Similar to Digital Rights Management (DRM), HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a security protocol designed by INTEL to protect content creators’ and distributors’ from piracy. It uses a key that requires authorization from the transmitting and receiving devices to encrypt a digital signal.
HDCP is crucial to protect creative content from unauthorized access. The issue with HDCP is that it ends up disrupting the streaming experience for paying customers engaging in legitimate activities. HDCP is built into many devices like Blu-ray players, cable boxes, and satellite TV receivers, Roku, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV.
Hulu HDCP errors are accompanied with a High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) error message. These are device-specific, but generally look like this:
If you encounter the HDCP error while streaming Hulu, it could be caused by an old monitor that’s unable to communicate to the source, HDMI or other technical issues. Here are a few steps to take to resolve the issue.
Chances are that the Hulu HDCP should be gone by now. In case it doesn’t, try one of the solutions below.
The error could also come from loose ends of the HDMI cable. You can try switching the ends of the HDMI cord to see if it helps. Plug the end you use for the streaming device into the TV, and the TV end of the HDMI cable into your streaming device. HDMI cables are bi-directional, but this may result in the cables being more tightly fitted into the HDMI ports.
The error could also be caused by a faulty HDMI cable. Try using another HDMI cable, and make sure that you’ve used it for Hulu on a different device previously.
The HDCP error could also come from a faulty television port. Plug your HDMI cable into another port on your TV, and see if that resolves the error.
If you have plugged your streaming device into an HDMI switcher or AVR (audio/video receiver), plug it right into the TV port. and see if that resolves the error.
If all of the above fails, try plugging your device into a different television or monitor as a last resort.