Rumors continue to swirl that the iTunes Store may be going DRM-free starting today, Tuesday December 9. According to the sources on ElectronLibre, the collections of three major record labels will be available unencumbered by Apple’s Fairplay DRM: Universal Music, SonyBMG Music and Waner Music. This list encompasses three of the four major record lables; EMI, the fourth major music label, already offers higher-quality iTunes Plus DRM-free tracks on the iTunes store.

Steve Jobs has repeatedly said that he would like to abolish DRM restrictions in favor of a more open music store along the lines of the Amazon MP3 music store. Interestingly enough, the timing of this move looks to piggyback the Christmas shopping season…

HDCP is a new form of copy protection introduced with the HDMI platform, it stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection. According to Jeff Carlson from TidBITS, movie rentals on the Apple TV require HDCP. This means if the TV/monitor you’re using your Apple TV with isn’t HDCP-compliant, you won’t be able to play rented movies. more »