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Comment by zug_zug | Hacker News Reader

I used to try to go 100% online rental (primarily amazon rentals if I didn't want hassle). I figured it was hard to argue a 3.99 rental was any worse than blockbuster.

So on vacation I tried to airplay mission impossible from amazon rental to the TV, and the screen just went black for copy-protection. So I refunded my rental and torrented it instead.

I don't usually torrent, but sometimes the ecosystems put it squarely in my self interest.

(Also, for whatever it's worth I have netflix active about 1 month a year because I find their recent content so unimpressive, but perhaps I'm not the target audience)

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Try disabling hardware acceleration in your browser. It'll probably fix the black screen issue.

The situation is still ridiculous though. Streaming is no longer easier than piracy.

Weird. Jellyfin doesn’t make me do that.

It’s a Widevine DRM thing, not a browser video thing.

I think that was the point of the previous comment.

The UX of DRM-laden services breaks. You don’t have that problem with Jellyfin.

No its a DRM issue, its why I run a hidden 25 foot HDMI from my computer to my TV as some broadcasts require the security inside the HDMI cable itself. (I could be wrong on this one but Widevine DRM handles this process I think)

There is no security inside the HDMI cable itself. It's an HDCP negotiation between the source and the sink which occurs over an i2c serial bus along the pair of DDC pins.

You may be able to get away with just an HDMI dummy plug:

https://www.amazon.com/4K-HDMI-Dummy-Plug-3840x2160/dp/B07FB...

I'm not sure if these dummy plugs handle HDCP. If not you can use one in combination with this splitter:

https://www.amazon.com/Splitter-l-b-y-Vision-Atmos-Scaler/dp...

I own this splitter and know for a fact that it handles the HDCP negotiation. But I think it needs a display attached.

> You may be able to get away with just an HDMI dummy plug

Or, you can just pirate it and not have to put up with any of this BS.

What is an HDMI dummy plug? I read the description, but didn’t get it. What does it do?

It makes the source think there is a display connected by responding with an EDID block. It may also handle the HDCP negotiation but I'm not sure about that. Technically an unlicensed device isn't supposed to be able to implement HDCP so while the Chinese manufacturers are totally willing to skirt around that, they also don't go advertising it.

But why would one need it? I don’t get get idea behind it, what’s with me having a fake extra display? Is it somehow tricks the DRM or what?

The primary use case I'm aware is for headless computing.

Re-reading what ladzoppelin wrote, I made an assumption that was probably incorrect. I thought they were saying that having an HDCP-compliant TV attached allowed them to watch DRM-protected content on their non-HDCP-compliant primary display. But in retrospect, probably they are watching the DRM content on the TV.

In that case they don't need an HDMI dummy plug at all. They could instead use the splitter I linked between their computer and the non-HDCP compliant display (assuming it's connected over HDMI and not DisplayPort) to fool their computer into thinking the display is HDCP-compliant. Then they can play the DRM content on either their primary display or the TV.

Thank you for your explanations!

The GP was trying to play back Amazon DRM content via AirPlay, so HDMI/HDCP should only be relevant to the "last-mile" connection between the AirPlay receiver and an external display (so, if the receiver is a Mac laptop's internal display or a smart TV, not at all).

AFAIK, DRM video playback over AirPlay only works from within iOS apps that explicitly support AirPlay[1], not via generic iOS/macOS screen mirroring.

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204289#iOS

That's true but my reply was solely to ladzoppelin where they seem to need to have an HDCP-compliant display connected. I was just offering an option besides a 25 ft HDMI cable.

If the DRM means you need a workaround, it's a DRM issue.

Nope this is DRM "protection"

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