The reason I started collecting Blu-Ray discs is the ability to watch them on my big 4K Sony TV or just watch them on my PC. The only way to get them to work was to either use Cyberlink’s PowerDVD software or Kodi with some 3rd party solution that does DRM decryption.
Over the years this isn’t a problem until when Intel’s 12th Gen Alder Lake chips announced to the public. According to BleepingComputer, SGX will be one of the feature removed from the new Intel Core 11000 and 12000 processors, rendering them unplayable out of the gate. PDF copy (if you are interested).
Due to vulnerabilities and attacks made using SGX, it was the best interest for Intel to remove such feature. DVDFab also stated on their blog page saying the same thing.
The issue isn’t directly inspected me yet, since I still using a standard Blu-Ray slot in drive that I brought few years back (only works with standard 4K Blu-Rays) and rip them to my hard drive. But I’m pretty sure all those who owns 4K UHD Blu-Ray discs or wanted to get into it, it may be a problem to watch them on PC at least. Also, those who owns a Pioneer BDR-XS07UHD drive will have their money wasted if they’re using an incompatible hardware.
Many people are buying Blu-Ray discs because they can collect them, even my friend has a huge collection dedicated to Blu-Ray, enjoy much more higher resolution and higher bitrates. Unlike streaming services, it won’t go down when they decided to pull down the contents or go bust and you don’t even need an active Internet connection to enjoy them.
For those who don’t own a Blu-Ray player or simply not want to invest one or even buying gaming consoles just for the sake of watching Blu-Rays, this will surely impact those who already have a PC that setup uo watch Blu-Rays. But this will only effect those who wanted play Blu-Ray discs or any Blu-Rays with DRM protection.