DRM and Digital Audio Incompatible

Connoisseurs of digital audio on their PCs may be in for a shock. Microsoft is bending over backwards to accommodate the content industry, which means a number of things. Here at IDF, we learnt that analog audio mixing has been removed from Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) testing, which means that it isn't acceptable. The OS requires mixing results to be sent back to the OS. This will mean fundamental changes in audio codec design. Furthermore, Digital Rights Management (DRM) concerns by content producers means that Microsoft will disable digital output of audio. So, if you were thinking of attaching S/P-DIF speakers you might want to think again. S/P-DIF and DRM, to quote an Intel presenter at IDF, "Are just not compatible." The kicker is that while the industry is working to resolve this conundrum, 20-bit analog might also be limited in the same way.