Hollywood and Microsoft are ganging up to make sure that Vista is as pirate proof as pirate proof can be. "Protective Video Path" will ensure that only encrypted video streams are sent from your DVD player (or other source) to the monitor, TV, or display, and thus ensure that no copying can be done. Vista will essentially be checking what is hooked up to your computer and if it doesn't comply to the DRM, then you might not even get a signal on your display. To a lesser degree, Vista will do the same with audio. In a worst case scenario, your "old" monitor might not be compliant and you won't be able to play back your DVD on your PC.

c|net has a lot more on this story including a FAQ .