Comcast, Cable Card and DRM

[jrockow]

Has anyone had success getting Comcast to remove the DRM protection on a cable card?
It's stopping me from watching Showtime, which I'm subscribed to.

[pcostanza]

Not going to happen. DRM is a complicated mess. Many cable systems are also starting to encrypt ALL channels which is pissing lots of people off and making their options fewer. With recent Net Neutrality change in the states, that might only get worse.
For DRM, Windows 7 and WMC is about your only option other than a cable box.

[jrockow]

I thought it might be possible, since I read some comments on an Xfinity website that one of the tech people was sending out a signal to some of the users cards, which in some cases allowed the person to receive the channels.
However, I spent quite a bit of time talking to several different tech people at Comcast, and as you say "it's not gonna happen"!
The only upside was, because I couldn't get the premium channels I was paying for, they gave me a really good deal on a different package with a lot more channels.

[pkscout]

I think most of the comments like that are in regards to non-premium channels. Comcast, at least in theory, sets all their non-premium channels to COPY FREELY. That lets you use a CableCard to decode them and NextPVR to record them. Premiums are set to COPY ONCE usually, and pay-per-view is usually set to COPY NONE. COPY ONCE requires you to use a Tivo, Cable box, or Windows Media Center.

Feel lucky. I'm with TWC (now Spectrum). TWC sets everything but local broadcasts to COPY ONCE, so I have a cable box and an analog encoder to record non-broadcast TV. Spectrum seems to be more like Comcast, so I'm hoping sometime in the next few years that they'll standardize on the Spectrum settings. Even at that I've heard that Fox has the providers set their channels (FX, FXX, etc) to COPY ONCE.

[ElihuRozen]

Even at that I've heard that Fox has the providers set their channels (FX, FXX, etc) to COPY ONCE.

I can confirm this for Verizon FiOS. Everything is COPY FREELY except Fox owned cable channels (FX, FXX, Nat Geo, BTN) and premium channels like HBO, Showtime & Cinemax. Interestingly, when they do free preview weekends of other premium channels like EPIX or STARZ, they are COPY FREELY.

[jrockow]

I think most of the comments like that are in regards to non-premium channels. Comcast, at least in theory, sets all their non-premium channels to COPY FREELY. That lets you use a CableCard to decode them and NextPVR to record them. Premiums are set to COPY ONCE usually, and pay-per-view is usually set to COPY NONE. COPY ONCE requires you to use a Tivo, Cable box, or Windows Media Center.

What I read on the Xfinity forum was definitely in regards to the DRM flag. However, I can't say that I read any responses that it actually helped anyone.
I do feel lucky though that all my other channels are COPY FREELY, including the FOX channels.

I heard a rumor that Silicon Dust is working on a project to allow cable card users to get the DRM channels.

[HarryH3]

I heard a rumor that Silicon Dust is working on a project to allow cable card users to get the DRM channels.

Based on how tightly Cable Labs controls that process, I highly suspect that it will only be implemented in their own DVR software, similar to the way that Windows Media Center works.

[sub]

Silicon Dust already has software that can do DRM, but yes it's strictly limited to only there own software.

[2leftfeet]

With SiliconDust's W10 app, you can watch a DRM channel (I do it now), but not record. Supposedly, their DVR software will provide the capability of recording DRM channels in the near future, or so they have been saying for the last 2.5 years.

[mvallevand]

Clients with DRM content are also a problem. For wmc I I think only Xboxes worked. Also recordings are locked to the host machine so you are stuck using one PC for life

Martin