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You can't DRM standard analog output (and still be compatible with normal analog headphones), which is why I mentioned the DRM concern. Most of your current di

by Sephr 11y ago

You can't DRM standard analog output (and still be compatible with normal analog headphones), which is why I mentioned the DRM concern. Most of your current digital audio output ports already support DRM. S/PDIF, HDMI, DisplayPort, etc. all support DRM for digital audio.

tristor 11y ago
You're making the big assumption these devices will always support analog audio output over USB-C. There's nothing preventing that from being disabled, and the digital output can definitely be forced to DRM only. We're already seeing this with things like the Lightning connectors on iPhones vs the old Dock connector that had analog and digital signals unimpeded, now with Lightning it requires an MFi certified device to decode the digital signal and no analog signal is provided at all.
- valverde 11y ago
  The signal has to make its way to a speaker in analog form, eventually. In a way, analog output will always be supported.
  - dingo_bat 11y ago
    But the conversion can be part of the headphone circuitry. I'm betting that's what Intel is thinking here.
    - wl 11y ago
      In that case, it'd be simple enough to snip the wires to the transducers and take the analog signal from there. Even if there is wonky EQ for the specific transducers in use, it'd be simple enough to do a frequency sweep to figure out the filtering needed to undo it.
      - tristor 11y ago
        I respect and appreciate the hacker spirit that lets us understand that we can always work around things like DRM, but I'd prefer to fight it up front rather than deal with it later. There's MILLIONS of devices that currently work with 3.5mm stereo jacks around the world. Just because we can bypass the DRM in some way, it is unfair to the population at large to make this change when it incurs no real benefit just to satisfy the DRM desires of content producers.
      - makomk 11y ago
        In order to do that, you first have to buy a pair of the (likely expensive) DRM-enabled headphones, then destroy them and solder to the annoyingly hard-to-solder wires inside. Ultimately, this isn't going to stop piracy so much as it is people buying headphones that Intel haven't approved and charged a per-unit licensing fee on - it's about making sure they get their cut. It's probably a win-win for Intel and the headphone manufacturers too; Intel get to take a cut and the headphone manufacturers get to charge a premium to consumers, safe from competition from $3 earbuds from China (which are actually pretty good these days).
      - rbanffy 11y ago
        Until that is made illegal and you go to jail because you modified your device with the intention to circumvent content protections you agreed with when you bought the device.

by Sephr 11y ago

tristor 11y ago

You're making the big assumption these devices will always support analog audio output over USB-C. There's nothing preventing that from being disabled, and the digital output can definitely be forced to DRM only. We're already seeing this with things like the Lightning connectors on iPhones vs the old Dock connector that had analog and digital signals unimpeded, now with Lightning it requires an MFi certified device to decode the digital signal and no analog signal is provided at all.

valverde 11y ago
The signal has to make its way to a speaker in analog form, eventually. In a way, analog output will always be supported.
- dingo_bat 11y ago
  But the conversion can be part of the headphone circuitry. I'm betting that's what Intel is thinking here.
  - wl 11y ago
    In that case, it'd be simple enough to snip the wires to the transducers and take the analog signal from there. Even if there is wonky EQ for the specific transducers in use, it'd be simple enough to do a frequency sweep to figure out the filtering needed to undo it.
    - tristor 11y ago
      I respect and appreciate the hacker spirit that lets us understand that we can always work around things like DRM, but I'd prefer to fight it up front rather than deal with it later. There's MILLIONS of devices that currently work with 3.5mm stereo jacks around the world. Just because we can bypass the DRM in some way, it is unfair to the population at large to make this change when it incurs no real benefit just to satisfy the DRM desires of content producers.
    - makomk 11y ago
      In order to do that, you first have to buy a pair of the (likely expensive) DRM-enabled headphones, then destroy them and solder to the annoyingly hard-to-solder wires inside. Ultimately, this isn't going to stop piracy so much as it is people buying headphones that Intel haven't approved and charged a per-unit licensing fee on - it's about making sure they get their cut. It's probably a win-win for Intel and the headphone manufacturers too; Intel get to take a cut and the headphone manufacturers get to charge a premium to consumers, safe from competition from $3 earbuds from China (which are actually pretty good these days).
    - rbanffy 11y ago
      Until that is made illegal and you go to jail because you modified your device with the intention to circumvent content protections you agreed with when you bought the device.