Theyare most definitely not DOA. Media Center PC's will be exceedingly expensive for the first year though. Sony sells the only HDCP compliant media center pc right now. Sonystyle.com
What the pc enthuasists should be pissed off about is how the current top of the line Nvidia and ATI cards are not HDCP compliant even though many have been advertised as HDCP ready.
I suspect that what ATI and NVIDIA have done with 'HDCP Ready' is made the boards with a slot to put the crypto-chip in. It will probably work, if you can find someone who will sell you the chip for a reasonable price. Still, it's very misleading advertising.