[mythtv-users] Charter - Some HD channels are copy protected but their SD counterparts are not

Robert McNamara robert.mcnamara at gmail.com
Mon Oct 3 20:21:45 UTC 2011


On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 1:08 PM, Matt Emmott <memmott at gmail.com> wrote:
> After attempting to tune the channel on MythTV and the Windows HDHR
> quick-tune application and failing, I did some more digging. The logs
> appeared that it did indeed tune those channels, but when I looked at the
> tuner status menu it said "CCI Protectionprotected-copyonce". My Windows
> setup defaulted to "Windows Media Center" which I believe can tune copy-once
> content, so this might explain why it let me tune it at all - Just a theory.
>

That's correct.  Windows Media Center is the only current hobbyist DVR
which allows tuning of anything copy-once or copy-none.  Sage TV,
MythTV, GBPVR, QuickTV, VLC, etc. are all limited only to those
channels with a CCI and CGMS of "none" or "copy freely".

In cases where the CCI or CGMS is not none or copy freely, the device
will tune, recognize that the application is not permitted to stream
the content, and then stream nothing at all.  This will be the case
with all certified CableCard devices.

> So, a few questions - First, is this against FCC regulations, or is it ok to
> copy-protect a channel's HD content only?

It's not against FCC regulations at all.  They can CCI flag the entire
lineup if they so choose.  Some providers do.

>Second, has anybody seen similar
> behavior in other areas? I'm wondering if this is Charter- or
> channel-specific.

Yes, this is very common.  Cable companies copy protection behaviors
are unpredictable in many cases (though some providers are more
reliable, and more customer friendly than others on the whole-- RCN,
FIOS, WOW, and most of Comcast are pretty fantastic to use with a
CableCard Tuner) and in some cases are extremely customer unfriendly
(Time Warner Cable, much of Cox).

>Third, is it worth complaining to Charter?

Only as you cancel your account.  If you're not willing to turn your
complaint into something which affects the bottom line, the complaint
is unlikely to have any effect.  It can't hurt to try, just don't
expect any sort of movement at all.

>I have a
> feeling that I'll be hooking my HD-PVR back up and taking the time to
> exclude certain channels from the Prime.

Yes, this is the best way to handle these issues.  If you are on a
customer-friendly provider with CableCard, that might be just a
channel or two-- if you are not, it can be huge swaths of lineup.

Robert


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