HD DVD Player with analog Pioneer Plasma - will it work?

[jerfilm]

Darn this problem continues to bug me and makes me wish (and vow yet another time) not to be on the cutting edge of new technology. I have a lovely older Pioneer 50 inch plasma that has just one component input. No HDMIs. Period.

OK, I bit today on Walmarts special and bought the Toshiba A3 (and boy, was this stores selection of "free" movies lousy - but thats another story, isn't it??). Anyway, as I read the manual I get the frightening news that it will do 1080i thru component video as long as the source is not HDCP protected. Well, whoopee ding - isn't all of it? So am I screwed or what?

I looked at the BoxHD that someone suggested on another thread to convert HDMI to component. Sounded good until I got to the disclaimer that sez if the source material coming in on HDMI is HDCP, then it shuts down. Which seems to me to make this box, at $239, worth about $10. Or less. So is there any solution for those of us with this problem outside of junking our perfectly good plasma? Richard? Shane? Anyone? THis really sucks.....

Jerry

[Shane]

Are you sure it's HDCP-protected? As I recall, none of the studios were implementing the Image Constrait Token (ICT) yet, so there would be no down-rezzing of HD video over component connection.

In other words, you should be able to get 1080i over component until the studios start pushing out titles with the ICT enabled.

- Shane

[jerfilm]

I'm not at home so I can't hook it up to verify anything until Sunday.

But the movies I have in hand all have the two disc symbol with the slash thru it and say "This combo format disc is copy protected and can only be played on licensed devices". Man that's fine print..... some of them are not combo discs but all have the same symbol. Or is this something different?

Jerry

[Shane]

That would be something different. As I recall, they have to have ICT titles labeled as such, but I don't recall the details. I would be very surprised if it down-rezzes.

- Shane

[Richard]

You shouldn't have any problems with HD disc, only SD DVD which will be limited to 480p.

Hook it up, you should be OK!

[whatchel1]

I'm not at home so I can't hook it up to verify anything until Sunday.

But the movies I have in hand all have the two disc symbol with the slash thru it and say "This combo format disc is copy protected and can only be played on licensed devices". Man that's fine print..... some of them are not combo discs but all have the same symbol. Or is this something different?

Jerry

That is different than HDCP. Copy protection is to make so that it is hard for it to be copied. You may be more familiar w/the older term of Macrovision. What you are looking at is something similar to that.