Solution for using HDMI output to devices not supporting HDCP

Question

I read a number of similar posts about this issue and wanted to share my experience on it, propose a possible solution and ask if anyone else has already tried it.
Symptom
The symptom is that when playing rented content (some have reported this with purchased content as well, but that's not my experience) *you hear audio, but see either a black or a white screen with no video*.
_My Experience_
I had this problem with my Boxlight Cinema 17SF projector, which is a few years old. It has a DVI input, so seeking to get the best picture possible, rather than connecting the Apple TV to the projector using a component video cable, I tried to use an HDMI to DVI cable. It looked great for TV shows and purchased movies, but when trying to view movie rentals I was hearing audio, but seeing only a black screen. I called Apple support, told them about the problem and gave them my exact configuration, but they didn't have any suggestions to offer beyond restoring to factory defaults and upgrading. I tried this, and tried every possible video resolution and projector setting, but after days spent on it, nothing would solve the problem.
_Background on the Problem_
After reading some posts from helpful users in the Apple TV forum, and after some googling, I found that this problem happens when users try to use an HDMI to DVI cable to connect the Apple TV to an older display device, such as a high definition TV or projector. As it turns out, content played over the HDMI connector is protected using HDCP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP, http://www.projectorpeople.com/cables/HDCP_DVI.asp).
Essentially, in order to properly display content, the display device needs an HDCP chipset from a subsidiary of Intel, which older devices do not have (plus for HDMI, HDCP support is mandatory but for DVI, it's optional). If your display device does not have this chipset, or worse yet, if it has the chipset but it isn't compatible with the Apple TV version of the chipset, video content will not display and you'll typically get a black or white screen. Apple must have gotten a number of support calls on this, as I read in a recent post that they no longer support using HDMI to DVI cables to connect your Apple TV to your display device. Aha.
_Component Video_
One of the nice things about component video is that there's no HDCP to worry about. You can use the component video output on the Apple TV to connect to your display device, and you'll be able to view all content. In my case, I'm using a component video to SVGA adapter. It works, and I can view all content, purchased or rented.
Unfortunately, however, aside from component video being an analog rather than a digital signal, the component output on the Apple TV is crippled and only supports 480i resolution. So if you have a high definition device and want to use component video at higher resolutions than 480i to watch your high definition movies, you're out of luck.
Just as an aside, component video looks best for me when I go into the settings and first try to select 720p resolution. I hear two "beep beep" sounds (the same sound as when you try to navigate beyond the end of a menu) and briefly see a menu showing that the Apple TV is canceling the resolution change for me (holy cow that's weak, they crippled this at the interface level), and the Apple TV forces me back to 480i. However, for some reason the contrast is better after this, colors are better and blacks are much deeper. Despite this unexplained oddity which may only be true for my Cinema 17SF DLP projector, the resolution is still limited to 480i.
_Possible Solution?_
After some more googling, I ran into this device called an HDFury at http://www.hdfury.com/. Apparently, it's an HDMI to VGA/component video converter that strips HDCP from the video and allows the use of resolutions up to 1080p. There are two versions, the HD Fury and the HD Fury 2. Although it's pricey, I'm going to give the HD Fury 2 a try. Even though it wouldn't be a digital connection to my projector, at least it should allow me to use 720p or 1080p, in theory.
I should point out that I'm not sure about the legality of this device. Essentially you're removing something that was supposed to be there to prevent people from copying digital content, but regarding this I think a couple of things: 1) It's only an analog output (SVGA or component), so you're not getting the original digital data and 2) you're using this for personal use, or you should be. You're not using it to circumvent the DRM, but only so that you can view the content you've rightfully purchased or rented.
So, *has anyone tried this device with the Apple TV*, or discovered another way to get all available resolutions when displaying on older high-definition devices using DVI or component video? I'll wait a few days for responses, then go ahead and buy one and post again about my results with it. Thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

I have an update on this that should clarify one critical thing and make my original premise about the use of an HD Fury unnecessary (although the content of the post might still be useful). I had thought that the component video output on the Apple TV was crippled to 480i, but it's not.
What was happening to me was that 720p and 1080i resolutions were taking a long time to sync on my projector, so I was never seeing the Cancel/OK menu that comes up to accept the resolution. I thought that the Apple TV was selecting Cancel for me, but it wasn't, it was just timing out because I never accepted the new resolution.
So, if you KNOW that your device supports the resolution you're selecting (such as 720p) and your device is just taking a long time to sync, select the new resolution, wait a second then press down and OK on your remote, even though you don't see anything. You'll accept the new resolution.
However, *if you do this and the new resolution doesn't work, you could be hosed*. I suggest that if this is the case, remember the remote keypresses necessary to back out and reverse the change. For example, remember the number of times you need to press up or down to return to your original resolution, then hit OK, down then OK to go back to a safe resolution, like 480i.
At least now, I'm able to use 720p or 1080i with the component video output, and it works with both rented and purchased videos. It still doesn't work with the HDMI -> DVI cable, but the use of the HD Fury should be unnecessary when the Apple TV component output supports all resolutions.