DRM-protected content will no longer be accessible to many late-model Intel users, the overall ability to display the format is not lost. Based on the information available it appears that 4K formats and data not leveraging DRM solutions should still function as expected. Functionality would also be restored if the Blu-ray Disc Association ever opts to remove DRM or other SGX-related protections from their format.

The SGX deprecation and inability to display the 4K UHD format is one more in a string of Alder Lake's DRM-based challenges. For a few weeks after launch, the new processor lineup had rendered a group of DRM-protected PC games unplayable, however as of this month all of those DRM-based game issues have been resolved.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/93006-intel-sgx-deprecation-impacts-drm-ultra-hd-blu.html

 

[Geralt]

What an anti-consumer company! Nvidia and Intel are on the same boat. With my blu-ray collection I can't touch an Intel CPU even with a long pole.

 

[maroon1]

Honestly, I don't care. I never used Blu-ray for many years. My new gaming laptop does not even have BD drive at all.

 

[TekCheck]

Honestly, I don't care. I never used Blu-ray for many years. My new gaming laptop does not even have BD drive at all.

Honesty, DO care. If an issue does not affect you personally, there are many PC enthusiasts who would like to continue to watch those 4K Blu-ray over their PCs.

If you do not use certain feature, you can still support others who do and see this step from Intel for what it is - an anti-consumer move.

 

[Bullwinkle M]

Honestly, I couldn't care less if your malware infected BluRay collection no longer works with the newest Intel CPU's

Every single one of my "malware free" BluRay disks will work fine with the newest Intel chips

DRM is MALWARE!

Asking any Company to support MALWARE is the dumbest thing I've heard yet today, but it's still early

 

[TekCheck]

Honestly, I couldn't care less if your malware infected BluRay collection no longer works with the newest Intel CPU's
Every single one of my "malware free" BluRay disks will work fine with the newest Intel chips
DRM is MALWARE!
Asking any Company to support MALWARE is the dumbest thing I've heard yet today, but it's still early

Look, there is no need to 'yell' at me with capital letters. I can read. Also, if you do not care, you will be pleased to know that many people with perfectly legit disk collections at home do care. No one should be confined to 10th gen CPU in order to continue to watch parts of those collections on PC. There must be a replacement solution if SGX support is removed.

Whether DRM is malware, is entirely different question. It is on Intel and Blu-ray association to sort the mess out, so that users who bought legit disks, 5.25 players and PCs can continue to watch their movies with or without SGX, on any new generation of CPUs.

You will be better off by simply showing support for viable solution to be released for current users and, above all, solidarity with fellow PC users who have been enjoying UHD on PC since 2017. Shouting "my disks are fine" comes across as careless and egotistic. If any company removes support for a specific feature, that's fine as soon as they are able to replace it with something that works with new tech and is backwards compatible.

 

[yRaz]

This is just going to increase piracy.

 

[TekCheck]

This is just going to increase piracy.

Possibly. Good point. That's why we need a good solution from Intel and Blu-ray Association. Also, from AMD. They have been dragging their feet for UHD support on PCs.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

This is just going to increase piracy.

Piracy is the best answer. Somehow all my pirated 4k blu ray movies play perfectly fine on whatever device I want, and I dont have to pay for software like cyberDVD to view it!

Blu ray DRM was the worst idea possible, makes me wish that HD DVD had won the format wars.

 

[Geralt]

Look, there is no need to 'yell' at me with capital letters. I can read. Also, if you do not care, you will be pleased to know that many people with perfectly legit disk collections at home do care. No one should be confined to 10th gen CPU in order to continue to watch parts of those collections on PC. There must be a replacement solution if SGX support is removed.

Whether DRM is malware, is entirely different question. It is on Intel and Blu-ray association to sort the mess out, so that users who bought legit disks, 5.25 players and PCs can continue to watch their movies with or without SGX, on any new generation of CPUs.

You will be better off by simply showing support for viable solution to be released for current users and, above all, solidarity with fellow PC users who have been enjoying UHD on PC since 2017. Shouting "my disks are fine" comes across as careless and egotistic. If any company removes support for a specific feature, that's fine as soon as they are able to replace it with something that works with new tech and is backwards compatible.

Well said!

 

[yRaz]

Possibly. Good point. That's why we need a good solution from Intel and Blu-ray Association. Also, from AMD. They have been dragging their feet for UHD support on PCs.

Piracy is the best answer. Somehow all my pirated 4k blu ray movies play perfectly fine on whatever device I want, and I dont have to pay for software like cyberDVD to view it!

Blu ray DRM was the worst idea possible, makes me wish that HD DVD had won the format wars.

