[mythtv-users] I may have SOLVED the 5C cable encryption - DOH!

[Joe Borne]

Edited for some brevity here -

On 05/09/2007 04:10 PM, Joe Borne wrote:
> ...
>
> 2. A "connector" to allow MythTV to accept a raw DV stream.
>
> Does anyone on the list who is a developer know of a package or think
> they can create one that can fill role #2?

>> "Michael T. Dean" wrote:
>> Myth would need a new DvRecorder and all its associated support
>> (including either on-the-fly transcoding support--which would limit the
>> number and/or resolution of captures--or DV playback support with
>> optional post-recording transcoding).

>> Based on the value I place on my time and on the content of encrypted
>> channels, I feel waiting for a device that outputs a more-approriate
>> format (i.e. not so huge) would be more worthwhile.  Then again, I'm
>> living without any encrypted channels--just OTA--now because they're not
>> worth the cost of having a cable/satellite subscription to me.

I see your point. But the need is already a lot more than a blip on the
radar and it's only going to grow. In all honesty I fear that third party
PVR's, even Tivos are under a very real threat to be eliminated by
provider/cable company cooperatives. IMHO as consumers we should be outraged
by this. In most parts of the USA and the world we get no choice about our
cable provider, they are monopolies. So we get to watch only what they
choose to provide at the costs they want to charge. Now we're going to let
them tell us when we can watch it, and how, and with what equipment? The
last time i checked I still lived in America - so I say no. (Please no
replies ranting about the politics aspect here - there are other  listservs
for that)

A good case in point is the fact that my "Big 3" channels (ABC/NBC/CBS) are
the ones 5C encrypted on my cable. WTF? If I could get an antenna to work
where I live (I can only get about 50% signal here, not good enough to get
usable HDTV OTA) I could get those channels IN AN  UNENCRYPTED FORMAT FOR
FREE. What could the reasoning behind encryption possibly be? Surely not to
protect content?

The whole fight over DRM on music just ended this last month. The fact that
iTunes is now going to offer DRM-free versions of almost all of its music
signals that the end of DRM is on the way. M$ followed suit within days for
it's Zune service. Over the next year or so competition will drive prices
down yet again, and fewer and fewer consumers will buy the DRM'd version
until the providers see no point in carrying it any more. Sure, the DMCA
will still exist, but it will molder in a folder somewhere because the
content providers themselves will see no point in enforcing it. Within a few
years the MPAA will be forced into the same position the RIAA now finds
itself in.

All of this happened because people said "I'm not paying $22 for a CD with
one good song and 14 songs that are crap anymore". They then went out and
continued to download non-DRM versions of music however they could. Then
Apple had the brains and guts to force a deal with the labels that allowed
them to sell songs individually at a price people were willing to pay. A
dollar a song isn't a bad deal and it's getting cheaper all the time.

If my cable provider offered me completely unencrypted content for an extra
$10 a month I'd pay it. Perhaps if another cable company were able to move
in and compete (Verizon FOIS anyone?), we might see things like this happen.
Until then, we have to fight this the same way consumers fought the RIAA.
Just tell them no. Show them you can get the content anyway and prove their
whole idea false. The iTunes deal happened because users went outside iTunes
and other similar services to get non-DRM'd versions of their music.

Apple, M$ and the cable companies/equipment manufacturers should be working
towards this. After all, the incorporation of DRM technology represents a
serious investment for them will little or zero return. They are wasting
their research and development dollars on something that provides zero value
for their consumers, and in many cases royally ticks the customer off.

I'm not advocating anyone go out and break the law. I pay for my premium
cable service, and it comes with a PVR. So I have the right to view this
content, and to do so in a time-shifted format. But I believe I also have
the right to do it with my own equipment.

So I'm going to continue my search for a piece of affordable equipment that
can make this translation. We are very, very close here. As the HD market
expands, the device will appear, I promise you.

So I repeat my offer. Anyone who is willing and able to contribute should
contact me. I am willing to donate my time and effort to coordinate the
task. Heck, I can even set up manufacturing, sales and distribution for the
finished product.
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