Beta Testing DRM on the Public?

There's an interesting op ed about HDCP and its implications for the public over at arstechnica today. The article essentially summarizes the complete idiocracy that created AACS and HDCP. An excerpt:

On occasion we hear reports of HDCP snafus, primarily from readers who are upset with HDCP/HDMI implementation on their cable boxes. As it turns out, this stuff doesn't work reliably for even the basic stuff like showing video flawlessly, let alone securing outputs. I even have a HDCP/HDMI issue with my TiVo, which decides that my TV is no longer secure about once a month, requiring a reboot.

Is HDCP ready for prime time? It certainly doesn't seem like it. If these problems are occurring with certified equipment, imagine the problems that consumers will be having when they start trying to play high definition movies on their PCs. Windows Vista requires end-to-end HDCP support in order to play at anything but a lowered resolution, how often do you think the software is actually going to work?

Links:
Article at Arstechnica
HDCP and Windows Vista (arstechnica link)
A Cryptanalysis of the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection System