The reproduction of all kinds of multimedia content on our equipment, whether mobile or desktop, has become a very common task. We have the possibility of using files of all kinds of qualities related to both audio and video, although sometimes we encounter some difficulties, for example, with the Blu-ray.
Along these same lines, we are going to focus on high definition video content. We tell you all this because, as it has been known recently, now Intel has eliminated the SGX safety function on their 11th generation and later processors. The relationship with the aforementioned multimedia contents is that this functionality is one of the requirements to play Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs on the devices.
It must be taken into consideration that the format Ultra HD Blu-Ray, also known as 4K Ultra HD or 4K Blu-Ray, supports playback at 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution. Thus, one of the requirements for playing these Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs on PC is that the processor and motherboard firmware support SGX. This is something that was imposed by the Blu-Ray Disc Association as DRM requirements. In addition to SGX, this playback is protected by HDCP 2.2 and AACS 2.0 standards, while some discs use AACS 2.1.
Something we must know in this regard is that Intel software protection extensionsKnown as SGX, they allow both user and system code to define private regions of memory. These are called enclaves and their content is protected, so it cannot be read or saved by any external process.
Newer PCs won’t allow Blu-Ray viewing on Windows
This even includes processes with higher permissions. But Intel’s 11th and 12th generation processors say these software protection extensions are out of date. As you can imagine, this is something that directly affects the playback of Blu-Ray discs on Windows systems. Keep in mind that this Microsoft software is the most common in most desktop computers.
All that has been said means that PC users who use devices with these recent processors will not be able to play Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs. The reason for this is that stated and related to this requirement. Thus, the removal of the SGX function and its compatibility with the Windows system and drivers poses a significant challenge for some software developers. We refer to those who have projects focused on playing Ultra HD Blu-ray movies.
In fact, some of the CyberLink majors believe that this will not be possible with the newer CPUs on Windows PCs. At this point, some of the aforementioned software developers suggest to users who wish to consume this content that stick with older Intel processors. In particular they refer to the seventh to tenth generation, since they support the SGX function and guarantee that Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs can be played in Windows.
In turn you recommend don’t upgrade to Windows 11 and do not update the Intel drivers, as these can eliminate the aforementioned SGX feature.
