The output protection controls parameter controls whether output to external rendering devices is protected. You can specify restrictions for analog and digital outputs independently.
Controls whether output to external rendering devices should be restricted. An external device is defined as any video or audio device that is not embedded in the computer. Integrated displays, such as in notebook computers, are not considered external in the output protection controls scenario.
Over the air (OTA) connection types are all block listed by default but can be allow listed explicitly if needed. The supported OTA connections include: Miracast, AirPlay, DLNA, and WIDI.
**Resolution-based output protection: (Available from version 5.3 forward.) ** This provides output protection based on the vertical pixel count of the content, enabling a variety of protection requirements to be specified based on vertical pixel counts.
The following options/levels of enforcement are available:
Option | Supported in analog devices | Supported in digital devices |
---|---|---|
Required — Analog Copy Protection (ACP) or Copy Generation Management System - Analog (CGMS-A) output protection must be enabled in order to play content to an external device. Primetime DRM clients must enable output protection using ACP or CGMS-A. On devices that support both, the Primetime DRM 3.0 clients attempt to enable both. However, only one must be enabled to play the content. | YES | YES |
ACP Required — ACP output protection is required. Playback is not allowed on CGMS-A. Primetime DRM 2.0 clients do not support this option. If set, an Primetime DRM 2.0 client behaves as if the “No Playback” option has been specified. | YES | - |
Use if available — Attempt to enable ACP and CGMS-A output protection if available and allow playback if not available. Primetime DRM 3.0 clients attempt to enable both ACP and CGMS-A, if possible. Primetime DRM 2.0 clients only attempt to enable either ACP or CGMS-A. For instance, an attempt is made by the Primetime DRM client to enable either ACP or CGMS-A. If the attempt succeeds, the other option cannot be enabled. If the attempt fails, a second attempt is then made to enable the other option. Even if both the attempts fail, the content is then played anyway. | YES | YES |
Use ACP if available — Attempt to enable ACP output protection if available, but allow playback if not available. Protection is not available on CGMS-A. Primetime DRM 2.0 clients do not support this option. If set, an Primetime DRM 2.0 client then behaves as if the “No Protection” option has been specified. | YES | - |
**Use CGMS-A if available **— Attempt to enable CGMS-A output protection if available, but allow playback if not available. Protection is not available on ACP. Primetime DRM 2.0 clients do not support this option. If set, an Primetime DRM 2.0 client then behaves as if the “No Protection” option has been specified. | YES | - |
No protection — No output protection enablement is enforced for analog and digital outputs. | YES | YES |
No playback — Do not allow playback to an external device for analog and digital outputs. | YES | YES |
While these rules are consistently enforced across all platforms, you can only securely turn on output protection on Windows platforms. On other platforms, such as Macintosh and Linux, there are no supporting operating system functions available to third party applications.
Example use case: Some content may enforce output protection controls and therefore the content distributor can set the level of protection. If “Required” is specified and playback is attempted on a Macintosh, the client does not play back content on external devices. The content can be played back on internal monitors.
If “Required” is specified and playback is attempted on Linux, the client does not play back content on any devices because it cannot differentiate between internal and external devices.
If you specify “Use if available”, output protection is turned on where possible. For example, on Windows systems that support the Certified Output Protection Protocol (COPP), the content is passed with output protection to an external display. This example is sometimes known as selectable output control
.