The impact of the HDCP master key release

That's true; I assume you're referring to Selectable Output Control (SOC), which the MPAA petitioned the FCC about earlier this year -- I don't think it has been used or announced yet. I'm not entirely clear how bad the analog output "downgraded" by SOC is, though -- I believe numbers were thrown around that were still higher than DVD resolution, so recompressed 1080i (since SOC is a broadcast tech) might not be discernibly better. I believe the SOC is banned from use on anything that is (a) currently available on physical media or (b) will *never* be available on physical media, such as live events. That seems like a weird set of constraints, but it's designed to plug up the money-hole for 90 days so MPAA can charge for digital 'rentals' before they sell discs of the same content (presumably to the same people).

Good point about the audio, although I did not mention it because I was under the impression that digital HD audio over other connectors (eg, SPDIF) is always accessible even if HDCP HDMI is used for video.

Nate