[mythtv-users] Comcast Equipment Update

[Gary Buhrmaster]

On Fri, Sep 9, 2016 at 2:53 AM, Jon Heizer <jheizer at gmail.com> wrote:

> I just hope the encryption game never changes.

I believe you may be confusing encryption with marking
of content as requiring content path protection.

Comcast (and most major MSOs) encrypt (or are
moving to encrypt) everything.  And they apply DRM
markings to all content.  It is just that in the case of
Comcast, those markings specify that you may copy
the content (CCI flags = copy freely), and for other
MSOs, the markings may vary.

In the longer run, linear program delivery (and
CableCARDs) is dead (and Comcast even choose
to only offer the "extra" Olympic channels (available
on other systems as additional TV channels) via
their (X1) streaming services).  But while CableCARDs
are mandated to still be viable for seven years(*),
viability will, as always, be in the eyes of the
beholder.

Note too that content providers may choose
to change carriage agreement requirements
(especially? at contract renewal time), which
(for example) Fox did to their cable channels
on FiOS (I would not be surprised to see that
protection requirement moved to other providers
over time).




(*) It is always possible that some providers will
request (and be granted) waivers of the rules
in order to move more quickly (with various
requirements imposed to protect the TiVo
crowd (WMC is dead, and the number of
non-TiVo CableCARD users are so small as
to be ignored in the decision making process(**))).

(**) AFAIK no one here is spending the (many)
millions of dollars necessary to "inform" the
decision makers as to the importance of their
preferred platform choice.