Being the geek that I am, I’ve been spending a little bit of time as of late looking for additional information about the Multi-Room Viewing (MRV) & TiVoToGo (TTG) copy protection issue that I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. Low and behold, TiVo’s very own knowledge base has a rather detailed article which explains how TiVo determines whether or not a recording should have copy protection applied to it.
As I alluded to in a previous post, the whole copy protection thing really comes down to a simple flag known as the: Copy Control Information (CCI) byte. From what I understand, all CableLabs certified devices are required to read this flag and implement copy protection accordingly (note that this flag only affects CableCard enabled devices, ie: Series 3 & TiVo HD). Here’s a quick summary of what the flag values mean as well as how to determine your DVR’s current flag value (taken from TiVo’s support article).
CableCARDs display copy protection for the current channel(s) as CCI bytes. The following CCI byte values affect only digital content:
0×00 – Copy freely – Content is not copy protected. This is the only CCI value that allows content to be transferred via multi-room viewing (MRV) or TiVoToGo™ transfers .
0×01 – Copy No More – Internally, TiVo DVRs treat this the same as 0×02
0×02 – Copy Once – The DVR can make a recording, but can’t transfer it via MRV or TiVotoGo transfers.
0×03 – Copy Never – the content can be recorded and viewed for 90 minutes after transmission, and is not transferable. Content disappears from the Now Playing list after 90 minutes.
Additional CCI values put restrictions on both digital and analog content:
0×04 – Content is Copy Once for digital output, but would have Macrovision 7 Day Unlimited restriction applied on the analog outputs. This affects content viewed either on an HDTV with component cabling or on a standard definition TV. It also affects content saved to VCR or DVD when the recorder is connected to an analog output on the DVR.
0×07 – Content is Copy Never for digital content (deleted after 90 minutes) and Macrovision 7 day/24 hour for content recorded from analog channels. Content cannot be transferred via TiVoToGo transfers or MRV, and cannot be saved to VCR or DVD.
To view the CCI byte value for a channel:
1. Tune to the channel in Live TV.
2. Press the TiVo button to go to the TiVo Central® screen and then select Messages & Settings, then Account and System Information, and then Diagnostics.
3. Check the Channel value for Tuner 1, which is on the first page of the Diagnostics screen. If you do not see the one you want, use the CHANNEL DOWN button to scroll to the information for Tuner 2.
4. Once you find the channel number, look below it for the CCI byte setting.
Note: If the CCI Byte setting is N/A, the channel is analog.
While this information doesn’t solve the problem, I hope it provides you with an explantation as to how your DVR knows whether or not to copy protect “your” recordings. I know that copy protection is not TiVo’s fault however, it really is unfortunate that DRM is preventing me from using MY TiVo the way it was intended to be used (ie: MRV & TiVoToGo). After all,
Note: Series 2 DVRs also have copy protection capabilites. In the case of Analog content, TiVo has implemented the Macrovision flag. TiVo’s knowledge base article also talks about this copy protection scheme in case you are interested…. Thanks Dave for remind me of this.
Except all the Series2 units don’t use CableCARDs and are not subject to Cable Labs. I think I recall Pony mentioning some sort of Macrovision flagging as well.
Good point. The article talks about Macrovision flag and how it affects analog (ie: Series 2) content.
Of course, the rational was a bit odd. I *believe* the context was since they provide Series2 units with DVD drives they were bound by Macrovision regulations. But it seems to me they didn’t have to adopt it across the board. I think it’s just as likely they did it that way to keep the content industry at bay. Who knows!
Yes, TiVo included it in the code base for DVD equipped units as per DVD playback license. I also recall that they pointed to Macrovision in Series 2 when they talked with FCC about sharing shows with DVRs/people not on your direct TiVo account. It certainly makes sense that TiVo left macrovison in play for series 2 so they could show due dilligence on security of content.
I maybe mistaken on this, but I recall that some cable operators have inadvertently set some of these flags on some broadcast channels. Savvy users have been able to get the companies to turn the flags off, after a bit of haranguing.
I’ve heard the same thing…
I have encountered on occasion videos that I am unable to transfer from my PC to either of my Series 2 TiVos (usually via PyTiVo). These will be videos that I have downloaded off the internet from one source or another. Generally, converting from the original format to a different one (for example from FLV to AVI) will permit the transfer, but I believe this is because whatever sets the “lock” is “stripped” during the conversion.
This sounds like a pyTiVo issue. I had to increase the ffmpeg timeout on my pyTiVo install. Is pyTiVo complaining that it can’t transfer your content because it’s copy protected?
I had the same issue. The “lock” icon just means pyTivo gave up trying to convert it, usually for some non-reason like the hard drive taking too long to spin up (which is where the timeout comes in). Unfortunately, you have to restart pyTivo before it’ll try again.
Yes, exactly. The TiVo claims the content is copy protected, although I downloaded it off the internet. I don’t know if it is or not. In the same “session” I have no trouble transferring other files via PyTivo…
try increasing the timeout and let me know if that solves your problem.
I sitll don’t understand why if I own a move IE Snow White and my daughter wants to watch this in the living room or the bedroom I cant go from computer to tivo but not tivo to tivo I need to copy to each tivo from computer this does not make me crazy becase I own the DVD ..
It’s a relief not to have to worry about any of this crap anymore. I just canceled my cable TV service, and TiVo is soon to follow. Goodbye, ads and DRM! Torrents don’t impose any such annoyances.
The incoming lawsuits when your ISP gives you up may be more annoying.
I couldn’t have said it better myself
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Statistically, I’m more likely to die in an accidental fall than to be on the receiving end of a file sharing lawsuit, and I take much bigger risks every day simply by commuting to work. So thanks for your concern, but I’ll stop using P2P sometime after I stop driving and climbing stairs.
Also, nearly all of my season passes can be watched online legally for free anyway: Lost, The Office, Heroes, Daily Show and Colbert, anything on Adult Swim, anything available on Hulu, etc.
[...] More about TiVoToGo & Multi-Room Viewing Copy Protection (CCI byte Explained) Except all the Series2 units don’t use CableCARDs and are not subject to Cable Labs. I think I recall Pony mentioning some sort of Macrovision flagging as well. Of course, the rational was a bit odd. I *believe* the context was since they provide Series2 units with DVD drives they were bound by Macrovision regulations. But it seems to me they didn’t have to adopt it across the board. I think it’s just as likely they did it that way to keep the content industry at bay. Who knows! [...]
[...] feed you probably already know that I recently started to revisit the CCI byte issue that has frustrated me for quite a while now. Thanks to Time Warner’s draconian settings, Multi-Room viewing [...]
I think that I am with Jesse on this one. The industry is still probably not going to go after the individuals for P2P sharing violations. They seem to be focusing on the companies themselves but they continually change directions so you never know. If you are concerned, best to play it safe!
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