HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, which is a copy prevention technology used on HDMI connections for over ten years. HDCP 2.2 is the latest version of HDCP, designed specifically to prevent illegal copying of 4K Ultra HD content. It creates a secure connection between a source and display via a “digital handshake” . HDCP 2.2 is required to play 4K Ultra HD or HDR content. It is important to note that HDCP 2.2 is not backward-compatible when it comes to 4K video, meaning that if a 4K TV senses a 4K video source, it will look for the HDCP authentication in order to complete the digital handshake. If it doesnt see it, there will be no 4K picture. HDCP 2.2 is all about protecting 4K Ultra HD content, so if you are perfectly happy with the 1080p picture you are getting from your current HDTV and Blu-ray player, and have no plans to upgrade to 4K, there is no reason to be concerned about HDCP 2.2 right now.