A spokesperson for the AACS Licensing Administrator has confirmed that the copy protection system utilised in Blu-ray and HD DVD high-definition video disc players can utilize a customer's existing network equipment, including Ethernet routers and WiFi transmitters. However, it's been stated that it will not be the case that a player will require connectivity to operate, or to play disks.

"We do expect, in most scenarios, that managed copy is going to require an Internet transaction to perform the copy," admitted Richard Doherty, Microsoft's senior program manager for media entertainment and technology convergence. However, he added, managed copy will not be a mandatory feature of high-definition players. In other words, not only will playback of AACS-protected content not require an Internet connection, it will never require one.
So it seems that, for most of the playback scenarios for AACS, no Internet connectivity is required.

"A manufacturer doesn't have to build a managed copy maker into their device," Doherty stated. "It is certainly possible to still build players that look just like DVD players, where you put a disc in the slot, it plays that disc, and you're good to go."