Jepael wrote:Yeah HDMI links used to be limited to 165MHz pixel clock which equaled 165MHz link clock but later on they could use 225 MHz link clock but it only increased color depth to 10 or 12 bits instead of 8, so the pixel clock limit was still 165MHz. Nowadays you can get 340MHz link and pixel clocks, in the future 600MHz.
The 300+ is HDMI 1.4/2.0 stuff, which is rarely available on PC (most DVI->HDMI adapters only support single-link connection to the DVI port, so that caps you at 165MHz; but some newer graphics cards support HDMI 2.0 directly).
And no, converting HDCP protected content to analog is not legal to my knowledge, but technically it is possible.
Technically it is not illegal afaik; it's at the discretion of the rights-holder, and can be enforced per-disc (at least on Blu-ray and HD-DVD). Basically all of the early Blu-ray and HD-DVD players, and the original PS3, offer Blu-ray or HD-DVD output via analog (video and audio in many cases), but not all discs will allow >480p (this is more true of HD-DVD IME - the player will just pop up a little notice saying this disc is restricted to X resolution via analog - some DVDs also seem to trip this, which is likely an error (its likely looking for some setting bit that was used for something else (non-standard) ages ago)). Newer devices are eliminating analog outputs mostly as a function of cost I would guess (its probably cheaper to just have an HDMI port than to implement a bunch of analog video/audio connections). [and I said "basically all" because there are some first-gen Blu-ray players with only HDMI output, such as from Denon]
That said, that's output from the player - having a device "in-line" between the Blu-ray player and TV that modifies the copy protection may be another story altogether. From what I've read, HDFury is sold as an "upgrade module" to add HDCP to an existing display, which is probably some skirting-the-regulations name game, but within its intended purpose I don't see how the end result is any different from an early Blu-ray player's capabilities.
But why would your PC enable HDCP if no software wants to output protected content?
If you have HDCP-capable monitor and graphics card, it will enable during the handshake (just like HDMI devices do). nVidia cards with recent drivers will notify you of HDCP link status, including if it isn't available (and this can be seen as somewhat of a FUD feature, because it will complain even about VGA connections to analog monitors).
So what might interest you are the DVI-D to VGA converters. They are not limited to HDMI consumer stuff. Just connect it with HDMI to DVI-D with a cable or adapter. But It might be hard to find a device that supports over 165MHz single link operation to get 1600x1200@75. I don't know if it is possible even with reduced blanking, but CRTs need standard blanking. 1600x1200@60 is doable. 1440x1050@75 and even 1440x900@85 is as they fit into 165MHz.
1600x1200 @ 75Hz is over 200MHz pixel clock (w/o reduced blanking, which is what a CRT needs), and would require dual-link or VGA. 1280x1024 @ 85Hz would work though (~157MHz; 1280x960 would get you 4:3 and probably knock that down a little lower).