Vista Focuses on Video

Windows Vista, the next major update to Microsoft’s desktop OS (due in late 2006), will improve the PC’s capabilities as a home entertainment device, particularly for playing and recording high-definition video. These improved digital media capabilities are among the most prominent new features in Vista, and Microsoft is relying on them to drive consumer upgrades. In addition, Vista will contain general performance and reliability improvements that will bring the user experience closer to that of traditional consumer electronics devices.

However, before Microsoft could convince content owners to make new sources of content available for the PC, it had to assure them that their content would be protected against piracy. Thus, Vista includes significant new technologies for restricting user access to content.

Copy Protection Paves the Way

Unlike consumer electronics products, the PC has a relatively open architecture-users can add new hardware and third parties can write software that takes advantage of publicly documented APIs. Even if DRM software is used to protect a file, attackers have many ways to steal content after it’s been decrypted, such as installing recording software that poses as a driver for a piece of hardware further down the chain (e.g., a sound or graphics card) or attaching recording devices to one of the PC’s outputs-particularly high-speed digital outputs that provide a high-quality signal.