What is PlayStation 4 HDCP and Why Sony is Driven to Remove it From its Latest Video Game Console

Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 firmware 1.70 update has created quite a buzz in the gaming community. Microsoft has already released some important updates for its latest Xbox One console but the upcoming 1.70 firmware update is considered to be most vital update for the PlayStation 4 console as it will bring many important tweaks and new features to the video game console.

PlayStation 4 HDCP Explained: What is it and How will Gamers Get More Control Once Sony Disables it Through Upcoming Firmware 1.70 Update

Fairly less, but Sony has also put some restrictions to PlayStation 4 that no gamer can withstand for long. One of these bitter confines is HDCP. Since the release of the console, this word has bugged many gamers and those who like to record their gameplay videos and upload them to video-sharing websites like YouTube. Listening to the feedback, Sony has decided to add an option for turning off HDCP in the upcoming update.

Option to turn off PlayStation 4 HDCP is undoubtedly a great feature. But this post here is about what HDCP really is, what does it do, and how gamers will benefit from it while it is turned off. Most PlayStation 4 gamers who are not into recording their gameplay videos and sharing them do not bother about HDCP but it is a headache for those who run Let’s Play channels on YouTube.

HDCP is short for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection. It helps encrypt the media content coming from a HD video device through HDMI video stream. Almost all manufacturers of digital streaming devices such as Blu-Ray video players use HDCP on their devices to protect the content from being recorded via a capture card or other recording devices. Think of HDCP as a firewall that prevents recording of HDMI streamed video content.

Here is a practical example. People use capture cards to make a copy of genuine media. A streaming device such as any video game console is connected to a certain capture card, then the capture card is connected to PC via USB and to display unit/television via HDMI. Now when the streaming device starts to give out HD video stream, capture card reads the video stream, sends a copy of this stream to the connected PC where it is saved as a video file, and then passes the main stream to your display unit/television. HDCP prevents capture cards to store the stream content on PC. Consider Blu-Ray devices without HDCP, how easy then it would be to make a copy of genuine movies and use it without paying a price.

Recording video games’ footage is not against the law, unless you are not using them to make revenue, that too, without proper permission from the video game owner. With that being said, Microsoft’s Xbox One is HDCP free and gamers can easily record their best video game moments, but for some reason, video game content is protected with HDCP on Sony’s PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 consoles.

For PlayStation 3 users, HDCP is little bothersome as the console’s component cables make it easy to record gameplay but PlayStation 4 is HDMI-only and does not have any support for component, so Sony’s latest console’s users have no way to record their video game content and store it on their computers, other than just streaming it directly to Twitch.

This is why PlayStation 4 HDCP is highly disparaged. But soon it will not be an issue anymore as Sony has promised to remove PlayStation 4 HDCP in the upcoming firmware 1.70 update. So clear from the explanation given above, HDCP removal will go in great favor of those gamers who use external capture cards to store their gameplay or to upload is on their YouTube channels.

What do you think about PlayStation 4 HDCP removal? Will it be of any good to you? Let us know in the comments.