[mythtv-users] Recording IPTV?

[Peter Carlsson]

On Thu, Jan 30, 2020 at 09:24:21PM +1300, Stephen Worthington wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Jan 2020 08:21:20 +0100, you wrote:
> 
> >Hello!
> >
> >My MythTV is configured to record DVB-T and DVB-T2 but now we also
> >have the house connected to fibre 100/100 Mbit/s with IPTV.
> >
> >Each TV needs to be connected with HDMI to a set-top box to be
> >able to watch IPTV.
> >
> >What are my options if I want to record IPTV in MythTV as well?
> >
> >I guess I need one of those set-top boxes and perhaps an HDMI
> >capture card? What else?
> >
> >Or would it be possible to record the IPTV stream directly from
> >the network somehow?
> >
> >I live in Sweden and the IPTV provider is Telia.
> >
> >Best regards,
> >Peter Carlsson

Thanks for your detailed answer!

> Does the STB have a smartcard you have to insert into it?  If so,
> depending on the smartcard type, it may be possible to record directly
> from the IPTV source by putting the smartcard in a card reader and
> using the appropriate software.
> 
> If there is no smartcard, then you are unlikely to be able to record
> directly from the IPTV streams unless someone has worked out how to
> decrypt them, and you can extract your decryption credentials from the
> STB (or get your provider to tell you them).  And you also need to
> check what your local laws actually allow you to do.

No, there is no smartcard for the STB.

> To record from the STB, as well as an HDMI recording card/box, you
> will need a means of changing the channel.  Does the STB do that with
> a remote control?  If so, you will need to be able to send remote
> control signals to the STB to turn it on and change channels.  Is it
> an infrared remote?  If so, then it is easy enough to get an IR
> blaster that can send it signals using lirc, but you also need to know
> what signals to send, so do some research on the net to see if there
> are any blaster tables for lirc for that STB.

Yes, the STB is controlled with an IR remote control.

> One other thing you need to check is whether the STB sends the HDMI
> with HDCP.  If so, then you will need to check if it is legal in your
> locality to strip the HDCP out of the HDMI signals.  HDMI capture
> cards/boxes do not do HDCP.  If you need to strip out HDCP, you have
> to get an HDMI stripper (usually a splitter also) that does this.
> Aliexpress.com has heaps to choose from, but check the net to see
> which ones are any good.  Depending on your locality, the HDMI
> splitters available locally are likely to not do HDCP stripping (and
> will therefore be more expensive as they have to do full HDCP
> processing and be properly certified for that).  The splitter will
> need to be compatible with the HDMI version sent by the STB.  Are
> there 4k channels?  If so, there are far fewer HDMI splitters
> compatible with the higher HDMI versions used for 4k.

I only know by reading the specification that the STB can handle HDCP,
but I am not sure if the stream has HDCP.

I was in contact with the IPTV provider today but according to them
the only available option to watch TV on a computer was to use a
browser and use their Play service.

Best regards,
Peter Carlsson