Drm

[jcole998]

I have a subscription to Verizon FiOS in New York. I use NextPVR extensively to record TV through one of two hardware sources: 3-tuner Hauppauge DCR-3250(cable card) and a Hauppauge USB HDPVR(settop box). There were no issues recording Fox News network when I used Microsoft Windows Media Center. But, as you probably know, when I had to move to NextPVR, I lost the ability to record about 18 channels, all Fox Network. Web-based tuner utility shows those channels flagged with DRM, copy-once. For those channels, I now use the settop box and the USB HDPVR.

Can you help me understand why the cable card shows these channels with WMC but not NextPVR? Is NextPVR even aware that the screen is blank? How does the card "know" that an application has DRM?

Thanks in advance.

[sub]

Can you help me understand why the cable card shows these channels with WMC but not NextPVR?

These channels are encrypted, so NextPVR isn't able to access the audio/video streams. Microsoft has worked with CableLabs to provide special access to WMC. For NextPVR to be able to do similar, to record/watch these channels, it'd cost me approximately US$100,000 for licensing and certification costs. That's obviously beyond the budget of what NextPVR could currently fund.

Is NextPVR even aware that the screen is blank?

Not currently. It receives a stream from the device, but decoders can't decode it so nothing is displayed.

In theory I could go to some further lengths to test for encrypted content and let the user at least know why they can't watch that channel. I'm not in the USA though, and have no CableCard devices (and cable system) to test with, so some of this type of extra stuff hasn't received as much polish.

How does the card "know" that an application has DRM?

When the application supports this DRM, they communicate in a different way. When they start talking, they exchange certificates to certify each other, then data is passed between the two devices over an encrypted connection.

[jcole998]

Thank you, sub, for a most informative reply.

I just bugs me that I'm paying for a subscription to a channel package within which certain channels are blocked from my view. This DRM stuff is the only serious exposure that can can sink your marvelous effort with NextPVR but probably not in the foreseeable future. If DRM ever starts blocking everything, you may need to start thinking about having your own set of paying subscribers. Doing the math says 5000 subscribers at US$20 each is certainly in the ballpark...assuming your quote is for annual service. NextPVR is an unqualified success by my lights and I'd be one of the first to subscribe.

Thanks, again, for the info.