Ideally I’d like to be able to use TiVo’s multi-room viewing feature to transfer my son’s programs to my Series 3 DVR whenever he wants to watch one of his shows. I say ideally because, I’ve noticed that a lot of the content that I record on the TiVo HD has been copy protected which prevents me from transferring these shows.
I’ve blogged about this before however, it seems like the problem has gotten worse! Is there anything I can do about this? I know it’s not TiVo’s fault and that they are only following the rules however, copy protection has put a huge damper on me using MRV.
Everything recorded on digital cable, with exception of broadcast HD channels, are copy protected for me. Analog cable of course works but very few shows I record are on them. Tivotogo and MRV are essentially useless on the TiVo HD.
This is why we haven’t bought a Tivo with HD. Or digital cable, for that matter.
TWC in Raleigh has the same issue. It basically nullifies the advantages of Tivo which I was a big fan of for mant years, but have switched to Media center which allows steaming of shows to extenders, not requiring a copy like tivo and TWC prevents.
I think it really depends on the cable company. I have Verizon fios and nothing (that I know of) is copy protected. MRV works great for me. It was the main reason we have 2 Tivo HDs.
I’ve never seen the flag come up on my TiVoHD with Comcast in the SF Bay Area (though I can’t say I’ve recorded anything on Noggin or Disney Kids at all).
I have a lot of those same shows on my TiVo HD and none of them have the flag… interesting.
I have a lot of those same shows on my TiVo HD and none of them have the flag… interesting. I’m using Charter cable in Pasco, WA.
That really bugs me, too, Alex. I’ve complained to my wife many times about the craptastic copy protection on many of our shows. It annoys me so much I’d even be willing to write up another post about it. Sound good to you? Shoot me an email or message me on Twitter if so?
I’d love to see what you have to say. Drop me an email.
There is no elegant solution but if you are extremely devoted, read about PROM modding over at DealDatabase.com.
Content protection is one reason I switched to antenna and dumped cable and satellite.
Comcast of North Atlanta puts the copyright bit on all digital channels. It is ridiculous and I wish I could get my Tivo Desktop plus money back.
If the flag is across many channels, it is usually an error by the cable company. To get it corrected in my area, I had to go around customer service and speak directly to a local Comcast engineer (just north of north Atlanta). Customer service over the phone did not understand the technology or issue, but the engineering team understood immediately and corrected the problem quickly.
If you are a Comcast customer with this problem, I highly recommend contacting Comcast on Twitter (@comcastcares or http://twitter.com/comcastcares). The Comcast “digital care” team understands the issue when it arises and can get you in contact with the right people at contact.
Thanks. Does anybody know of an “equivalent” person for TWC on Twitter?
I just sent a tweet to @jefftwc on twitter. I’ll let you know if anything comes of it…
I’m on Comcast in West Michigan. All of the premium channels are copy protected.
Comcast Philadelphia doesn’t have his stuff copy protected; I use this feature all the time. They briefly had PBS hd protected but I think someone called and they fixed the problem. Premium content to protected but I’m pretty sure that is by design since the same mechanism detrmermins what you can export. Until you can get it fixed you can try and get your kid into PBS kids shows!
Time Warner Cable in San Diego seems to copy protect everything on digital cable – that is, everything that is decoded by the CableCARD, meaning everything over channel 99.
This is really lame, because it basically nullifies one of the main advantages of having TiVo.
We used to to have two Series2 machines, and transferred shows back-and-forth all the time, family room to bedroom. Nothing illegal, just from room to room in the same house.
Once we replaced one of those TiVos with a TiVo HD, that all came to a halt. I emailed Time Warner, the FCC, City Franchising Board, etc. — never got any response.
What makes you so confident this is “not TiVo’s fault”? Is there a law requiring them to implement this copy protection system?
It seems to me that giving TiVo a free pass here is the wrong thing to do. They’d love for us to blame someone else, but I think we ought to be blaming TiVo. MythTV doesn’t have the same restriction, right? If TiVo’s lack of functionality really is being dictated by someone else, they’ll pass the pressure along; on the other hand, if, as I suspect, they have a choice in the matter, then pressuring them is the most direct way to get the problem solved.
It’s not as much as a law, but as corporate agreements. To become CableCARD certified, a manufacturer’s device has to implement and respect the flags when they are encoded in the transmissions.
If TiVo were to flaunt this, they would not be CableCARD certified, and we would not have TiVoHD/Series3 boxes.
This is exactly the same reason that MythTV doesn’t support CableCARDs (at least up to 2 years ago when I last looked in to MythTV), and why certain channels are not available to MythTV devices.
It’s only TiVo’s fault because they want to create a product that interfaces with other manufacturer’s products (i.e. CableCARD), and due to the DMCA, cable company monopolies and a myriad of other reasons, we’re left with few other choices.
Well, we could still have Series3 boxes without CableCARDs for OTA recording, but I see your point.
What a fiasco! Every time I think about embracing HD or digital cable, something like this comes along to remind me why I haven’t.
I’m so close to just cancelling cable and TiVo, and using my Xbox 360 + TVersity + RSS torrents for all TV viewing. Comcast is planning to drop most of their analog cable channels, at which point my Series2 TiVo will become a paperweight. Between that, the ever-increasing stream of ads, pyTivo’s flakiness, and the spectre of DRM (as described in this post) if I were to upgrade anything, I’m finding it hard to justify spending any money on this setup anymore.
I have only noticed the copyright bit set on premium channels on Comcast in Boston.