User Manual
12.1 HDCP
HDCP is a content protecon mechanism which uses encrpyon to prevent high value content from being
delivered to non-authorized devices. For example, Blu-ray players use HDCP on their HDMI outputs to ensure
that the HDMI output cannot be routed to a digital recording device.
The is fully HDCP compliant, meaning that you will be able to use the to accept
HDCP protected sources and route them to any HDCP protected outputs. As Analog Way is a licenced HDCP
adoptor, this also means that the is prevented from displaying any HDCP protected images on any
non-HDCP compliant outputs (as is the case for all licenced HDCP compliant devices).
HDCP can only be used on certain connecon formats, including DVI, HDMI, and Displayport. Keep in mind
that simply because a connecon is using a DVI, HDMI, or Displayport connecon, it does not gaurentee
that the devices connected are maintaining an acve HDCP connecon. For example, you may nd video
recording or capture devices equipped with an HDMI input, however HDCP licencing forbids these devices
from capturing HDCP protected content.
HDCP is not supported on connecon formats such as composite, component, Svideo, SD-SDI, HD-SDI,
3G-SDI, or VGA. This means that any source which becomes protected by HDCP cannot be converted to
these formats. For example, while you may nd a Blu-ray player which can directly output a composite video
signal, HDCP licencing forbids converng the HDCP protected HDMI signal back to composite or any other
non-protected format.
To help troubleshoot HDCP in your installaon, the oers a convenient HDCP map as well as
HDCP status informaon. To access the HDCP map, use the Web RCS and navigate to the
page. Each input and output page is also equiped with HDCP status informaon to indicate in
realme when HDCP encrypon is being used.
Certain devices such as Macintosh computers can be parcularly tricky to use in conjuncon with an HDCP
compliant presentaon switcher such as the . This is because devices like the Mac computers can
be used to output both HDCP protected content (such as a movie downloaded from iTunes) as well as non-
HDCP protected content (such as a Keynote presentaon or the desktop). When a computer rst connects to
an HDCP compliant device such as the , it learns the capabilies of the device through the EDID
connecon. Upon seeing the HDCP compability of the aached , devices like the Mac computers
will immediately aempt to use HDCP encrpyon at all mes, despite the content currently displayed on the
computer screen. Since this source would now be considered an HDCP protected source, the
would be required to prevent it from being displayed on VGA or SDI outputs and only allow it to be displayed
on outputs protected by HDCP. To work around this problem, the allows the HDCP features of
a parcular input to be disabled, which in turn informs the Mac computer to avoid using HDCP, and allows
content such as Keynote and the desktop to be displayed, as this input will no longer use HDCP protecon.
Please note that disabling the HDCP features of the input do not circumvent HDCP protecons, and thus do
not allow you to view any content which requires this protecon.
For more informaon about HDCP, please refer to our whitepapers on HDCP, or visit the HDCP foundaon
website.