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High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a digital rights management technology used primarily to prevent the copying and recording of digital audio and video content as it is transmitted across connections such as HDMI or DisplayPort. The fundamental goal of HDCP is to protect copyrighted material during transport, ensuring that unauthorized devices cannot intercept or duplicate the protected content. By implementing encryption, HDCP facilitates secure communication between devices that are allowed to access and display the content, thus safeguarding the rights of content creators and distributors.
This technology is widely used in various electronic devices, including televisions, Blu-ray players, and streaming devices, to ensure that content remains secure as it flows from source to display. The focus of HDCP is on content protection rather than enhancing image quality, increasing data transfer speed, or compressing data, which are functions covered by other technologies or standards in the digital transmission ecosystem.