Wireless DTCP content protection specification

The Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator (DTLA) has approved and published a new supplement to the Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP) Specification for the use of WirelessHD. The release of this new supplement represents the first approved, standard content protection method for the distribution of high definition content, signaling the overarching industry’s readiness to accept wireless technology in mass market consumer applications.

In addition, such approval suggests new flexibility for manufacturers and consumers in so far as DTCP permits both streaming and copying of high-definition content from device to device. Earlier this year, WirelessHD announced DTCP as the content protection method of choice for WirelessHD transmissions. DTCP enables not only direct display, but also the distribution of high definition (HD) content. This content, whether from Blu-ray discs, satellite, cable, or Internet broadcast may be securely sent over WirelessHD signals. The use of DTCP enables both the wireless display of this content in the newest generation of LCD’s and Plasmas and the managed copying of this content to digital video recorders (DVR) and portable media players (PMP). This supplement to the DTCP specification provides the technical details for the use of DTCP with WirelessHD-enabled consumer electronics and personal computing products.

The DTLA administers the DTCP, which assures that only legitimate content delivered to a source device via another approved copy protection system, such as the DVD Content Scrambling System, will be protected. DTCP is a cryptographic protocol that protects audio and video content from tampering and enables managed copying of licensed content over high-performance digital networks such as WirelessHD.