Monday, February 19th 2018
AMD's PlayReady 3.0 In Polaris, Vega GPUs, APUs to Enable 4K HDR Streaming on PC
In the wake of increased requirements when it comes to digital copy protection mechanisms in consumable media (be it in the streaming or disc-type), AMD is looking to allow users of its products to keep up with the increasing demands of content distributors. Besides hardware encode/decode capabilities, hardware DRM support such as HDCP 2.2 or Microsoft's PlayReady 3.0 has become a necessity for high-quality content viewing, and is required for Netflix 4K and HDR streaming on PCs.
AMD themselves have said that they plan on enabling these features for their products via a driver release, thus turning the most recent Ryzen + Vega APUs into even more desirable HTPC-environment solutions. In the Ryzen Desktop APU Reviewers' Guide, the company specifically said, "Please note that HDCP 1.4/2.2 are supported for the purposes of streaming 4K+HDR content. AMD intends to have a production PlayReady 3-capable graphics driver in early Q2". The company thus joins Intel and NVIDIA in developing solutions that allow users to take advantage of 4K and HDR content on their PC solution via, for example, Netflix. The steps are still very convoluted, though; just look at the Netflix requirements for your PC after the break. It's mind-boggling.Netflix 4K, HDR Streaming Requirements for PC
AMD themselves have said that they plan on enabling these features for their products via a driver release, thus turning the most recent Ryzen + Vega APUs into even more desirable HTPC-environment solutions. In the Ryzen Desktop APU Reviewers' Guide, the company specifically said, "Please note that HDCP 1.4/2.2 are supported for the purposes of streaming 4K+HDR content. AMD intends to have a production PlayReady 3-capable graphics driver in early Q2". The company thus joins Intel and NVIDIA in developing solutions that allow users to take advantage of 4K and HDR content on their PC solution via, for example, Netflix. The steps are still very convoluted, though; just look at the Netflix requirements for your PC after the break. It's mind-boggling.Netflix 4K, HDR Streaming Requirements for PC
- Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (for HDR or using discrete graphics)
- Windows 10 HEVC Media Extension, or equivalent (if missing due to Fall Creators Update)
- Latest unspecified Windows Updates
- Microsoft Edge or Windows 10 Netflix application
- Netflix plan that supports 4K and HDR streaming
- High or Automatic Streaming Quality in Netflix Account Playback Settings
- Minimum internet connection speed of 25 Mbps
- 4K display with HDCP 2.2 capability
- HDCP 2.2 certified cable with 4K capable digital interface
- HDCP 2.2 capable and 4K capable digital interface port on motherboard video-out or discrete GPU
- Supported discrete or integrated GPU (PlayReady 3.0, HDCP 2.2 output)
- Appropriate graphics driver