[mythtv-users] Comcast encrypting World Series on FoxHD

[Steven Adeff]

On Mon, Nov 3, 2014 at 11:42 AM, Ronald Frazier <ron at ronfrazier.net> wrote:
> Oops...premature post via keyboard shortcut on that last message :-(
>
> Anyway, I'll add an additional thought to this (regarding the prime...I
> don;t know much about firewire DRM). Cable companies usually don't flip CCI
> flags on individual programs. They usually do it per channel and it never
> changes unless someone goes in and reconfigures. So most likely the DRM is
> coming from the analog CGMS flags. The fact that the CGMS flag comes into
> play means one of two things
>
> 1) Comcast has not applied any CCI flags to that channel, so you are victim
> to whatever CGMS flags are applied by the broadcaster of that station (or
> possibly even flags from the source content itself). The solution to this is
> to ask Comcast to fix it (Comcast is generally cooperative with this once
> you get in touch with the right person). If it were currently mid 2013, this
> would (I think) be the only explanation for this situation, however....
>
> 2) There has been a new development in the last year or so. The cablecard
> specification was changed by CableLabs, and Cisco has implemented this
> change in their latest firmware (my cable company rolled it out a few months
> ago, but I think I saw a few Comcast people posting about it last December).
> Previous to this change, a CCI flag of "Copy Freely" (or any CCI flag, for
> that matter) would override any CGMS flag (even if the CGMS was more
> restrictive). This new specification says that, when a channel is marked
> "Copy Freely", the cablecard can (or must??? im not clear on that part)
> report that there are no CCI flags at all. So whereas previously, CGMS only
> mattered if there were no CCI flags, now it also matters if the CCI flag is
> "Copy Freely". With this change, the only 2 conditions under which mythtv
> can record are both hampered by CGMS flags when present.
>
> This last situation has been discussed in a few other threads. The current
> solutions are
>
> 1) If your HDHR prime is running firmware older than the 20140604 vesion,
> then upgrade it to that version (it has a bug that disregards the CGMS
> flags). However, DO NOT upgrade it...EVER...to any version newer than
> 20140604, because once you do, that bug has been fixed, you will be subject
> to CGMS flags, and you will NOT be able to downgrade back to 20140604 EVER.
>
> 2) If you've already upgraded past 20140604, you could try to find another
> device that isn't. Not sure what version new models are currently running
> off the shelf. You could also try to get a used one off ebay (ask the seller
> before bidding)
>
> 3) With my cable provider (WOW) they can set a flag on their system that
> will lock your cablecard firmware to a version before this new specification
> change was implemented. You can see if comcast will do the same thing for
> you. Then (assuming your comcast flags it as CCI: Copy Freely) you should be
> set...at least for as long as you can stay on that firmware. My cable
> company said it should not be a problem long term, as they rarely upgrade
> firmware, and that last version had been in use for a few years, so they
> probably aren't likely to implement anything soon that would break the old
> firmware and force me to upgrade. If they ever do, then you are currently
> stuck with options 1 or 2. I've got a HDHR Prime running 20140604 which I
> don't use, but which I am holding onto for that exact reason...just in case.

Ron,
any idea about how Ceton handles this? or are Ceton users not in luck
with a "buggy firmware" type situation?


-- 
Steve
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/User:Steveadeff
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