drkohler on 12 July 2011
AACS Advanced Access Content System is a system for copy protection on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs. The system was developed by Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita, Warner Brothers, Sony, IBM, Toshiba and The Walt Disney Company. The system was broken pretty fast on HD-DVD - a key reason why HD-DVD lost the race against Blu-Ray.
All new players sold after December 31, 2010 must limit analog video output of BD content to interlaced standard definition (480i/576i). No player that passes "Decrypted AACS Content" to analog video outputs may be manufactured or sold after December 31, 2013.
So Sony is simply following orders..
(Who uses component cables, anyways, when HDMI is available?)
