[mythtv-users] Recording from STB that requests channel access pins

[f-myth-users at media.mit.edu]

    > Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2016 06:38:35 +0000
    > From: Martin Bene <Martin.Bene at icomedias.com>

    > So far, I'm stuck at the point that I really need to look fort he
    > pop-up image to determine if a pin is required.

When it's asking for a PIN, does it also turn off the audio?

If it does, you could also look for suspiciously silent patches,
though only when expecting a PIN, since there are plenty of fairly
silent patches in normal programming.

Or you could use mplayer to extract a frame and analyze it.  That
also has issues; mplayer will not always position to the time you
tell it to position to, or even to the byte, and you have to be
prepared to deal.

I have code that does both, constantly analyzing streams for bad
video, EAS tonebursts, etc, but it won't be particularly portable
to your environment.

(But one thing you might to, to at least kick off whatever analysis
you're doing, is to use the events system to tell you whenever a
recording has started.)

P.S.  Have you considered telling your provider that you will leave
them for a less insane one?