vit9696 says that iGPU DRM is not something they're gonna attempt to fix or work on, and will require flashing and provisioning Apple's ME.
Any idea what this entails? If it's what it sounds like then it's probably more trouble than it's worth but I wanted to make sure.
@bilditup1,
Yes unfortunately getting DRM to work on MacOS on Haswell and later systems that only have a IGPU is now next to impossible due to changes that Apple implemented late last year. Your not the first person to ask me this question so over the weekend I updated the DRM section of the guide with the following info on this subject :-
All Intel PC chipsets from 2008 onwards have a ME (Management Engine) which can be thought of as a master controller for the CPU. One of the many things the ME can do is add and update extensions to the CPU's micro code.
Intel push out ME updates to PC manufacturers when there is a need to address vulnerabilities or to implement optimisations as well as updating the ME itself. PC Motherboard manufacturers support updating the Intel ME by including it in a BIOS/UEFI update or via a separate BIOS/UEFI utility.
The BIOS/UEFI then applies the ME update when the PC is booting.
Unfortunately Apple customise the Intel ME Updates on Macs with extensions that are used for DRM authentication.
Theoretically one could patch a PC's ME to include Apple's ME customisations and thus enable native MacOS DRM authentication on IGPU only systems. However such a process would be complex for most users and runs a high risk of bricking your motherboard if you muck up the ME patching code.
It has been suggested that it may be possible for a boot loader to perform such a process .... the official response from the developers of the Open Core and Clover boot loaders is that they currently have no plans to investigate this approach, possibly to avoid DRM licensing infringement and/or investigation by Apples legal department.
DRM is a touchy subject and modification of DRM firmware tends to be prosecuted swiftly and harshly.
in WEG 1.3.5 + Lilu 1.4.0, shikigva flag 16 has been repurposed
Yes i've been following the latest DRM updates in the current WhatEverGreen development builds for a while now and looks like a promising solution for getting DRM working on Hackintosh systems that have AMD GPU.
Prior to these new WEG updates the best way to get DRM working on Coffee Lake CPU with a AMD GPU installed is to use the iMacPro1,1 SMBIOS. As the iMac Pro uses a Xeon CPU that has no IGPU it uses the AMD GPU for DRM authentication and decode and a T2 chip for IQS equivalent encode/decode.
The WEG development team have analysed exactly what using the iMacPro1,1 SMBIOS makes to DRM in MacOS and have implemented those changes as a series of new dynamic patches that can be triggered with the "shikigva=16" boot flag. The process patches MacOS
and certain Apple Apps effectively forcing them to use the AMD GPU for DRM authentication and decode.
The Apps that are patched in the current development version of WEG are :-
- iTunes
- QuickTime Player
- Apple TV
- Apple Music
- MacOS Frameworks used for Web Content and general Video Playback
You can see the new code changes and patches by examining the latest commit's to WhatEverGreen's source code :-
…oder in select apps
github.com
At minimum OP should be modified so that people aren't told to try shikigva=57 or 60.
For now I have removed the info on the legacy use of the Shiki Module in WhatEverGreen from the guide.
I will update the DRM section of the guide with the new Shiki options once the new DRM fixes are fully tested and WEG 1.3.5 is officially released which at the moment is scheduled for the first or second week in December.
Cheers
Jay