JimmyEatWorms said:
If you want a future-proof HD LCD you will need HDCP via a DVI port or an HDMI port. Sky HD channels will only work on an HDCP enabled TV (apparantly) and it wouldn't suprise me if some of the major studies required HDCP to play their HD-DVD or Blue-Ray disks.
Its a bit worse that that. All HD enabled DVD players, set top boxes (and PCs) will have HDCP out and a coresponding HDCP in on your viewing device to enable you to view HDCP protected content @ HD resolution. So far it looks like all commercial HD DVD and blue ray content will be HDCP protected (and possibly broadcast flag protected too).
Any device without an HDCP decoder chip will display a low res version of HDCP protected content if it displays anything at all.
Its difficult to say what will happen with PCs as only the very latest gfx cards have HDCP compliant outputs. Theoretically, this means that without one of these cards, a PC cannot decode HDCP protected content @ DVD resolutions although I'm very intregued to see how quickly the scheme is broken.
I feel sorry for all the people who bought plasma and lcds with a view to watching HD, if they don't have HDCP support, they're not going to be able to watch the HD protected content at native resolution.