[mythtv-users] Cam emulators and myth?
Simon Hobson
linux at thehobsons.co.uk
Wed Sep 22 08:46:37 UTC 2010
qeldroma at gmx.net wrote:
>Ok, so sorry for this!
>
>Didn't knew that using one smartcard for multiple Receiver-cards is
>against drm.
The problem is that some of the developers, and the list servers, are
in the US. In the US they have the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright
Act) which gives a really steeply sloped playing field. Anyone who
thinks their copyright is being breached can serve a takedown notice
which usually means the ISP will just "pull the plug" and possibly
ask questions later. What is supposed to happen is that they ask
questions first, but penalties for not complying with a takedown
notice are there, while complaints from customers can be ignored.
Since there are effectively no penalties for making false takedown
requests, it's a nice way for people to cripple sites they disapprove
of.
Also, there is a clause that makes it a criminal offense to bypass
any "technical protection mechanism", or to discuss how to bypass
such a mechanism, or to provide tools to do so. That still applies
even if the TPM is completely and utterly broken (like CSS on DVDs),
or even never worked in the first place.
Thus, discussion of using a CAM module (or equivalent) is off-limits
because under the DMCA discussion of such is illegal - or at least is
likely to be. In most cases, the terms of use of the module/viewing
card/whatever restricts the use to approved equipment - so even
though it may be a card you've paid your subscription to etc,
discussion of how to use it may well still be illegal in the US ! But
it doesn't have to actually be illegal - just the fact that it
**could** be is enough for someone to get the servers shutdown with a
DMCA takedown notice.
Of course, a lot of discussion around use of CAMs etc **is** for
illicit purposes, and so the appearance of illegality is there. Image
is everything, and Myth as a project really can't afford to get known
as a "tool for pirates" as some would like to label anything that's
not "approved" by the film studios etc.
Crazy ? Completely. But unfortunately, until the US wakes up and
reigns back on things like the DMCA then it's the situation people
are stuck with. I'm not holding my breath on that.
The inconsistency is that we still discuss playing DVDs and recording
the output of cable tuner boxes.
However, in terms of where you may find information, you just need to
be aware that Myth does not itself use any decoding mechanism. It
merely needs a receiver or input that can provide a data stream -
whether that's from a tuner card that provides the raw DVB-T stream
for unencrypted channels, or a network stream from something like the
HD Homerun, or ...
In effect, if something is supported by Video4Linux and provides an
enencrypted stream, then Myth should be able to make use of the
datastream provided.
--
Simon Hobson
Visit http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk/ for books by acclaimed
author Gladys Hobson. Novels - poetry - short stories - ideal as
Christmas stocking fillers. Some available as e-books.
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