People are willing to pay for the ability to watch 4k Blurays but they don't have a legal option to do so. If its easier to pirate something than buy something you're willing to pay for people are going to pirate it

 

[ZedRM]

While I agree with the complaints above, we need to remember, Intel is not the only issuer of software in the world. There will be alternatives.

 

[Bullwinkle M]

Look, there is no need to 'yell' at me with capital letters. I can read.

It is on Intel and Blu-ray association to sort the mess out, so that users who bought legit disks, 5.25 players and PCs can continue to watch their movies with or without SGX, on any new generation of CPUs.

WRONG!

It is not up to Intel to sort this out or to support the Blu-Ray associations malware

It is up to YOU to support that malware on a stand alone Blu-Ray player and pay for your own enslavement

 

[Bullwinkle M]

This is just going to increase piracy.

WRONG!

You are committing piracy by trying to force others to support your DRM malware scheme

Stop Pirating our hardware to support your criminal activity

 

[ZedRM]

WRONG!

It is not up to Intel to sort this out or to support the Blu-Ray associations malware

It is up to YOU to support that malware on a stand alone Blu-Ray player and pay for your own enslavement

While your points are valid, there's no need for the over-the-top hostility.

 

[yRaz]

WRONG!

You are committing piracy by trying to force others to support your DRM malware scheme

Stop Pirating our hardware to support your criminal activity

While your points are valid, there's no need for the over-the-top hostility.

Yeah, you definitely need to chill out. I use Linux 90% of the time but I don't like the idea of telling me what to install, especially DRM.

 

[captaincranky]

Blu ray DRM was the worst idea possible, makes me wish that HD DVD had won the format wars.

Trust me, in my case it has. (Standard DVD that is), I only keep a stand alone Blu-ray player around for emergencies.

 

[yRaz]

Trust me, in my case it has. (Standard DVD that is), I only keep a stand alone Blu-ray player around for emergencies.

Are you insinuating that you haven't been watching the 4k blurays of the royal goat I've provided you with?

 

[TekCheck]

While I agree with the complaints above, we need to remember, Intel is not the only issuer of software in the world. There will be alternatives.

This is true. AMD also needs to do their job to enable this, as they are two major CPU providers.

 

[yRaz]

This is true. AMD also needs to do their job to enable this, as they are two major CPU providers.

I think people have the wrong idea here. This has nothing to do with AMD or Intel. The media industry has decided to implement DRM that fails. There are people who are willing and able to give companies money but the content owners won't take their money.

They'd rather stand by their failed DRM rather than let people enjoy content they would pay for.

Frankly, this is a problem caused by the content publishers, not AMD or Intel. Don't get mad at chip producers for not wanting to waste silicon space on a failed DRM

 

[TekCheck]

It is not up to Intel to sort this out or to support the Blu-Ray associations malware
It is up to YOU to support that malware on a stand alone Blu-Ray player and pay for your own enslavement

All of them need to work together to enable users to enjoy content from disks. I would not single out one company. It's the ecosytem that needs to work.

As for the stand alone players, people are free to buy whatever devices they want for home theatre. I do not have one, but even if I had, I would be using it for variety of content; for music predominantly, as my music collection is bigger than movies. So, the idea of "enslavement" does not really make sense. Move on.

 

[TekCheck]

Frankly, this is a problem caused by the content publishers, not AMD or Intel. Don't get mad at chip producers for not wanting to waste silicon space on a failed DRM

It's not difficult to enable the ecosystem on PC. It works with SGX. Have it at home. It does not take too much silicon. It's pretty straight-forward.

 

[yRaz]

It's not difficult to enable the ecosystem on PC. It works with SGX. Have it at home. It does not take too much silicon. It's pretty straight-forward.

true, but it's a failed DRM, just look at all the 4k content on torrent sites. This is a problem created by the content publishers. AMD and Intel shouldn't have to waste their time on developing around a failed DRM. Also, it isn't just AMD or intel here, the majority of ARM chips don't support this, either. Or, you could do what I do and use Linux where getting around playing a perfectly legal BluRay is trivial.

 

[captaincranky]

Are you insinuating that you haven't been watching the 4k blurays of the royal goat I've provided you with?

Well no. But my Prince, their images in my mind's eye are enough to allow me to pleasure myself of their magnificence.

Also,any still images above 1024 X 768 you might provide, would mightily enable bringing my self satisfaction to a head, so to speak

 

[Austinturner]

When you have code included in disks you can’t change after release, this will inevitably happen as the surrounding tech ecosystem moves on. The content producers don’t have any financial motivation to help customers either because they already got their money for the disk sale, they don’t care if you can’t watch it how you want to.

Sorry to the people here who would lose the ability to enjoy their collection of movies on a new PC, but they became obsolete, you either need dedicated player equipment or the old hardware from when they were produced to enjoy it.