16. Toshiba SD-L902A Slimline Internal Player/Burner

The SD-L902A is for laptops what the SD-903A is for desktops: a HD-DVD drive that can read and write to HD-DVD media, as well as conventional DVDs and CDs. Sample shipments started early in 2007, so this is another brand-new product offering from Toshiba in the HD-DVD space. Toshiba's press release for the SD-L902A is dated October 2, 2006 and indicates the drive made its initial debut at the Mkuhari Messe at around the same date; it also reports the same general read and write speeds as for the SD-H903A, but also indicates that the device uses the ATAPI interface rather than SATA, not surprising because the target for this device is the notebook market.

Figure 12: The Toshiba SD-L902A is a second generation notebook HD-DVD player/burner.

In what should by now be both a familiar and depressing litany, the SD-L902A is for sale only to OEMs. We can only hope that this drive, like the other Toshiba drives we've mentioned for this story will become available to consumers so they can use them in DIY projects or for system upgrades - especially for Media Center PCs where they're likely to do the most good.

Sidebar: HDMI, HDCP, Gotchas And Workarounds

Ostensibly the Advanced Access Content System (aka AACS) requires the use of an HDMI 1.3 or better, or an equivalent DVI-D connection with circuitry that can handle High Definition Copy Protection (aka HDCP) encryption or it will "downscale" 1080p content to fifty percent of its actual size (960 x 540, in other words) in the middle of your display. In plainer terms, you get lousy resolution if you don't use HDMI (or compatible DVI) to hook up your high-definition DVD player directly to your display or through the entire display chain of video processors, AV receivers, preamps, etc.. This is a huge downer for those who already own HDTVs that don't support HDMI 1.3, not to mention older HD-DVD players, and other older gear. Thus, the gotcha is that you may some day buy a high-definition DVD, either Blu-ray or HD-DVD, that won't display at 1080 horizontal lines on your HDTV when you fire it up and start watching - but not yet.

The content publishers (movie and TV studios and other outfits that produce copyrighted high-def content) haven't yet turned on the AACS Image Constraint Token (aka ICT). Think of the ICT as a flag that tells the display gear to downscale content if it senses the lack of the right transmission and decoding chain for output of high resolution (1080i and 1080p) content. For the time being, the ICT isn't turned on in any commercially available pre-recorded materials, either for Blu-ray or HD-DVD. That's because these fledgling technologies and markets don't want to alienate the vast majority of HDTV owners whose equipment doesn't meet the AACS interface and decryption requirements. That's why you can use component video, older HDMI (1.1 or 1.2), VGA, or even DVI-I links from player to display (and other points between, where applicable) and still get 1080 output, specifications and copy protection notwithstanding. Today, movie studios get to choose whether they use the flag or not, and so far, they've chosen not to do so, for eminently practical reasons.

It's widely believed (but nowhere officially stated) that use of the ICT has been postponed until no earlier than 2010, but possibly until as late as 2012. Given that the average life of a piece of video or home theater gear is about five years, that means today's current equipment may never really have to confront or be affected by this potential gotcha. Especially for those who've already made investments in HDTVs, receivers, and other gear that doesn't conform to AACS requirements, we say use your current connections and deal with ICT enforcement when and as it's invoked. By the time ICT really becomes an issue, most people will probably be ready to buy new equipment anyway, and will probably face an entirely new set of different but no doubt equally vexing issues.